Mulch Mania

Rick C has been bringing over lots and lots of mulch. Here Rick clears the weedy grass. We also laid newspapers over the dirt before shoveling on the mulch.

We were able to cover quite a lot of ground. This gives us nice walkable pathways with no mud, and no mowing either. That shadow in the corner is me taking the picture.

Here is the mulch around the playhouse. We've been brainstorming about how to do the walls, and we're currently thinking lath and plaster. We also considered stucco. We found the old terra cotta tiles we used on the floor in Buddy's house, and we plan to use them around the windows. We'll basically trim it out with tiles. This may mean a trip to All Fired Up to make specialty tiles.

Fall/Winter 09 Row Maps

Here are the row maps showing what we have planted. Row 5 extension is currently unplanted but I'll either plant it, or move starts to it.

This is the extension

New Area

It's been another busy week. I'm so busy with work that I'm really behind on posting. Last Tuesday was a big storm, with high winds and tree limbs coming down. However, the farm, and our new playhouse, stood up to it really well. Interestingly, some lovely maple tree leaves blew in and settled, making it pretty.

Rick C got busy and started digging up a big new area, in front of the existing rows. That pulls the farm portion out to about as far as it can go.  Here you can see Rick and Buddy surveying Rick's work.

 Here you can see more of the first bit of excavations. Doesn't the broccoli look lovely by moonlight?

I transplanted the chervil from the pot by the tub to the area near the fennel at the end of row 2.

Speaking of fennel, it's growing well and sbowing its characteristic shape.

Here's another shot showing where I moved the straw out to cover a path through the new area.

Saturday, we got several truckloads of sycamore chips from trees that had fallen in the storm. We worked all morning to spread it around. I scraped the grass off the area with the pulaski. I guess I was so busy working that I didn't get any snaps. But we covered a large swath in front of the sink and up to the rug. That made a LOT of floor. We rushed off to play croquet afterward. Buddy won :( Then we came back to the farm to enjoy the lovely sunset.

Sunday we got after the new area again. Rick and Rick finished forking out the grass. We spread iron, compost, and gypsum over the area. Then Rick C ran the tiller over it. I did some more work on the chip area, I guess because my back wasn't sore enough yet.

Here the guys show off their work.

Roof

It's been another busy week. Early last week we got the roof joists up. Rick C made spacer boards to fit between each one.

Even in a construction zone, we have our priorities straight.

The cabbage and broccoli are doing great.

The cabbages are starting to enlongate a bit on the way to forming heads.

I found onion plants at the farmers' market. I bought one of every variety they had, and planted them early last week. The moon was just past full and waning.

These are the Hamburger Reds. They are nice big starts and I'm hoping they do well. I got the onion seeds planted as well, in the planting box.

We found this gigantic radish, lost under the pepper plants. No... we didn't eat it.

Here's a man outstanding his his field... or in his orchard.

The forcast was calling for rain early this week, so we prioritized getting the roof on the shed. First the guys primed the boards.

Rick bought the "wiggle" boards and plastic panels. He and Rick C start putting it up.

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Here they are about halfway across.

And here's the last panel coming up.

And the last panel is in place. It's a roof!

And they take a well-earned break.

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Weather Note

This last week was delightful, with warm afternoons and cool nights. We're all wearing sweaters and extra shirts, and at our house, the blanket has come out (although it's not quite comforter-level cold yet). But the storm is definitely coming in, and it's supposed to have high winds and heavy rain. Yesterday we picked up what we could, and tarped what we couldn't.
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The red Thai peppers and hot lemon peppers together make a beautiful rista.

Catherine, Laura, and I went to lunch on Friday for Catherine's birthday. The power went out right before we were going to go, so we ended up over at Sierra Nevada, which meant fewer lights to stop-and-go through. On the other hand, the power outages precluded any work on my part so we got to hang out at the farm afterward. I made Laura a rista too, even though her Bill told her not to let us foist any more peppers on them! We farmers get kinda aggressive when we have a good crop.

Saturday Fun

After working hard all week, we took some much needed R&R on Saturday. After Rick kicked our butts at croquet, we headed over to the farm. Bill and Laura joined us.

Matt and Bill played some cornhole.

Rick and Rick C worked on the beams. Rick had gone out and gotten large boards to anchor the roof.

Here Bill B. helps supervise. Notice the scaffolding. We traded Batch the tall ladder for the two matching ladders with the board.

Batch is having fun.

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What We're Eating

It's right on the cusp of fall, so we're eating the last of the basil. Here is a quick dish to use it.

Deconstructed Pesto

Boil some egg noodles until al dente, then drain and return to warm pan.

Stir in enough butter to lightly coat the noodles.

Stack fresh, rinshed basil leaves and cut them with scissors (chiffonade), over the pan.

Squish a few cloves of garlic over the noodles.

Toss with Parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt, and some toasted pine nuts.

Five-Minute Two-Hour Chicken, Farm Style

Take a whole chicken and rub with oil. Discard giblets.

Stick the chicken in a roasting pan, put it in the oven, and turn the oven on to 325.

Throw a couple of scrubbed baking potatoes in also.

Go to the farm for two hours.

Come home and eat wonderful roasted chicken and potatoes.

I Ain't Cooking, Fall Version

Get Pedrozo cheese, Fuji and Granny Smith Apples, and Tin Roof Sourdough bread. Eat it.

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Playhouse

Lots and lots has been happening. I've just been too busy to post.

The garden part of the farm has been thriving. The cabbage and broccoli is really growing fast, and we finally got more tomatoes out so we can plant more seeds.

I need to get going on that because it's cooling off. In fact, Fall definitely fell. Last weekend was in the 100s, then it went to highs of 70s and 40s at night. We know it's Fall because Rick C put on a wool shirt.

Fortunately I was able to get some onion starts at the Farmers' Market. I'll get those planted today.

We've been hard at work on the Playhouse! All last week we worked on the walls, and Thursday, we put the walls up. Two of the walls are lying on the floor.

Rick and Buddy support the first wall while Rick C screws it down.

Then we attached a cross brace to hold it up. Here Rick is predrilling holes for the screws in the second wall.

Rick and Rick heave the second wall into place as Buddy moves to support it.

And it's up! Everyone checks the sizing. Turns out we built it just right.

Rick C surveys the fit.

The third wall is up. The front wall is the heaviest and most complicated, so we're doing it last.

Here's the fourth wall. This wall has four windows: the two big center ones that open for the bar, and the two decorative side windows.

Rick C. screws the fourth wall to the third one.

We test it out.