Preparing For the Spring Garden with... Metal Mulch

Several years ago I watched The Back To Eden Film to learn about a neat gardening technique.  The Back To Eden Gardening method is one that Paul Gautschi tells about in the Back to Eden Film link I provided above.  You can watch an informative free movie that explains it by clicking the link, but essentially, the gardening method seeks to re-create the habitat and environment that naturally occurs in the forest.  (Created by God, of course) 

Ever notice how you don't have to water (or weed) the wild berries that you pick each year?  That's because God takes care of it.  Paul Gautschi explains how to use wood chips and mulch in your garden to preserve moisture in the soil and crowd out weeds.  I don't have a readily accessible source of wood chips, but I've used hay to mulch to pretty much achieve the same effect in our garden. 

This fall, however, with no wood chips and no hay, I've resorted to using another mulching material, not so much to plant crops in, but to prepare the soil for spring planting.  This mulching material is not biodegradable, but it does serve a purpose.  It's "metal mulch!"  Let me explain...

After building our barn, we had a lot of leftover tin, consisting of 3 foot sections of tin that we didn't have a use for.  I'll be the first to admit it's not aesthetically pleasing,but it works.  Below you can see how I'm using it.

I've spread out the tin to be used as a ground covering.  The barrier cover of tin on the ground will crowd out any weeds, smother and kill them, and not allow any sunshine through to allow weed seeds to germinate.

Below is an example of the soil condition you'll find beneath the tin when you pick it up after a few weeks:

See how there are no weeds underneath?  Another bonus is that the soil beneath the metal mulch is moist and arable.  The soil can be easily turned over with a shovel and worked into rows for planting.

The photo above shows the area in the walkway of the garden that we picked up the tin from to place in the center of the garden where we'll be planting onions.  If we didn't have the tin laid out, rhizomes from bermuda grass would have run into the garden and created a situation that would have made preparing the seed beds exceedingly difficult.

Come springtime, we'll compare the area covered with metal mulch to the area that has grown up in winter grass.  It will be evident which method is superior.  Even if you don't have leftover tin to use, you can do this with leaves, wood chips, a tarp, cardboard, newspapers, or any other item to re-create the same situation.

Don't Ever Eat a Rotten Egg

Ever since we cut down the big Water Oak tree that died, we've had a big pile of wood that I have been meaning to cut up and use for firewood next year.  It doesn't really bother me, and I'll get to it when I get to it, but it has created a good place for chickens to hide.  Hens are notorious for finding new places to nest.  

I happened to be walking past the wood pile this weekend and something caught my eye.  It was a nest that contained 11 eggs.  They were dirty and there was no telling how long they had been there. 

Normally, when I find nests like this, we feed them to the dogs.  Both Big Boy and Promise make quick work of fresh, or not so fresh, eggs.  At this time of the year, our hens aren't laying too many eggs, and I don't like feeding the eggs to the dogs.  I for sure don't want to risk eating an old egg found in a hidden nest! However, fortunately there is a trick for determining if an egg is fresh or old.  Now, let me preface this by saying I would never give or sell eggs found in a hidden nest.  These are for personal consumption only.

Testing an egg for freshness doesn't require any expense or testing equipment.  All you need is a 5 gallon bucket filled with water.
 

Gently place the eggs that you found in a hidden nest into the bucket of water.  If any of the eggs float, they are rotten!  Throw them away - better yet, bury them in the garden, being careful not to bust it before it is in the hole.  If the egg stays on the bottom, but one end tilts up, it is a little old, but not rotten.  If it lays flat on the bottom, it is a fresh egg.

As you can notice in the photo below, ALL of the eggs are lying flat on the bottom.  These eggs are fresh and our family will eat them up.

The reason this test works is that there is a small air pocket in the egg when it is laid.  As an egg ages, the porous eggshell allows fluid inside the egg to evaporate while simultaneously allowing more air into the egg and the air pocket in the egg expands.  As the air pocket expands with age, the egg will float off of the bottom.

Even though all these eggs are fresh, we'll still eat them first as putting them in water washes off the protective "bloom" that the hen coats the egg with that protects the contents of the egg from bacteria.  If you wash this off, the life of the egg will be diminished. 

So... if the egg won't sink, you'd better re-think (eating that egg!)

Merry Christmas, Fellow Believers! The Savior of the World Has Come!

A good friend of mine sent me the link below just last night at just the right time.  I needed to hear it.  I've listened to it too many times to count.  The Isaacs have voices that sound like angels and this song helps me to focus on the birth of the Christ Child.

Click the arrow below, turn up the volume and take a listen.  I hope it blesses you like it blesses me.  Finally, we here at Our Maker's Acres Family Farms wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.  The Savior of the World Has Come!

Isaiah 9:6 New King James Version (NKJV)

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Reviving a Christmas Tradition - Making Tamales at the Garcia's

Back in THIS POST FROM 2016 we made tamales.  If you click on that post it will show the recipe.  The post this year is not to capture the recipe or the "how to" of making tamales, but hopefully will capture the sense of family togetherness and working together to accomplish a common goal.  It is about working hard, having fun, and enjoying each other's company - "Family!"

Tricia thought it would be a great idea to bring all of the ingredients to Corpus Christi to make Christmas tamales.  Tricia and her four brothers and her mom and dad made tamales growing up and have fond memories and Tricia wanted to get everyone involved again.

I like this first photo as it shows Tricia and her mom (my mother-in-law) working hard, putting the masa in a big bowl and then slicing garlic to season the tamale meat.

Mrs. Garcia is soaking the corn husks and trimming them just right - you don't want too much husk, but they can't be too small either, or there won't be enough husk to roll the tamale.

Tricia is working the masa after mixing in tallow and beef broth.  This job requires a lot of mixing and working to ensure the consistency of the masa if right.

After testing the masa, it is ALMOST right.  She'll add some more tallow and broth and then the process can begin!

Tricia's oldest brother, Orlando started the process by spreading the masa on the husk.  When Tricia was growing up, Tricia's dad would monitor the process to make sure there wasn't too much masa or too much meat on the tamales.  Portion control is important to make perfect tamales.  It takes a lot of practice to get good at making them. 

My job on Saturday was adding the meat.  I was using a tablespoon to measure out the tamale meat, putting it in a line in the center of the corn husk that was spread with masa.  You don't want to put it too close to the end.

Then you fold it over twice, pinch the end closed and fold over the other end.  Tricia was very good at doing this.

As you can see, it is a long assembly line of busy people, talking, laughing, and reminiscing about old times of making tamales in the past.  At different times, other family members join in the fun, cutting corn husks, soaking them, spreading masa, carrying the masa-spread husks to the end of the line, filling with meat, folding and placing on trays, and separating them by dozens.

It is important that all the grandchildren learn to do this so that they can keep the tamale-making tradition alive for generations to come.

Behold the Garcia-Sonnier tamale kitchen - a true staff of professionals

Before we knew it, we had 11 dozen tamales finished.  We let them 'rest' in the fridge and they'll be cooked on Christmas Eve. 

Unfortunately, I had to come back to Louisiana to go to work on Monday, but Tricia PROMISED me she'd bring me home one or two.  I can't wait!  I know they'll be delicious.  Apart from the anticipation of eating some delicious homemade tamales, we ALL had a great time making them ~ a great tradition of family togetherness!

Preparing for the Spring Garden in December

Odd as I am sure it will appear to some, I can think of no better form of personal involvement in the cure of the environment than that of gardening. A person who is growing a garden, if he is growing it organically, is improving a piece of the world. He is producing something to eat, which makes him somewhat independent of the grocery business, but he is also enlarging, for himself, the meaning of food and the pleasure of eating. — Wendell Berry

Okay, I'm getting the itch.  Short days, gloomy weather, and water-soaked soil have all made it next to impossible to do any gardening.  But that doesn't mean nothing is getting done.  No-siree!  In my mind's eye, I have the 2019 Spring Garden all planned.  My rows are perfectly pulled up with soil not too dry but not too wet, There is not a single weed to be found in the garden and bugs and other pests are non-existent.  The seeds had a 100% germination rate and the plants are perfectly spaced, lush and green.  Of course, I need to pinch myself and wake up, because it's just a dream.  Things just don't work out like that.  However, it doesn't hurt to dream.

Time to start planning, though, and that all starts with seeds!  Seed catalogs start filling the mailbox this time of year and one that I really enjoy looking at and ordering from is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  The catalog is beautiful.

There are varieties of seeds from all over the world.  The seeds contained are open-pollinated, meaning that you can save the seeds after harvest and plant them again and again. I like to go through the catalog and dog-ear the pages that contain varieties I've tried before.  I also like to try new vegetables that I've never tried.

Baker Creek started a new promotion this year in which all shipping is free!  How cool is that?

So after I went through the whole catalog with a cup of hot tea, I made my selections and got on the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds website, www.rareseeds.com and made my order.  Yikes, I ordered a lot of seeds.

I got the order confirmation last night and received word this morning that my seeds had shipped.  I forgot one other tidbit - Baker Creek adds in a "Free Seed" packet or two or three, with your order.  This encourages you to try new things you might not have otherwise tried.  Can't wait for the seeds to come in.  The following items are coming up in Our Maker's Acres Family Farm Garden:

• On January 1st, I'll be planting tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant seeds indoors in preparation for the spring garden,
• On January 10th, three bundles of onion sets from Dixondale Farms arrive in the mail and it will be time to plant,
• Broccoli, lettuce and kale is about ready to be harvested and the harvest will continue through the spring.

Making Ground Criolla Sella Pepper - Spicin' It Up!

Before the freeze zapped all the peppers, Tricia went out and harvested all of the Criolla Sella Peppers off of the plant.  Criolla Sella peppers come from Bolivia.  They are a chili pepper that is mild in terms of heat, with just the right amount of spice to liven up any dish.  I was introduced to them by a buyer who wanted me to grow them for a restaurant.  I had never heard of them, but grew them excited about the prospects of having a 'cash crop.'

The cash never materialized.  Ha ha.  But I grew the peppers for personal consumption.  The way we determined we liked them best was to dry them and grind them into a chili powder and use it as a seasoning.  It is tedious work, but the dividends pay off, I think.  We've streamlined the process over the years.  First, we lay out the peppers in a dehydrator and turn it on to let them dry for a couple of days.

You know the peppers are done when the peppers are like parchment paper - dry and crinkly.  At this point, we carefully take a pair of scissors and cut them down the middle, scraping the seeds out, trying hard not to make the brittle pepper crumble.

The peppers with all the seeds removed are put into a ninja blender and turned it on.  We shook it while chopping in order to make sure that all the the peppers are ground into powder form.

It doesn't take long.  That is a powerful little blender.  One thing I wish this blog post could convey is fragrance.  I wish I could tell you how good the aroma smells.  Criolla Sella peppers have a "smoky" aroma, I find.

We pour the freshly ground pepper into an older pepper shaker that holds 8 ounces.  The rich color and flavor of the ground pepper complements any dish.

We'll use this to add another layer of flavoring to whatever Tricia cooks up.  Tonight I shook some on top of some homemade duck gumbo    Talk about good!

Farewell to Daisy

So this post is hard to write...

I can remember being a little boy showing sheep in 4-H.  They were "market lambs."  I wasn't smart enough to figure out what that meant until the day of the sale.  I could hear the auctioneer arriving at a price for someone's animal and then asking, "Where do you want this animal to go?"  The answer I heard burned into my brain: "Manuel's Slaughterhouse."  The truth of what a market lamb was hit me like a ton of bricks.

I ran and jumped in the stall with "Fluff" and "Snowball" and hugged them and cried.  And cried.  And cried.  These were my friends.  I walked them every day.  They followed me around.  My dad was about to call off the sale, when logic finally settled in on me.  They were wethers.  This means they were castrated at a young age.  They are no good for breeding and only good for eating.  It was hard to do, but I relented.  This is life.  It is hard, but it is truly a blessing to be at the top of the food chain.

Fast forward forty-something years later, and I'm in the same situation.  Daisy was the calf that came alongside "Momma Cow," our first Jersey milk cow.  Daisy grew up and became a great show cow and milker, providing milk for our family for years and years and provided us many calves.  She is the matriarch of our little herd and quite bossy.

She's eleven years old and as she's aged, she's run into a problem.  For two years we've tried to have her bred, but she won't get pregnant.  Bulls breed her, but she is never able to get pregnant.  Try as we might, we cannot get a positive test.  The veterinarian has looked at her and found nothing wrong, but she is unable to get pregnant.  On our 3 acre pasture, we just don't have room or money to just "put her out to pasture" and let her live out her days without providing calves or milk.  The sad day came when we realized that Daisy couldn't stay with us anymore.  Saturday we loaded her into the cattle trailer...

And we took her away.  That's all I can say.  We both told Daisy we were so sorry.  She was a good cow and was with our family for 11 years.  We took very good care of her and provided her a good home and peaceful surroundings.  Our Maker's Acres Family Farm was like "cow heaven" to her, I'm sure.

As Tricia walked away with Daisy's halter in her hand and we drove away in the truck, pulling an empty cattle trailer, the same pain from forty-something years ago gripped my heart.  I feel like a big baby, but it is an emotional thing to me.

Farewell Daisy.  We will miss you.

Cornerstone Christmas Caroling - 2018

Come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

We sing that song at this time of year, but truly that song can be sung all throughout the year as we should ALWAYS come and adore Christ the Lord.  This past Sunday afternoon, our little country church - Cornerstone Baptist Church, met for worship and fellowship as we sang Christmas carols at the VA Home and both nursing homes in town.

We walked the halls singing about the Christ Child and the hope and joy that his birth brought. 

Many of the residents that we were singing to joined in as we sang old familiar carols, sung year after year.

We sang both in large, common areas as well as stopping by people's rooms to sing.  Some sat by their doors, singing with tears in their eyes.  Others couldn't get out of bed, but remembered the lyrics and joined us in song.

Our church secretary made Christmas Carol song books for us and by singing the first and last verse, we were able to sing a wide variety of carols that we all love and cherish.  After three hours of caroling, we met back at the church for prayer, fellowship and snacks!  It was nice to sit down and visit with each other and all were definitely glad they came.  We set out to be a blessing to others and by the end of the day, we could honestly say that we were blessed by the opportunity to serve King Jesus by singing to the dear people at the VA Home, Jeff Davis Living Center, and Camelot Brookside.

A carol that I only learned a few years ago, but has become one of my favorites is "O beautiful Star of Bethlehem."  A star led the wise men to Jesus.  Wise men still seek Him!  Jesus gave us a Light to light the way!

Here are the lyrics:

O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shining far through shadows dim
Giving the light for those who long have gone
Guiding the wise men on their way
Unto the place where Jesus lay
O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine on

O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine upon us until the glory dawns
Give us a light to light the way
Unto the land of perfect day
O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine on

O beautiful star the hope of life
Guiding the pilgrims through the night
Over the mountains 'til the break of dawn
Into the light of perfect day
It will give out a lovely ray
O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine on

O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine upon us until the glory dawns
Give us a light to light the way
Unto the land of perfect day
O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine on

A Quick Garden Stroll

Yesterday we looked at the three rows of carrots in the garden and talked about the surprise of finding some tomatoes growing up from seed in 'volunteer' fashion and transplanting them.  Today we'll peek in at the other items in the garden.

First off, I must tell you that the fall garden this year is very disappointing.  The very wet months of August, September, and October meant that things that I planted succumbed, and any of the things that I did manage to plant was planted two months late.  Better late than never, I suppose.  After that gloomy introduction, let's look at something bright and cheery.  Some of our Lemon Girl sunflowers sprouted up from seed that had fallen from some of the flowers from this summer.  Their blooms confirmed the resiliency of nature and at the same time was humbling.  How is it that you work so hard to plant things... and fail due to weather, and yet, some things just come up on their own and thrive?  I stopped to admire the flowers just opening and saw that a honeybee had arrived to enjoy the sunflower along with me.

This row of Russian Red Kale is coated with a thick coating of morning dew.  Kale, the ubiquitous hipster vegetable, gained such notoriety in the last several years.  We like it and grow it each year, but I must admit, for greens, I like Swiss Chard, mustard, and bok choy a little better.

This year has been a bad year for Romaine Lettuce.  Romaine grown in mostly Yuma, Arizona, was linked to an outbreak of E. Coli that sickened many people and caused a recall of romaine from supermarkets across the country.  We'll be enjoying some homegrown Red Romaine lettuce soon, hopefully without e. coli!

Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce is always a favorite in the garden because it grows great, big, leafy heads and is beautifully green colored and tasty. 

The young lettuce patch is planted for aesthetics as well as taste.  I like to alternate the reds and greens.  Tricia did warn me that we needed to pick the lettuce earlier this year as we find that lettuce that we allow to get too big is bitter to the taste.

At this point, the cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage all pretty much looks the same.  We've been fortunate so far to not have much damage at all from pests.  We'll keep our eyes open, though, as caterpillars love feasting on their leaves almost as much as we do.

We'll begin harvesting some items from the fall garden soon.  I was reminded by a seed catalog coming in the mail on Saturday that it isn't too early to begin thinking about the spring garden.  Why, I'll be planting tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant from seed in about three weeks.

A Few Things to Knock Out in the Garden

The short days of winter mean that by the time I get home, it's dark.  Due to darkness, there's not really anything to do until the weekends because you can't see anything.  When weekends come, there's a lot of catching up to do.  This past weekend I had a big on-going project that I've been working on for years now.  Each year a good family friend rakes up her yard and gives us roughly 20 BIG garbage bags full of leaves.  Instead of taking them to the dump, I take them to the garden.

Each year I dig trenches about a foot and a half deep in the garden and pour the leaves into the trench.  I stomp the leaves down into the bottom of the trench, throw some cow manure in the trench so that the bacteria begins to decompose the leaves, and then I pour more leaves into the hole.  Finally, I cover the leaf filled trench with soil.  A couple of things happen here:  First the organic matter loosens the soil, adding fertility and a habitat for earthworms.  You ought to see the earthworms in the areas that I filled with last year's leaves!  Adding the leaves and manure and covering with soil raises the level of the garden, leaving it high and dry when it rains.  The buried leaves act as a storehouse for moisture during drought, giving the plants sustenance during dry times.

My next area of work was one I am not crazy about doing- WEEDING!  The winter weeds and grasses will take over the garden very quickly, especially if I can only work the garden on weekends.  One must remain vigilant to stay on top of things.  In the photo below you can see a few carrot plants on rows dominated by weeds.  Time to get busy!

Weeding is a tedious job.  Due to the close proximity of the weeds next to the plants, it is a task that is done by hand.  You have to be real careful not to uproot vegetable seedlings.  In the photo above, the carrots are almost completely hidden by the leaves.  In the photo below, the weeds have been removed, leaving only the carrot seedlings.

Now that we've removed the grasses, the seedling has no competition for soil nutrients and water.  The plant is also able to let the sun's rays reach it, which results in faster growth.

While pulling weeds, I happened across some seedlings growing in the garden that were NOT weeds.  There were seven nice tomato seedlings that came up volunteer ~ perhaps from compost?  Anyway, I dug them up and potted them. 

All of the tomato plants are very healthy.  I will attempt to keep them alive during the winter months and then transplant in the garden once it warms up.

I normally plant my tomato, pepper, and eggplant seedlings on January 1st and then transplant in the spring.  Finding these plants was a great gift.  If I can successfully get these plants through the winter, I'll have a great head start and hopefully, early tomatoes.

Birds of a Feather...

Chickens are interesting creatures to watch.  They are entertaining and have their own personalities.  They have habits and rituals like people do.  For instance, they roost at the same spot each night.  It is a similar phenomenon how people sit in the same pew at church each Sunday morning.  We have our spot, by golly, and no one is going to take it from us!

Our hens also go through the same things each year at the same time.  One, for instance, is the reduction in egg output as the number of daylight hours go down.  Another is their propensity to molt at this time.  Not all, but some.  You can see the Black Star hen below has not started molting.  However, the Barred Rock behind her?  She is a sad spectacle to behold.

Just look at this sad looking bird, would you?  She looks embarrassed that I am taking her picture with her feathers looking so undone.  Here's what's going on.  After a year of full feathers, the tired, worn, faded feathers are falling off.  They are being refreshed with brand new feathers that will cover the bird and keep her warm throughout the winter months.  As ugly as she looks now, be patient.  She'll look like a million bucks shortly.  Amidst the faded feathers, you can see the new ones coming in.  Right now they are just pin feathers - feathers that are rolled up tight.  But they'll keep growing and push through the hair follicle to emerge as new feathers.

Soon the molt will be over and this hen will look presentable again.  Not only that, but her new feathers will keep her warm as the north winds begin to blow.  A new feather coat just in time for winter!

Long Before Social Media

Long before social media people still kept in touch with one another and kept abreast of the goings on of family members, friends, and associates.  Local small-town newspapers were great in getting the news out to the community about newsworthy events.  The communicated not only world news, but events that kept the ladies at the beauty shop entertained and gave the men having a cup of coffee at the counter at the drug store something to talk about.  At the kitchen table, over a cup of coffee, you could find out what everybody's been up to.

Last week my uncle forwarded me a news clipping from The Oakdale Journal dated March 25, 1948 he thought I would find interesting.  (I did!)  Oakdale is a town 25 miles north of Kinder, the town I grew up in.  It is the largest town in Allen Parish with a population of about 7,700 today.  I'm not sure what it had in population back in 1948.  I enjoyed reading this newspaper clipping:

Doesn't reading that transport you back to "Mayberry" and to a much simpler time?  "Little Ronnie Sonnier" is my Dad, and I'm sure glad that he recuperated from his bout with the measles!  

Spider Webs Filling the Sky

Sunday afternoon was a beautiful day.  Blue skies, sunshine, cool weather and a nice breeze completed the recipe for a glorious day.  As I took care of a few 'to do' items in the garden, I glanced upward and saw that the sky was filled with spider webs floating in the air, being carried by the breeze.

Tree limbs, fences, everything was covered in webs.  If you look closely in the photo below, you can see the sunlight reflecting off of the webs caught in the power lines.

In reading on the Internet, I learned that these are indeed tiny spiders that climb to a high location and releases stings of spider webs into the air.  The wind catches the webs like a parachute and carries the spiders away.  They have been found over 900 miles away from shore in the middle of the ocean and as high as 16,000 feet up in the air.  Just below you can see a very long web that has landed and is draped over the live oak tree and caught in the fence.  It would be interesting to know how far away it traveled from prior to landing here.

Why are spiders doing this?  They are dispersing to find new habitat.  Most of us hop in a car or truck or call uber or lyft, but these tiny spiders have it all figured out.  Eventually, though, they land just as they did below.  Welcome to Our Maker's Acres Family Farm.

I for one, hope that as soon as they unpack, they get busy eating pests in the garden!