Homegrown Popcorn

Hi all! It's the first snow of the season here on the farm. It's icy cold outside and we are already dealing with our winter farm problems. Despite all of that, I decided it was a good day to snuggle with the little guy and have some of our homegrown popcorn. Here's how we did it:
                                              
Growth
Growing the popcorn was easy. You just grow it like you would regular corn. Just like sweet corn, it can be planted in rows or hills. The popcorn took a little longer to reach maturity. The variety we grew was an heirloom variety called Strawberry Popcorn. So named for its resemblance to strawberries in size and color.

Harvest
Allow the popcorn to dry out on the corn stalks and harvest when the stalk is completely dry and brown. Avoid harvesting after a rain, snow, or frost. Afternoon is probably the best time. This is all to avoid extra moisture. The popcorn kernals should be dry and hard. If a kernal is milky when punctured, it IS NOT ready.

Drying
You want to let the popcorn dry out further for at least 1-2 months. You can husk them all and store them in a container with plenty of airflow. I used a metal fruit bowl with lots of openings and kept it on our table. Alternately, you can peel the husks back like a banana and tie them in bundles of three and let them hang from the husks.

Eating
This is the best part! Once your popcorn has dried out completely, it's ready to be eaten. I had read that my variety could be popped right on the cob, while this was true, it isn't the best way. Otherwise you'll end up with something looking like this:

Some of the kernels came off but mostly I just had popcorn on-the-con. Not so great and it stayed lava hot for a while.

The best method is to shuck the popcorn kernels off the cob prior to popping. This is actually pretty easy and I achieved it using my thumbs. Be sure to shuck into a deep container as those kernels like to fly. Once you've shucked the popcorn kernals throw your cob into the compost heap and pour your kernels into a brown paper bag. I popped mine anywhere between 1:30 to 2:30 in the microwave. You'll know they're finished when you hear long pauses between pops. You can season with butter and salt, caramel, cheese powder, or any other favorite popcorn topping. It also tastes good plain. The Strawberry Popcorn variety we grew made enough for a small bowl, enough for one person to snack on.

If you want to package them up for home use or as gifts you can shuck 1-2 cobs into a brown bag, fold the top down, label with the popcorn name, directions, and even a message. Put the folded bag into a ziploc and voila!

I was so thrilled about how this turned out. I can't wait to grow more next year. I think we may experiment with another variety. I forgot to note that this popcorn popped up so...cute! The kernels were miniature!

Thanks for reading!

June Garden Update 2013

Hi all! Summer is in full swing with blooming honeysuckle, bright green grass, warm days and nights, and plenty of sunny days. Life is flourishing here on the farm. Our garden beds are growing quickly and beginning to fill out nicely.

I thought I would share some pictures of some garden progress so far. You can see my hand in some pictures to give an idea of how big or small something is. We even have some blackberries ripening up on our fence line.

Swiss Chard

Cabbage

Bush Beans

Lettuce

Purple Bell Pepper

Tomato

Potato

Blackberries

We have lots more plants establishing and flourishing. I can not wait to see everything prosper! I've got a good feeling about the garden.

Thanks for reading!

Planted The BIG Garden

Hi all! Happy Memorial Day!! It's been a beautiful weekend here in Southern Ohio, and we have spent a lot of time outside enjoying it! I'm excited to report that we planted our big summer garden!

We got it out a little later than I wanted, but it's better late than never. We planted three tomato varieties, six different colored bell peppers, sweet banana peppers, celery, bush and pole beans, popcorn, two varieties of sweet corn, zucchini, two varieties of cucumber, three varieties of muskmelon, squash, pumpkin, and three varieties of watermelon.  WHEW!

We fenced it all in to keep our dogs, chickens, pig, and mostly our 2 year old out. They all tend to wreak havoc on cute little growing plants. I will be doing some updates once we start to see some little seedlings poking out!

Thanks for reading!

April Farm Updates

Hi all! We're staying busy here at Edgington Farm this month. We've been planting and grooming our yard furiously, and we're not even finshed yet! I've found a little farm sure can keep you occupied in the spring.

In our garden beds and areas we have planted:

Cauliflower
Broccoli
Cabbage
Brussels Sprouts
Kale
2 types of lettuce
Swiss Chard
Peas
2 types of onions
Parsnips
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blueberries

We still have to plant radishes, spinach, and arugula this weekend!

Our animals are all doing very well. Our first batch of chickens are almost 10 weeks old already! They should be laying eggs in approximately 10 more weeks (Eeek! How exciting!) We will be processing our last 8 "real" meat chickens in about 2 more weeks. But, we do have about 6 "packing peanut" freebie male chickens we will be processing in about 10 weeks. Our newer batch of chicks are doing well and feathering out nicely. We should be combining everyone in a couple more weeks.

Bacon is very content bunking in with the chickens, but unfortunately he is stil very hesitant about people. I am trying though!

Our ducks are coexisting very nicely with the goats. I'm very happy that I don't have to clean up so much after those little stinkers! We just wormed our goats and treated them with probiotics to boost their digestion. They're doing well. We are keeping our fingers crossed for some goaty romance so we can have a goat baby!

We have a lot of tomatoes and peppers started, along with a few other "mystery" plants I will be talking about eventually!

Come back soon as we are always up to something here at the farm!

Thanks for reading!

The Dairy Aisle

Hi all! For me, the only thing better than recycling and gardening, is recycling in the garden. I've stated many ways in previous posts how this can be done, but this post is a special highlight of a certain section in the grocery store. The Dairy Aisle. It's not just for making strong bones or breakfast anymore! 

When incorporating recycling into your garden, look no further than the dairy aisle. It is chock full of great items you can reuse.

My Projects:

1.   Drain contents from an egg through a small pinhole, carefully rinse, and allow to dry. Now use for decorations. They can be painted, speckled, and more!

2.   Cut a milk jug into a scoop. Use your new scoop for potting soil, feed, etc.

3.   Compost your spent egg shells. They are great for putting calcium into the soil.

4.   Use empty egg cartons for starting seeds. 

5.   Using a large gauge needle heated by a flame (don't burn yourself) carefully poke holes into a milk jug lid. Now you have a watering can!

Projects to Try:

1.   Use broken egg shells to start seeds in.

2.   Cut a milk jug not quite completely in half, fill with soil, and use as a mini greenhouse.

3.   Cut the bottom off of a jug and use as a cloche to keep your seedlings and transplants protected from the elements.

Be creative! What have you tried? 

Thanks for reading!

Growing in Small Spaces and Containers

Hi all! Spring is winding up and winter is winding down. Since writing this blog and charting my own personal experiences, I've begun to wonder about the gardens of my readers. Some may be like my own, but for many others space may be limited. Some may only have the desire to plant a few things instead of a huge garden. At any rate,  this blog post is for you.

Just wanted to share these pretty little flowers I found in our yard. They're only about 2 inches tall! So cute!

The key to successful gardening, especially in a small area, is to maximize and utilize what you do have. Below you can find what I've come up with after scouring the world wide web in search for answers.

Get vertical! This is really great for using that space.  You plant vertically instead of horizontally.  It may sound a little challenging, but it's not too bad. This feat can be accomplished a number of ways including using pallets, gutters, and raised tiers to name a few. Trellising is the most common way to accomplish this.

Source: Easy Homesteading

Use Containers. Don't limit yourself to traditional gardening methods. You can plant many things successfully in a container. Lettuces, herbs, greens, peppers, and dwarf vaieties of plants are just some of the things out there to grow. Your container can be anything. You can use butter bowls, buckets, coffee cans, etc. Just be sure there are some drainage holes poked into the bottom.

Dwarf Tophat Blueberry-perfect for containers. Only gets 1 1/2 ft tall!

Think Outside the Box. Plants can be grown in a variety of ways. Plants want to grow, and if given the proper care, they will! I've seen tomatoes and strawberries grow upside down in hanging pots. I've seen potatoes grown in a leaf bag.

Reuse and Recycle.  Before you throw something away think about it's potential for your garden. Your water bottle could be used as a mini-greenhouse. That milk jug could be modified as a gentle watering can. The parmesan cheese container can be filled with naural bug killers/deterents to sprinkle on. 

Have fun! Most of all, enjoy yourself. That's what it's all about. Don't get bogged down in the details. Just grow!

Thanks for reading!

I'm Spring-ing Forward...How About You?

Hi all! We had a beautiful weekend here in Southern Ohio and we changed the clocks for Daylight Savings Time.  I can't even begin to tell you how giddy it makes me to know that spring is knocking on our door!  There is so much to do, but I'm so excited!

I decided to share some of the things we had going on during the lovely weekend. I had to work all weekend,  but Mitch and Toby enjoyed the weather for me. They had plenty of 4 wheeler riding, we grilled out and ate outside.  Mitch also managed to do some productive things for me. He made our chickens their first set of nest boxes out of some scrap lumber. I just love how rustic they look.  Take a peek:

He also got my early veggie garden tilled up so we can plant soon. We put this one up close to the house since our big back garden was too soggy and sloppy to work yet. I am hoping for a nice calm day so I can plant some seeds. My transplants aren't big enough yet, as they are just now beginning to get their first true leaves. We have begun to get a few peppers and tomatoes to sprout, but they won't be ready to go out until sometime in April! Here is the garden pre-planting:

We have some daffodils (at least that's what I think they are) popping up all over our yard. I've never seen daffodils in such odd ball places, but we've got them here. They are getting little buds all over them, which means....we'll have pretty little yellow flowers very soon!

Tractor Supply has got their chick days and garden event going on right now. We walked in there and I was in heaven! If you'd like to see or show your kids some cute little chicks and ducklings, they've got them there.  Cheap entertainment!  And, if you needed another reason to plant SOMETHING this year (as if) they've got some good prices and great stuff...just sayin'.

And finally, I would like to close with a link to my friend's blog Homegrown on the Hill. She has a post about how It's not too late! to still get a start on spring growing!

Thanks for reading! Come back soon for some ideas on small gardens and container gardening.

Thinning Out

Hi all! Thinning out. We don't like doing it, but sometimes we just have to. Don't worry. I'm not talking about dieting (whew!). I'm talking about thinning out plants.

What is thinning out?
Thinning out is the act of removing seedlings or young plants in order for them to be spaced correctly so that they may grow strong and productive and to avoid crowding.

Why thin out?
When you plant seeds sometimes you might drop a few extra of those tiny things and get more seeds in one spot than you need. Maybe you dropped them like that on purpose just in case some don't germinate. Maybe your seed pod contained more than one seed. Either way, if more than one seedling grows in that small space, it would necessitate thinning out. When 2 things grow in such close proximity, they begin to compete for nutrients and water. With 2x the plants growing, there is a need for 2x the nutrients. The competition could lead to the failure of both or all of the plants in that spot.

How to thin out.
Thinning out is pretty easy.  All you have to do is trim the least successful seedling or plant with a pair of scissors as close to the soil as possible. Another way, if they're still very young, is to gently pull the seedling up (root and all). With this way though, you do run the risk of injuring the roots of the seedling you intend to protect.

What I did.
Last night I did some thinning out of my own. I had a couple pots growing two and even 3 seedlings in them. I took a risk and ripped out the extras and repotted them in their very own pots with fresh, new and damp seed starting mix. This morning they look great,  but only time will tell.

A couple of my transplants

The bottom line is, it doesn't matter how you do it, just make sure it gets done!

Thanks for reading!

Legginess

Hi all! I promised a post on legginess and I'm here to deliver!

Now when I say leggy, I don't mean a great pair of gams. Leggy, as in leggy plants, means the stems of the plants become very thin and tall. Seeds are packed only with enough energy to germinate. Once the seed heads begin to poke out of the soil, the seed has pretty much used up it's energy stores and begins looking for light to provide the much needed energy. Developing seedlings require a lot of energy which means a lot of light.

Growing seedlings actually require a bit more light than comes through most south or east facing windows. Many hardcore gardeners (you know, the ones with leather jackets that keep gardening spades in the pockets...hehe) use complex set-ups and systems for providing light. But...folks like myself who are just starting out or can't afford such things, there's still hope for those spindly little suckers.

Brassicas like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cabbage tend to be more prone to legginess. I'm not sure why, but it's true.

What can you do about legginess?

Provide more light. This is the root of the problem and this should be addressed above all else.  You can use the windows, but when you can try to use greenhouses, cold frames, etc. Even if you can only get them out now and then it will help! I put mine out today during some decent weather and though they weren't fixed in an hour, they definitely seemed to perk up.

Pot up and/or bury those wimpy stems. If you had room in your pots like I did, you can add more soil to either fill up your pot (if the leaves extend above the pot) or add enough soil to bury the stem up to the first set of leaves. If you don't have room or would prefer to go ahead and move them to a larger container, this will work as well as long as you bury the stems up to the leaves. The stems will put out roots eventually to help anchor the plant.
 You can also just bury the stems when you transplant. This is fine too.

Before burying the stem

After burying the stems. (The discolored paper is from the inks in it)

Good luck and happy growing!

New Greenhouse and Homemade Seed Trays

We decided to splurge a bit on a greenhouse so I can use it on the occasional warm day now, and then everyday when it warms up a lot. In fact, we had a nice day in the beginning of the week and I got to use it to provide my seedlings with more light. It only took about 10 minutes to put together! We got it at TSC for $30, though it looks like it might be on sale now for only $20 (go figure!) So far I really like it. If you're thinking of starting seeds this year, this is a really affordable and useful option.  Check it out here.

Since I'm using my own pots this year I had to have some trays to put them in. I've been using a recylced cat box to start a few seeds in, but if we're going to grow enough stuff to freeze, can, and/or dry the food, we need to grow more. I was going to buy some disposable cake or lasagna pans, but we haven't made it to the store yet. So, we just built a few trays out of scrap wood. So far we have 3 of them but are making more soon. I also used a tin cake pan. Anyway, enough blabbing. Here's a picture for your viewing pleasure. I present a homemade tray full of cute little brassica sprouts!

I'm pretty proud of these guys. I can't wait until spring! (Are you sick of me saying that yet?)

Thanks for reading!

Starting Seeds-2013

I admit it. I'm sick as can be. You won't believe it,  but I've caught a terrible illness that is striking homesteaders, farmers, and gardeners all over the place this time of year. I've got a bad case of...SPRING FEVER! I decided to start some of my early spring veggies. They can be planted in a few weeks, so I need nice, strong, hardy seed starts soon. (I'm doing my best to rationalize this so feel free to snicker)

I'm starting off with broccoli,  cauliflower,  cabbage, and brussels sprouts.  My newspaper pots (make your very own here) are pretty large, but I'm happy with them because that's one less transplant to worry about. I only filled them halfway because I'm sure my amateur attempts at seed starting will yield some leggy seedlings. Leggy just means they will grow long and skinny because they'll be reaching for light. This is fixed easily enough by burying them up to the first leaves to get rid of those skinny stems. Leaving room in my pots will allow me to do this if necessary.

It's been 6 days since I started my seeds and I have plenty to report! It all started on day 4.

Day 4

One broccoli seed

Day 5

I doubt you can see all of them. I have 5/5 broccoli plants,  4/5 cabbage plants, and 1 brussels sprout plant. I promise they're there! Just squint real hard.

For day 6 I had another brussels sprout and finally saw one cauliflower!