Tomatoes

For years I've tried to grow tomatoes, and for years I've harvested only a handful of fruits from wimpy little plants. In 2012 I did not get one tomato. This last year I tried a new experiment. During the winter I covered the ground where I would be planting my tomatoes with about six inches of straw. In early June, I pulled back the straw where each plant was to go and planted it with a shovel of finished compost. The result? Enormous plants, basically no weeds and juicy red tomatoes. By late summer the plants had grown out of their cages and taken over the pathway. Not anticipating such big plants, I planted two plants in each cage as usual, making harvesting quite tricky. I will definitely do the same thing with the straw next year, but I'm going to plant them farther apart next time!

Shady is Booked to Black PRE Andalusian Stallion Confidente SG!

New Horse Breeds

I've been researching different breeds, deciding which direction to take with our little herd. The Quarter Horse and American Paint have a downhill body balance, ideal for racing and cattle work, but not the best for riding and driving. This past week I took advantage of a trip to Utah to visit Tally Ho Farm/Placido Dressage in Park City and Royal Grove Stables in Pleasant Grove.

At Tally Ho farm we were given a wealth of information and shown half a dozen examples of PRE Andalusians and Lusitanos. The breed is attractive not only because of its uphill build, but also because of its beauty, gentleness, trainability and intelligence. Next we visited Royal Grove Stables and met the stunning Friesian stallion Apollo. This loving horse was a giant puppy dog, more interested in getting our attention than in the mare nearby.

http://placidodressage.com/
http://www.royalgrovestables.com/index.html

Once back home in Montana, we visited Spanish Gate Andalusians five minutes away. The McCarters introduced us to their lovely black horses and spent an hour and a half talking with us. They were generous enough to let me ride their stallion, Confidante SG. What a treat to get to ride such a magnificent horse! I loved how he put his heart into each step. Everything he did was careful and deliberate. Even in an English saddle his trot was easy to sit. These horses are very sturdy, with shorter and stronger backs, heavier-boned legs and proportionately larger hooves than the Quarter Horse.

www.spanishgateandalusians.com

Snickers' Driving Training

Are You Prepared For Winter?

Why?

 

 

Often I am asked “why?” Why did I just buy a 120-year-old wood cook stove? Why did I grow 1,100 pounds of squash? Why am I teaching my horses to pull? Why grow my own food and save my own seeds? Why act as my own doctor when I could pay a professional? After all, none of that could exactly be classified as “normal”.

When I finished school, my plan was to build the fish business I had going at the time, perfect my homemaking skills, and learn new skills that would prepare me to be a better wife and mama someday. My studies quickly grew into an interest in current events and prophecy. The more I studied, the more things I discovered that I didn’t know. Sure, I knew how to cook on an electric stove, but what if I didn’t have electricity?

Unfulfilled prophecies, 56 trillion dollars of debt, one in five dependent on food stamps, antibiotic resistant diseases, war, EMPs, the list goes on. Worst of all is the spiritual and moral decline, the “tolerance” which is really intolerance, and the persecution of believers around the world. We live in an interesting, and exciting time. If Christ does not return soon, things will be rough, especially for believers. We may see the worst times yet in the history of the world. Most of you are not prepared. You are not afraid, which is good, but neither do you have any clue about how to survive. You say that God will provide. Will he cause bread to fall from heaven when you knew ahead of time what would happen and were unprepared? He might, I don’t know, but why would he do the supernatural to save you when you knew what was coming and could have been ready? Proverbs 3:25-26 says “Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.” Fear is not the same as using wisdom and common sense to be reasonably prepared for what will happen. When times get rough, will God send someone to give you food, or will you be the one to give food and share the gospel with others?

I don’t know what is going to happen, but we know from Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 that there will be wars, famines, earthquakes, signs in heaven and persecution. We know from what is happening in this country that we will likely have to do without, maybe without electricity, perhaps without cars, without a store to buy things at, without the internet, or without a doctor, maybe all of the above. Don’t be afraid, but be ready. Consider the possibilities and have a plan. At the very least, learn the basics of gardening, keep some heirloom seeds on hand and have the tools you will need. Don’t shop day to day, keep enough food and medicine on hand to see you through a temporary crisis and have a plan to renew your supply if needed. A bag of beans is cheap and can easily be sprouted in jars. Dandelions grow everywhere; the entire plant is edible and nutritious. Garlic is easy to grow, and tests have shown it to be more effective than an antibiotic.

Above all, be ready for eternity, “And when these things begin to come to pass, look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.” – Luke 21:28

 

 

Some good resources:

 

The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery

Be Your Own Doctor by Rachel Weaver

Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth

The Backyard Homestead by Carleen Madigan

http://www.bulkherbstore.com/articles/smart-packs

http://www.bulkherbstore.com/articles/survival

http://nogreaterjoy.org/articles/how-to-survive-the-coming-apocalypse-part-1-fear-not-them-which-destroy-the-body/?topic_slug=survival-emergencies

http://nogreaterjoy.org/articles/how-to-survive-the-coming-apocalypse-part-2-pre-wrath-rapture-zombies-earthquakes-scorching-heat/?topic_slug=survival-emergencies

http://nogreaterjoy.org/articles/how-to-survive-the-coming-apocalypse-part-3-worst-case-scenarios/?topic_slug=survival-emergencies

http://nogreaterjoy.org/articles/how-to-survive-the-coming-apocalypse-part-4-getting-prepared/?topic_slug=survival-emergencies

www.bulkherbstore.com

http://www.homesteadcommunitypost.com/

 

 

Squash

 

Easy to grow, easy to store and yummy to eat, winter squash is one of my favorite crops to grow. My seeds had a low germination rate this year because of last year's short season - nine out of ten didn't even come up. Still we harvested about 1,100lbs of winter squash for winter eating and chicken feed, what a blessing!

 

Squash is divided into several different species, and varieties within each species will cross with each other. The two most common species are Cucurbita pepo and Cucurbita maxima.

 

C. pepo includes most summer squashes (including zucchini), acorn squash, small gourds and many pumpkins.

 

C. maxima includes some pumpkins, banana squash, buttercup, hubbard and turban squashes.  With larger leaves and larger seeds than C. pepo, as well as a longer storage life, they also take a bit longer to grow. This group needs to be cured for a week to ten days at 70-80 degrees before storage.

 

C. pepo Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin is one of my favorites. In my climate they can be anywhere from 2-15lbs. They have always been gone by February so I can't say how long they will store.

 

What is a pumpkin? Everyone knows what they are, but they really are not any particular species. Any winter squash that is somewhat round and orange could be considered a pumpkin.

 

C. pepo Bitterroot Acorn is a genetically diverse squash varying in color and in size (1 1/2-3lbs). Any that are left rapidly go bad in January.

 

C. pepo Costata Romanesca Zucchini is a favorite I've talked about before. In order to save seeds from summer squash, they need to grow as large as they will and harden like a winter squash. This one was hand pollinated and "seed" lightly scratched onto the surface while it was soft so we would know to leave it on the vine.

 

C. maxima Sweet Meat Squash is a delicious good keeper ranging from 8-15lbs.

 

C. Maxima Bitterroot Buttercup, another good keeper, is 2-6lbs.

 

C. maxima Australian Butter Squash is new to me. It grew 6-12lbs this year.

 

My favorite method of growing squash is to dig a long trench and fill it with compost. I plant the seeds 10-12" apart and 1/2" deep. Early in the season I try to keep up on the weeds, but healthy squash plants with soon smother most of them. Fruit that resists a fingernail scratch is ready to be harvested. They can handle a light frost, but be sure to get them inside before a hard freeze. Go over the field several times as the vines begin to die back - I always miss some the first time around. Store them in a cool, dry place where there is no danger of freezing. For me that is the barn, but I've heard of storing them under a bed. Check them often and remove any that begin to rot or get soft. These can usually be salvaged if you catch them quick enough and cut off the bad spots. Fruits that don't have stems, were harvested before they were ripe, or were exposed to too much frost will be the first to go bad.

 

What to do with them? All of the squashes I grow make delicious pumpkin pies, cooked at 350 until tender then pureed in a food processer. Several times a week we slice one in half, scoop out the seeds and bake at 350 until tender - 1-2 hours depending on size. Serve with butter and maple syrup or brown sugar. I also cook them for the chickens.

 

Saving seeds from squash is fairly easy. If you have only one variety within a species you can simply save the seeds you scoop out when you go to cook the fruit. If you have more than one variety within a species, you will need to hand-pollinate. In the evening tape shut the blossoms that are about to open, making sure to get both male (just a flower on top of a stem) and female (a flower on top of a tiny green fruit) flowers. The next morning remove the tape and rub pollen from the male flowers inside the female flowers and tape them up again immediately, making sure no bees get in there with pollen from another plant. Mark the squash you hand-pollinated. The seeds will continue to ripen inside a fruit for about three weeks after it has been picked.