What's New at Bumgardner Farm?

I've been incredibly slack about blogging over the past year. I decided it's time for another update about what is going on around the farm. Wow, so what's happened since April 8, 2012? Here's a quick summary: 

May 4: I officially became a Bumgardner...we tied the knot!

During the spring I planted like a mad woman - we grew corn, beans, squash, zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes, and gorgeous sunflowers. I believe I canned over 70 quarts of green beans! Our freezer is still full of corn, squash, and zucchini. Our tater box is still plentiful and we have seeds saved for next year from the good stuff! In a not so great attempt we tried peppers, watermelons, cantaloupes, pumpkins, hanovers, and okra. Definitely an attempt and not a very good one. We did get quite a few Hungarian Hot Wax peppers from the only plant that made it. We also ended up with about 4 Sugar Baby watermelons, 1 gorgeous pumpkin, and 2 okra. Maybe next year! 

During the spring we also purchased 8 chicks. I absolutely love raising them! We are now up to 11 great laying hens. Our eggs range from a beautiful light brown, to dark brown, even teal!

Here lately we've been discussing where we want to see the farm go this year and beyond. It looks like we're going to be raising more chicks this spring with hopes to start selling eggs in the fall. Plus, we're working on a more productive garden plan so we'll have produce to sell. We will only be using organic methods plus we're doing our best to avoid any seeds produced by the corporate giant. Most of our seeds are being ordered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Their website is www.rareseeds.com and they have a HUGE selection of open-pollinated, heirloom seeds. 

Be sure to check back to keep up with what's going on here at the farm. I promise I won't go so long between updates in the future!

Meet Our New Hens!

Our new ladies:) Five Black Sex-Link hens who lay beautiful brown eggs!

Breuster didn't know what to think of all these new girls!

Our new girls have settled in very well. We're getting 3-4 eggs per day from the 6 hens we have but expect that to increase once they've been here for a while. I love having fresh eggs anytime we need them! They lay such wonderful eggs too. Huge brown eggs with rich yellow/orange yolks. If you haven't had a farm fresh egg, go find your local farmer asap! You are missing out!

Another Meal Worth Sharing: Black Bean Salad and Spinach Turkey Burgers

One of my favorite things about changing the way we eat is all the new recipes! After a while, it seems like we get stuck in a food rut. Same meals over and over. And of course it's usually the simple ones like chili, spaghetti, tacos, etc. While those are all good, we get tired of them. Lately, thanks to Pinterest, I've been trying to throw in a new meal each week. So far, I've hit a homerun each time! Last night was no exception. I have seen several versions of this Black Bean Salad but didn't have all the ingredients or some of the things in the original recipe wouldn't sound good. So, here is my version:

1 can Black Beans (rinsed)

1 avocado

1 1/2 cups frozen corn (I'm guessing that's how much I used)

1 large tomato

1 tsp olive oil

2-3 tbsp lime juice

2-3 garlic cloves, finely minced

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Cook corn as directed. Once done, rinse in cold water or place in refrigerator until ready to use. Cut up the avocado and tomato into bite size pieces. Mix beans, avocado, corn, and tomato together. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over the bean mix and blend well. 

This recipe can be modified in so many ways too. Bell peppers and onions would be delicious additions! I can't wait until this summer when the corn, tomatoes, and garlic are all fresh from our garden! 

We had Spinach Turkey Burgers also which are always a hit, even for my 7 year old, until he noticed the green in them. These are super simple. Mix 1 pound of lean ground turkey with 1 package of thawed frozen chopped spinach, 1 egg, and 1 packet of taco seasoning. Throw them on the grill and you are in for a treat!

Hope you now have a few new ideas to get you and your family out of the dinner rut!

Supper Idea: Chipotle Pork Salads

I had to share this recipe. It's spicy, filling, and has a little bit of everything! I'll call it Chipotle Pork Salads. The meat is prepared in the crockpot which is a huge added bonus for our family.

Chipotle Pork Salads

Boston butt pork roast

Can of chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, chopped

6-7 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 of a fresh lime, juice only

About 1 cup of beef broth

Trim and cut pork into 1-2 inch pieces. Combine everything in the crockpot and cook on High for 5-6 hours or on Low 8-10 hours. 

For the rest of the salad:

Lettuce

Tomato

Refried Beans (fat-free with a little lime and Mexican cheese on top)

Corn

Salsa

Mix the salad fixin's together and top with a few pieces of pork. Spicy and delicious!!

My, How Life Changes

Last night, I was talking with my Love about our farm and it hit me. One year ago, if someone would have said "this time next year, you'll be working on your farm" I would have told them they were insane. I really would have thought they were crazy if someone had of told me that 5 years ago! "No, I'm going to have a nice little office job where I don't have to do manual labor" would have been my reply. After working our land, I can't imagine it any other way. Who knew I would go to college to get a business degree and later realize that I couldn't handle one more day of doing that? Sure, there are stresses on a farm...like spending an entire day planting seeds and hoping most of it will come up, wondering if it will ever rain again when you're entire garden is looking brown, or having a stray dog find it's way onto your property while your goats and chickens are loose. And of course, life always throws you curve balls when you have a family but that doesn't even compare to the work stresses I used to face on a daily basis. Now, we just need to get this thing productive so my Love can join me in working this land each day.

The Day I've Been Waiting For

It's here! Finally here! I can finally get lot's of seeds going today and I'm so excited! With the early onset of spring this year, I've felt behind on my gardening even though the chance for frost will be around until mid-May for our area. It's been way too early to seriously start anything but today I'm going to start tomatoes and peppers! I plant according to the good ole Farmer's Almanac. The 2012 Best Planting Dates for Seeds for your area is tailored to your specific region. Type in your zip code and it will tell you the moon-favorable dates to start seeds indoors and outdoors! I'm sure everyone has their own little tricks about what dates are best to plant certain things. What do you go by? Do you plant by the moon or some other signs?

Our tomatoes from last year. Mountain Pride I believe.

Now, for what you've all been dying to know...here are the varieties I'll be planting today! They are all organic and heirloom or open-pollenated varieties. 

Tomatoes

German Johnson

Cherokee Purple

Amish Paste

Brandywine

Hot Peppers

Hungarian Hot Wax

Purple Jalepeno

Sweet Peppers

Lipstick

California Wonder

I'll also be starting Ground Cherries also known as Husk Cherry or Garden Berry. I'm so excited about these! We have had several folks give us ground cherry preserves and they are amazing. Happy planting!

Spring is Here!

Marigold's started in newspaper pots

 Take a look around! Spring is here at Bumgardner Farm and there is plenty going on. We're starting lot's of seeds each week, working on gardens, building a goat fence, and more!

Carrots: Just a few being grown indoors.

Cheap way to warm your soil to help seeds germinate: plastic wrap! It makes a mini indoor greenhouse.

Working on preparing our tomato planters. These grew the best tomatoes last year. Having them off the ground seems to help with drainage.

Red Romaine Lettuce

Small garden on left: Future Amish Paste tomato garden. Large garden on right: garlic, potatoes, onions

This one will be corn, beans, peas, squash, hanovers, and cucumbers

Our new farm toy:) It cleared a patch of multi-flora rose bushes that would have taken at least a full day by hand, in only 30 minutes.

Sunny at 2 months old