Seedlings, Garlic & Spring: Picture Post

We've got cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, artichoke, & Tuscan kale babies going in the greenhouse!

Our winter garlic also survived some intense freezes, & is still going strong!






























































The sun is shining, the sky is a brilliant blue, & our field is just waiting to be planted!

record keeping

Feb 1

cole crops started (in compost)

Cabbage

• Cour Di Bue (Baker Creek)
• Nero Di Toscana/Black Palm/Tuscan Kale (BC)
  

Broccoli - Early Purple Sprouting (BC)

Purple Cauliflower (tradewindsfruit)

Red Brussel Sprouts (tradewindsfruit)

Purple Globe Artichoke (BC)

Interim: the dirt froze in the greenhouse before anyone germinated. I was freaked out and worried that everyone was dead, but by the 5th the babies had poked their heads.

Feb 14

Artichokes are just now germinating but don't even have their heads above dirt.
Nero is starting to set true leaves. Cour Di Bue is growing but many are dampening off [higher light demand?]. Purple Cauliflower is growing but no true leaves. No sign of the BS. Very few weeds germinating in compost--but still should have sterilized it beforehand. Everyone is a little leggy because of being inside. Perking right up now that they're in the greenhouse for the warm snap.

um, 2011?

Since the last post... well, it's been months, so a lot has happened. We recently spent a couple days hauling cow manure from our neighbor's barn--three truckloads. Beautiful. Next week we'll be hauling horse manure and hay from our good friend, Alison's, barn. We love poop.

Speaking of poop, our lovable loo is wonderful and we finally found a consistent source of sawdust: The Appalachian Center for Crafts. They even bag it up for us.

We're now sleeping in the apartment. I think our first night was around January 2nd. But we still don't have water or our gas lines plumbed. Gas will be done the 16th and 17th. Water... well, sometime. So we're still showering and cooking with my parents, which was obviously not the plan. Oh well. Drywall is done. Painting is done. Flooring is done, tiling and hardwood. Lighting and electrical is done. And the fart couch has a new home.

Also not the plan--the greenhouse freezing. I have seeds in dirt, placed there four days ago. No one has busted out of their shells. The dirt also froze--in the greenhouse--so maybe they're dead. Which sucks. So oh well. Event number 5,698 that hasn't gone the way I wanted or planned. Guess we're buying brassicas.

The winter has been long, freezing, and gray. I feel like I'm back in London, except my boots are always covered in mud. The daffodils are up and have buds, so I know that spring is thinking about coming. But we're only in early February, and I've been here for March when it's freezing, so we still have a while to go.

I've made the seed order, including onions and fingerling potatoes. I met with the chef at a local restaurant who has give me a list of veggies he wants. This is a huge deal for us and could be a major part of our business. So now we just have to grow stuff. Thank goodness for poop, since we didn't use a subsoiler, grow cover crops, or make beds.... No CSA customers yet, but I did talk to a farmer last night about the Smithville market and got an hour and a half of tips. Another soil sample will go out next week, which I should have gotten done months ago. #5,699.

Hector dropped in for a surprise visit, and I took him for a hike to the top of our property. Anna and Beran also came to visit, and we had a grand time hiking and drinking at Dan and Marianna's white trash party. We can't wait for May, for the major family reunion :)

When the whole apartment is done (trim, shelving, etc) I'll do another slideshow. Until then, the fart couch picture is all you get.

What the heck happened to October?!?

Marie arrived on October 8th, and we promptly started hauling water and manure tea at Mike's and hanging drywall. Since then we have:

• mudded
• gone on two hikes to enjoy the last of the leaves
• bought hardwood flooring from a guy in Cookeville
• mudded some more
• gone spelunking with Alison at Indian Grave Point cave
• bought more insulation and a range hood ($10--thanks, golsn)
• sanded the mud
• drank obscene amounts with Marianna and Dan
• attended one evening of the Short Mountain Fall Gathering
• mudded some more
• spent the night in the barn for Marie's birthday
• got stuck behind over 100 four wheelers which were driving the length of Dry Creek
• mudded some more
• toured our neighbor's workshop during the Off The Beaten Path weekend
  
• did a Shittake workshop with a farmer in McMinnville then came home and
• mudded some more

Some members of the Short Mountain communi
ty loaned us a drywall lift, which made hanging the full 12' (foot) sheets on our 10'+ ceilings soooooooooooo much easier. I have no idea how we would have done it without the lift. And just so any of you who haven't worked on drywall before know--you have trim in your house or apartment because drywalling is a bitch. The next time you see a crew of immigrants working on a house, thank your lucky stars you don't make your damn living working drywall.


Marie has been a bad-ass trooper. The first day we worked I made her climb up on the roof with me, which involved stepping on the top step of a ladder and pushing herself up onto the roof, butt first. When we put up the first sheet of drywall she told us she had never used a drill before. The three of us make a good work crew.

We are almost done with the drywall. Next is priming and painting, then floors. We'll be cooking and heating with propane. Dad is almost done with the electricity, and soon we have to dig out our greywater area. Here's another slideshow of our progress.



Rob Harvey finally plowed our field! We waited for two months for rain so the ground would be soft enough to plow, got plowed, and then it rained for two days straight. Now we are waiting for the ground to dry out enough for him to come back and till. Then comes making the beds and hauling as much rotten hay as we can possibly manage to mulch, mulch, mulch. We can still plant garlic and onions if this happens in the next couple days. Tomorrow we're going to help someone plant their garlic. Maybe we'll get some to plant ourselves.

Indian Grave Point was an amazing experience. The ceiling of the first room looks like a giant vagina--very Georgia O-Keefe. It's actually on private property, so it's not protected. There was so much trash. I find it really upsetting that the people from around here don't value their surroundings enough to keep their damn beer cans out of the cave and their four wheelers out of the creeks. The cave was awesome, and I found a small piece of branched coral in a little hole in the floor. It's so humbling to think of time on a geological scale, to consider the way that exact spot has changed since there was an ocean here. The Art Room is where people have made little clay doodles and sculptures, like penises and names and dates. We sat inside and contemplated the complete darkness and silence of the cave. The only noise was an occasional drip from a couple rooms back. We had to wade through THE SEA OF MUD, which I decided to tackle without my shoes. Turns out that was a good decision. Alison almost lost her boots. Awesome cave.

Friday was the worst day I've spent working with Mike. It was freezing cold and starting to rain. The sky was gray and cloudy. We were harvesting, so I couldn't wear gloves, and my fingers were freezing. And you know what--it was still better than a day in the office. Today we harvested and hauled fresh manure to build compost piles. A close second. The view was awesome though.

Contemplating our valley...



















And....

Kevin has become a mountain man!

This morning

I just wanted to write about my morning. Kevin got up and made me oatmeal for breakfast then dropped me off at Mike's. We sat around for a little while picking out seeds and drinking coffee. The morning was cool, and I started weeding a bed while listening to the birds chirping and singing in the trees. There was a breeze, and the sky was streaked with pink clouds. It was absolutely beautiful.

Perfection.

Country life

Kevin is finishing the blocking for our interior walls! I'll post more apartment pictures later. Right now I actually don't have anything to do and have already spent hours in the sun planting garlic, so I decided I would write a post.

This place is so beautiful. When I'm frustrated or tired or both I just look around me at the hills set against the blue sky, and I feel rejuvenated. Money is going faster than originally planned, and I'm not interning with Jeff Poppen yet. I was starting to get stressed out, quaking a little. But then I helped Mike plant peas and broccoli, and the Chinese cabbage I planted for him is growing so well, and I share ideas with him that are helpful, and the dirt calms me down. My neighbor, Julie, brings me the straw she uses as bedding in her chicken coops. Free mulch. A neighbor will be plowing our field this weekend. Our friends volunteered to help us hang and mud the drywall. The help keeps pouring in. I can do this. We can do this. The money isn't gone yet, and we're more than halfway done. This is what I am on this earth to do, and I will do it. We have phosphorus for centuries, and calcium and magnesium, and we have manure.
The barn roof leaks, which is bad news for our apartment, so Kevin and I had to get up there with a bucket of tar to seal the seams and nail holes. As you may or may not know, I am not fond of heights. Our barn is three stories tall at the peak. To get from one side to the other, you have to get a running start, fling yourself at the peak, and haul your ass over. I was terrified at first, but the roof is surprisingly solid, and the view is beautiful. As of the last rain, we had fixed all but two of the big leaks, so we're feeling pretty good about it.

It feels weird to be regarded as an adult. People ask me gardening questions and invite me to work parties, like I actually know what the hell I'm talking about or how to do anything.

Yesterday when Kevin and I were finishing up for the day, I was overcome by how far we have come as a couple. Here we are. He lives in Tennessee, with me and with my parents. He's changed his whole life to come here with me. Five years ago....

I love living here. Our friends, Dan and Marianna, hosted a Hootnanny two weekends ago. They did a pig roast and brewed three kegs of brown ale and a keg of cider. The cider whooped me; I was college drunk. Kevin was a gentleman and rubbed my back while I puked. I managed to keep it out of our tent.

I can't wait to share this place with all of my wonderful friends! Bring on the naked dance party in the woods :-D

Progress!

It feels like years since the last update. We have been running at full throttle, usually twelve hours a day. We did some major deconstruction of the original barn structure before we could even start construction. It took off from there. As of today we have most of the roof plywood up, all the exterior walls, stairs, and the subflooring done. The insulation, drywall, and electrical wiring is all being purchased tomorrow. So we are well on the way! I already know exactly where the couch is going. Kevin is an absolutely amazing worker. He has impressed me every day since we started. I've learned so much watching him and Michael work together. I kept myself busy shovelling ancient cow manure, laying a stone walkway, pulling nails, and stacking wood. Click here for a slideshow of our progress!

Mike, the farmer I've been working with, had us over for a dinner party and introduced us to the son of one of our neighbors--Sam. He's going to be plowing our field, and we'll be planting it in a mix of rye, hairy vetch, clover, and winter wheat to improve the soil before spring. He and his wife want to move back to the creek to raise grass-fed beef. His father's land buts up to our property line. I also got to pick the best blueberries in the world with Mike. I have several quarts frozen and made a few pints of blueberry jam. It was my first jam experience, and I used honey and no pectin. It took several hours to cook down but is so freaking fantastic--worth every moment. I can't think of a better way to spend a morning than stuffing my face with organic blueberries off the bush, listening to the birds sing as the day warms up. Divine. This is how I spend my life here.

The season is changing. About the last day of August I noticed Partner's fur had changed, and the leaves are beginning their transition. Today it occurred to me that the people here in Tennessee aren't the only organisms that like getting undressed and swaying in the wind--the trees are gearing up for a winter long naked party! Except the prudish cedars; they keep their clothes on all year.

I went for a beautiful ride today. We went down to the creek and splashed around and had our first gallop in years. It was exhilarating, and I lost my hat.


Some random highlights since the last post: Kevin and I went hiking, and my ankles got covered in seed ticks. It was horrendous; I had hundreds of itchy red bumps for more than a week. I'm all for biodiversity but I wouldn't mind if ticks went extinct.



The truck caught on fire. Yes, that perfect farm truck. So after a new carburetor to compliment the new transmission with new spark plugs and wires it finally starts every time. I'm knocking on wood as I say this. That's all I'm going to say about the truck.






I thought this post was going to be longer, but that's all I can think of. We're doing it. And it's amazing. I can't wait to cook that first dinner in our kitchen!