The Freckled Farm Soap Company

Tag: Gardening

  • What’s Up Wednesday – April 21st

    We are gearing up to start our farmers market season. We’ve been making lots of soap, cleaning up and reconfiguring our display… and getting excited for a really busy market season! We have been at South of the James through the winter and will continue to be there every Saturday, but this weekend is also the start of the West End Market on Saturdays! Next week starts the Wednesday Aw Shucks market. Then the following week is the big kick off and all five of our 2015 markets will be open! We are so excited to see all of our regulars at the West End Market and bring our goat milk soap to a whole bunch of new people at all of the new markets that we will be vending at this year.

    Tina, our doe who is due to kid in June, is starting to show. Normally she is quite slender but now she has a little stomach that pokes out. We didn’t ultrasound her for confirmation because if she didn’t get pregnant on the first try we weren’t going to breed her again this year. A June kidding is already going to be difficult (with the flies and everything) and I wasn’t willing to put her, or her kids, through a July kidding, so we figured that it would become obvious that she was pregnant and that would be confirmation enough for us. In the last week or so Tina has started to fill out, and considering she has never gone back into heat, we are positive at this point that she is pregnant.

    The Freckled Farm Soap Company - Tina PregnantThe Freckled Farm Soap Company - Tina Pregnant

    The garden continues to grow at a rapid rate. We are barely keeping up and the garden doesn’t exactly look pretty at the moment, the pathways are over grown, and the weeds are catching up with us already, but beds are getting prepped and the plants are making it into the ground and are growing… so that is all that matters. I have been going out through out the day for 15 minutes increments to pull weeds, then we spend 3+ hours in the garden each afternoon. The cabbages are getting huge and the broccoli is chugging along. The potatoes are all over the place and the peas are getting quite tall. One of my big focuses recently has been working on building perennial beds throughout the garden to give the beneficial bugs a permanent home while giving us beds that will provide food year after year without us having to replant. Currently I have a bed (4×25 feet – 100 sq. ft.) half way filled with strawberry transfers from our other garden and from our friend Toni’s garden. We plan to put in a bed of artichokes in the next few weeks, and we will have many perennial flowers, like chamomile and echinacea, scattered everywhere. In the fall I hope to put in a bed of asparagus… my favorite vegetable.

    Well, that’s all for this week! I hope to see all of you out at South of the James and West End Farmers Market this weekend!

  • What’s Up Wednesday – April 15th

    The garden has exploded this week and we are doing everything we can to keep up! The cabbages are getting huge and the broccoli is moving along. The turnip, beet, and radish sprouts are poking through the ground and starting to get their second set of leaves. The potato plants are starting to surface here and there. I am trying to get the strawberries, which have been overgrown with clover because of neglect from a busy end of year last year, prepped and thinned out. I am hoping to have enough transplants to fill a bed in the big garden. I would love to have a whole 100 sqft bed of strawberries… you can never have enough strawberries! My plants that are still in our friend Toni’s greenhouse are getting huge and I am dreaming of fresh tomatoes and peppers! The farm is so beautiful this time of year. The trees are blooming everywhere, the grass is finally filling in, and the mud is finally going away! I love spring so much!

    Last week we started a new afternoon routine where we now eat dinner at 2pm before going out for farm chores. Before this change we were going outside to do afternoon farm chores at 2pm and we weren’t getting inside until almost 7pm to start dinner. We were all starving by then and it was making the last 2 hours of farm chores miserable. Also, the kids were eating these large dinners then immediately going to bed… which is not exactly a healthy habit. Eating an early dinner allowed us to just focus on our chores and we didn’t feel rushed to get in at any certain time. So now we are eating dinner at 2pm, going out for farm chores by 2:30/3pm, we work in the garden until 5pm, then do all the actual farm chores with the animals, milk the does, and feed the babies, and then weed and work in the garden until it gets dark. When we finally come in we have a very light meal, like a salad and/or leftovers, and the kids go to bed. Our morning farm routine has stayed the same in all of this. It has been a huge and interesting adjustment, but so far so good! I might write a full post about the effects it is having on our schedule, and health after we have been in the schedule for a while.

  • What’s Up Wednesday – April 8th

    We are in hyper drive around here. Making soap, making laundry detergent, caring for the farm, working in garden… It’s crazy!!

    We are preparing for Spring Bada-Bing and South of the James this week. If you’ve never been to one of the Craft Mafia Craft shows I am here to tell you that they are fantastic. The quality of vendors is outstanding and they always end up being really big days for us. Then of course there is South of the James, where we are every Saturday. The market is really picking up (not that it was ever really slow) because of the warmer weather. More vendors are coming and a lot more people are showing up! That market is full of life and the vendors are amazing. We plan to sell a lot of goat milk soap this weekend!

    The garden is quickly coming together. We are having to prep beds in the big garden as we are transplanting. We have things that need to go in the ground already and 24 4’x25′ beds that needed to be prepped. Each bed takes around 2-3 hours to do as we break up dirt clumps, pull weeds and even out the dirt. Since this is a new area that has never been gardened before clearing out the weeds and grass is a big chunk of that time. There was just no way we were going to get all the beds prepped and done before the plants needed to go in. So we are going bed by bed, prepping then planting. So far we have a ton of cabbages, potatoes, and broccoli in the ground in the new big garden and potatoes, cabbages, swish chard, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, strawberries, peas, and spinach in the smaller raised bed garden that we have been planting in for years. We still have hundreds upon hundreds of plants that need to go into the big garden, many that are still in our friend’s green house that we are using. It’s hard not to feel incredibly fortunate as you are putting nourishing, healthy foods into the ground. It’s a wonderful feeling.

  • Garden Phase 2 – Soil Prep and Seed Starting

    The garden is moving along! The huge expansion has been a difficult transition, time wise. Which is to be expected when you are growing on 5x more space than in years past. I am desperately trying to get the beds in the new garden prepped, but it’s extremely time consuming. We had to till the beds because the soil was so incredibly compact. With tilling we have to clear out the weeds and mix in some compost and some of the good garden soil that we purchased. I hope that the measures that we are taking to improve the soil will keep us from having to till again. The soil is in a lot better shape than I was expecting it to be though! In that area it was just red clay, so I have been dumping manure and soiled straw on top of the soil for almost a year now and it has really seemed to help.

    We have already planted some of our cooler weather crops. So far we have planted potatoes, peas, radishes, turnips, carrots, lettuce and beets. This is my first time planting potatoes. I find them very intimidating, but we have great people guiding us. I am extremely excited to see how they turn out. Considering the amount of potatoes we go through each year being able to successfully grow them would be a wonderful thing!

    About a month ago I started a bunch of seeds in our friend Toni’s (of Bella Grove Farm) greenhouse. It turned into HUNDREDS of cabbage, tomato, pepper, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, greens, and herb plants. I also planted a few varieties of flowers. I’ve been slowly filtering them home and some will be transplanted into the actual garden within the next week. In the meantime I have been searching for ideas of new ways to cook and preserve all of the veggies that we are planting this year… because I plan to have an abundance, not just enough to get by!

    I am so excited to see the garden come together.

    Phase 2 - The Freckled Farm

  • Gardening: Stage 1 – Planning

    Our garden is going to be quite an undertaking this year. In the past we have filled 12 raised beds with plants, but it has never been enough to last us much past fall. We would have things like green beans that we could get a year supply of, but when it came to everything else we would burn through it quite quickly. Few things made it to the freezer like planned. I would get enough tomatoes for all of my tomato sandwiches and salads throughout the summer and sauces for spaghetti and pizza for about two months. Everything else pretty much feeds us through spring and summer. That isn’t enough for me! I want to have enough canned and frozen to get us through the year. The biggest change this year, that will hopefully make this goal a reality, is the fact that we have a new quarter of an acre that will be additional garden space. Last year we added three acres of land to our farm from the property next to us. Most of that currently is or will be in the future, used for the goats, but I left a quarter acre opened for our new garden.

    Taking on a new garden of this size requires a lot of planning. The ground is hard red clay that is very common to this area of Goochland. I have been worried about growing anything in it. For the last six months or more I have been dumping the soiled straw and llama manure from the daily muckings, covering the entire quarter of an acre. We plan to plow (just this once) because the ground is so not at all workable.

    This is the time of year for garden planning. Ordering seeds, deciding on the number of plants that will be planted, mapping out where they will go, and figuring out planting times. I spent time with my lovely friend Toni from Bella Grove Farms in Goochland VA back in early February. She spent the better part of the day giving me advice and packing me up seeds that she had saved from previous years. Between those seeds, seeds I had leftover from the last two years, and the ones I purchased from Johnny’s Selected Seeds I’m ready! In the coming weeks things should start to come together. Now I am working on actually mapping out the garden space and planning of number of plants. I am beyond ready for Spring! It’s almost here!

    Seed Planning

     

     

     

  • 365 Project – January

    Have you been following our 365 project on Instagram (@Thefreckledfarm)? We have been posting at least one photo a day from the farm. If you aren’t following us you might want to consider it… come March there will be a ton of pictures of baby goats!

    Don’t have Instagram? At the end of each month we will be posting a round-up of the pictures that we posted throughout the month. Below are all the pictures from January. Enjoy!

    January 365 Project - Farming - The Freckled Farm Soap Company

  • What’s up Wednesday – 3/5

    The girls are so close to having their babies! We are still two weeks from their due dates, but Hillary’s ligaments are disappearing, which is a sign that labor is on it’s way. Although, it doesn’t necessarily mean she won’t reach or exceed her due date. It just lets you know that their bodies are in preparation mode. Tina’s ligaments are still very tight. Monday night the temperatures were in the low single digits and I was convinced with our luck that Hillary would go into labor at the coldest possible time, and we would have baby goats living in our house! Luckily that didn’t happen, but I’m keeping a close eye on her. Hopefully this week’s snow storm is the last, so we don’t have to worry about having babies in the snow anymore. I am really hoping they wait until after this weekend, since we will be at the Augusta show Saturday and Sunday.

    The chicks will be on their way Monday! We are hoping they will get here by Tuesday, but it will more than likely be Wednesday. Since I write these posts on Tuesday night you probably won’t hear anything about the chicks until later in the week or the week after. I promise to include pictures! Breckin is so excited. He is old enough to handle and help with the chicks this time around. Last time he was two and was really only old enough to hold them for a second, and I was so worried that he would put his hands in his mouth before washing them that I made myself a nervous wreck. I’ve lightened up a bit.

    This past weekend wasn’t as productive as the weekend before, but we still got a fair amount done. The chicken coop went up in the pasture, and just as expected the goats spent a good amount of time chewing on the corners. We started working on the solar, but had some questions about the installation, so that project was stalled. Kevin built the new raised beds in the garden, and he finished the walls of the birthing pin. I cleaned up an area in the shed for the chicks and cleaned up the kennel that will be their brooder. At some point this week, when I can get out of the driveway, I need to go pick up the chick food and electrolytes.

    You may have noticed that I missed the Makeover Monday this past Monday. It’s been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to test out the recipe that I did this month. I am working on it now so the post will be going up next Monday! Sorry for the delay.

    So, another productive week down! Here’s hoping for another… and maybe some nice weather with it.

  • Seeds!

    It’s one of my favorite times of year… when the seed catalogs start coming in the mail. The kids and I love looking through them. Not only is it excited to dream and plan for spring in the dead of winter, but they also contain great lessons for children. I thought I would take the time to share some of our favorite seed catalogs, where we like to order our seeds, and what the kids and I like to do with the catalogs when we are done using them for their intended purpose.

    Seed PacketsI have gotten my fair share of seed catalogs and a few have always stood out among the others. While all seed catalogs contain pretty images of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and sometimes trees, the ones I picked are also full of information that helps you grow as a gardener.

    1. Baker’s Creek – I love this catalog, although I have never ordered seeds from it. The seeds they offer are rare heirloom, and while I feel far more confident in my green thumb than I used to I still don’t think I’m ready to start playing with rare seeds just yet. Either way though the catalog is amazing. It’s full of great information and absolutely beautiful photographs.
    2. Botanical Interests – This catalog is full of information. It doesn’t have photographs, the plants are drawn, but Breckin still enjoys looking at it… especially since this is the catalog that we order from and he gets to go through and circle all of the seed varieties that he wants to grow.
    3. Jonny’s Selected Seeds – We haven’t received this catalog yet, I’m still waiting for it to come in the mail, but it came very highly recommended from another farmer friend. I was told it contained the best, most throughout, information.

    We get our seeds from two places:

    1. Botanical Interests, the seed catalog that I listed above is where we have bought our seeds the last few years. We have had great luck with the seeds and they have a wonderful selection. They are GMO free and in many cases organic and/or heirloom.
    2. This year we joined Mike the Gardener’s Seed of the Month Club. Breckin has a true obsession with gardening and seeds (he saves the seeds from the fruits and veggies he eats), and he absolutely loves getting the seeds in the mail each month. The first month you get eight seed packets, and every month there after you get 4 packets. It’s a great lesson each month since he has to learn about the plants we receive, how to grow them, and how we can use them. The seeds are open pollinated, heirloom varieties and are GMO free. The membership is very affordable and a lot of fun! If you become a member of the seed of the month club please use our referral code: W9LOFCDV3Q. It will extend our membership for free! Breckin will be very appreciative!  

    Seed catalog activities: There are an endless number of activities that you can do with your seed catalogs when you are done planning your garden and purchasing your seeds.

    1. Go through the catalog talking about the different fruits and vegetables, what sort of vitamins they contain, and how those vitamins help your body. Breckin loves to know how foods help him grow. Quite often it’s the only way we can get him to eat those foods.
    2. Have your child practice their cutting skills by cutting the different photographs out of the catalog with safety scissors.
    3. Cut the photographs out of the catalog and then have your child separate them into fruits, veggies, and flowers. It’s a great way for your child to learn the difference between a fruit and a vegetable.
    4. Cut the individual fruits and vegetables out of the catalog and make a rainbow with the different colors.
    5. Use the photographs from the seed catalogs and find other foods from different magazines. Use these photographs to teach about the different food groups.
    6. Use the photographs to make a paper garden
    7. Make a food collage

  • Getting to Know The Freckled Farm – Breckin

    Want to know more about the farmers, animals, and buildings on The Freckled Farm? Over the next few months I will introduce you to a different part of The Freckled Farm every Friday. This week you have a chance to get to know Breckin!

    Breckin and ChickensThis photograph was taken a year ago, but is still one of my favorite Breckin “farm” pictures.

    Breckin, our oldest (3 years), is a true farm kid. His main job around the farm, aside from being a kid, is to help care for the animals, specifically the chickens. One of my favorite parts of the day is watching Breckin put the chickens back into the coop before we go in for the evening. We have trained the chickens to respond to a specific call (“Coop Coop!”), when they hear the call they come running from all corners of the farm. They hop in the coop and Breckin spreads black oil sunflower seeds on the coop floor for them. I love to hear him walking through the yard calling them as he shakes his cup of seeds. He calls them by name if they are being slow and counts them before closing them up for the night.

    Breckin is also a great help in the garden. He will help me pull weeds, but I have to watch him closely because sometimes he will get ahead of himself and start pulling everything in sight. He loves to water the plants and watching as they grow (he even measures the plants). Many veggies he wont eat unless they come out of our garden, like cucumbers.

    Breckin has been known to create mud puddles to play in, to strip down to his underwear in order to run through the hose, to build with any material he can get his hands on. He is so proud of his farm, his animals, and his family. He is the best big brother and son of all time, and he is so incredibly loved.

    The Freckled Farm - Breckin

    The Freckled Farm Soap Company makes handmade goat milk soaps. Our body care products are all natural and made with love. For more information about our products and to read more about the farm please visit our website: www.thefreckledfarmsoapcompany.com

  • Gardening Lessons I Have Learned This Year… so far

    This was our first year of having a full garden on The Freckled Farm. The year that we bought the property we tried to plant one, but failed miserably. We went into the project with little knowledge about soil, plants, timing… anything gardening really. Little sprouts came up, then died off from overall neglect. Over the next few years we did select herbs and other plants with varied degrees of success. I wasn’t willing to undergo the big project again while dealing with pregnancies and newborns, so we waited until this year. The season isn’t even over yet and I have learned so much…

    The Freckled Farm - Garden

    We started setting up the fencing for our garden last fall, but weren’t able to finish it. We finished the fencing and built 5 beds late winter, then filled the beds with compost, manure (mostly from the llamas), and top soil. I ordered non-gmo and organic seeds from Botanical Interests, although we did end up with a few nursery started plants in the garden.

    1. Start with the best – We started by purchasing the bagged topsoil from Southern States, but it was getting expensive so we decided to go with the bulk dirt that they scoop into the back of your truck from one of those dirt and gravel places to finish off the remaining beds. The dirt wasn’t great quality, I’m sure we could have found better, but I thought I would be able to improve the quality if the dirt with the compost and manure. After working with it for a few weeks before planting it improved quite a bit, but I can’t help to think it would have been less work and our plants would have been even healthier if I started out with better soil. So the lesson here – If you are using raised beds start with a good base. Don’t just get the cheapest available in hopes of improving it. 
    2. Don’t give up, even if looks like it’s over – I decided to try growing my tomato plants from seed this year. I had been warned many times over about how difficult it was and that I should not beat myself up if I ended up resorting to nursery started plants. I started a set and killed them off a few weeks later. I started again and had much stronger, healthier plants. I put them in the garden a week past the average last frost date, but as luck would have it we had one last frost. We covered them up to protected them from the frost, but they still wilted away over the next week. That weekend we went and purchased tomato plants from a local nursery. I was feeling defeated as I pulled out all of the almost dead plants to make room for the new ones. I left one of the plants I started from seed because I had one less purchased plants than I did seed plants… I figured I would see what came of it. As the new plants grew, so did the seed plant. Now it’s just as big as the others and producing wonderfully. I wish I had kept the other plants. I had planted varieties that I was really excited about.
    3. Don’t over water – This should be a given, but I got a little over excited with my seedlings and killed off my first set of tomatoes and onions.
    4. Raised beds are awesome – I am so glad we decided on raised beds. It’s a bit of a cost up front, and you have less space than you would otherwise, but it’s been well worth it. It’s been great for weed control and you get control of the quality of the soil put in the beds rather than trying to correct the soil you have… in our case red clay.
    5. Vine plants are going to sprawl… a lot – I thought I had given the “sprawling” plants lots of room, but apparently I was wrong. The beans continue to grow and are all out of lattice (I managed to get them to move over to the fence), the cucumbers are all over the place, and don’t get me started on the watermelon. Next year I am planning to have all of the sprawling plants vertical, not just the beans, and I may plant less plants.
    6. Routine is key – The issue last time we tried a full garden was that I would just forget about the garden. Life would happen and I would miss days of weeding and pest control. I wouldn’t check everyday to see if the garden needed water and didn’t think about how the weather was effecting my plants. Now that the farm is up and running I already have an outdoors routine to care for the animals. I just added the garden into the routine and it is flourishing because of that.

    I think I have found my green thumb! It’s a great feeling. I love going out to the garden and assessing the changes that happened since the day before. Plants I would have never thought I could grow successfully are flurishing. We started small with 5 beds this year but have big plans to expand by 6 more beds next year. One day I hope to live off our garden. That dream seems a lot more possible after this year

     

    The Freckled Farm Soap Company makes handmade goat milk soaps. Our body care products are all natural and made with love. For more information about our products and to read more about the farm please visit our website: www.thefreckledfarmsoapcompany.com