Tag: gardening

Schrodinger’s Strawberries

~ Crystal Sands ~ 3 Comments

I find myself pacing sometimes and thinking about the strawberry beds.

We haven’t uncovered them yet. It feels like it is so very much time to do so today, as it was 67 degrees, but we have a freeze coming in a few days. Ron says we will uncover them the day after. In the meantime, I have way too much anxiety over the strawberries.

Last year, after a fall planting the year before, the strawberries didn’t make it through the winter. Ron thinks he may have covered them too soon. I was devastated. Strawberries are one of my reasons for living. I am so scared he’s leaving them covered too long, but that freeze…

I know it seems dramatic, but last summer without strawberries was a heartbreak. You simply cannot find organic u-pick strawberries within an hour of where we live in Maine, and even the ones that are a couple of hours away are few and far between. We found an amazing farm outside of Belfast that had organic berries, but there was literally a line of people waiting for them to open on the few days they had berries available. We managed to get enough berries to make one small batch of strawberry jam, which I shared with people I love and then had one jar for myself. I told Ron if we wanted a farm product that might actually make some money, organic strawberries would be the way to go, but right now, I just want our three beds of berries to live and keep us supplied.

Since I finally managed to figure out sourdough bread, I have been longing for strawberry jam. To me, sourdough toast desperately needs strawberry jam. Thankfully, I found a lovely strawberry jam made in Maine from Stonewall Kitchen. It’s delicious but, of course, it’s not organic, which I prefer, especially for strawberries, because strawberries are notorious for hanging onto pesticide residue–it’s all those seeds.

So I am hopeful but scared about our strawberries this year–and doing a lot of pacing and thinking. I cannot go another year without strawberries. I have been so down about the world. I know you probably have been too, so we gotta have the little things like our strawberries.

I am afraid to go look because, if I go look and the plants are dead, well, I don’t know what I’m going to do. So, right now, the strawberries may be alive. Please cross your fingers for me. I’ll keep you posted!

And what do you have that keeps you going right now, that brings you a bit of joy?

Growing a Grocery Store Garden

~ Crystal Sands ~ 5 Comments

There are so many reasons to grow a garden to help replace your trips to the grocery store—more delicious food, cost savings, self-sufficiency, and the joy of growing food to feed yourself and your family. However, I argue that right now may be one of the most important times in most of our lives to plan and start a garden. 

If you live in the north like we do, now is the time to get your seeds and start your seedlings. If you live in the south, you have such a long growing season that there is still time to get started, even if your friends and neighbors got started a month or so ago. 

You may have been hearing about the consequences of the war in Iran and what it means for the price and supply of oil and gas, but there is another important resource that flows through the now mostly closed Strait of Hormuz—fertilizer. 

Apparently, right now about 25 percent of the fertilizer the United States would normally have for spring planting for our agricultural system is stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. Many experts are pointing out that this lack of fertilizer, coupled with high gasoline prices, is going to create a perfect storm for really high food prices and potential food shortages this fall. 

So, yeah, let’s plant some gardens this spring!

Of course, when planning and planting your garden, you will want to think about some foods you can grow that you can use to replace some of your trips to the grocery store. We have been growing a grocery store garden for more than a decade, and we have learned some important lessons along the way about how to grow as much food as possible as efficiently as possible.

1. You can grow a good amount of food in small spaces, but you are going to need as much space as you can manage to really grow so food. If you have a yard, dig up part of it now or add raised beds asap. You do not need grass, but you might need potatoes and carrots. The first part of your planning involves figuring out what space you have, how to grow vertical in small spaces, how much sunlight you can get in your space, and how you will get water to your plants. Soil is also a factor, but we were able to grow some basic foods even before our soil was in good shape.

This is a great resource on vertical planting on a budget that should be super helpful. 

2. The next thing you want to think about is what you and your family will eat combined with what will grow well in the space you have. You will want to think about things like potatoes, carrots, green beans—sturdy foods that grow easily. If your family will eat things like potatoes, plant them. They grow well and can grow in everything from your yard to trash cans to straw bales.  

3. You will also want to think about foods that are easy to preserve. Because it looks like the fall and winter might be the toughest times for grocery prices, you want to make sure your garden is able to feed you long after growing season is over. Potatoes can store for a long time in a dark bag in a cold room in your basement if you leave the dirt on them. Carrots can also last for a couple months in the refrigerator if you leave the dirt on them. Green beans can be frozen if you do not know how to pressure can. There are also winter squashes that can store well into the winter if you and your family enjoy them. They can be baked, made into soups, etc. 

4. Unless you already have planted berries or fruit trees, you will not have time to grow fruits before this fall, but there is a good chance that you live near apple orchards where you can pick your own apples. A lot of orchards will also have u-pick pears, peaches, berries, and cherries, and if you shop around, you can find farms that offer really good deals if you are able to pick in a lot. You do not need a pressure canner to can fruits—just canning jars and a big pot will do. 

You can also save some varieties of apples and pears for months in cold, dark rooms (basements are perfect) just wrapped in newspapers. 

5. In addition to the sturdy things that will store long term, I highly recommend greens and tomatoes. With the summers getting so long here in Maine, we were able to keep spinach and tomatoes going well into the fall last year. Plus, if you feel ambitious, the tomatoes can become sauce with some onions and peppers added. We live on this spaghetti sauce from our garden all year. 

If you are just getting started with growing your own food or just want to chat about strategies for processing and storing food, I am going to be hosting a Zoom session on Sunday morning, March 29, at 11:00 AM ET. I’ll talk a bit about what we do to prepare a lot of food for the year. You don’t have to register. Just use the link and show up. As long as one or two people are there, we’ll hang out and talk about how to grow more of your food. 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86869843531?pwd=P9NcJQDsI5WrqPvwbZnpvHFDfbO4x6.1

photo credit: Anna Zagrebichna, Unsplash

An Update in Pictures

~ Crystal Sands ~ Leave a comment

I have been very busy with the animals. Cynthia passed away last week, and both Jeremiah and I were devastated. On Halloween, we went to Petco and purchased Jeremiah a new girl, but he was very upset about it. It took me a week, but Jeremiah and the new girl (named Samhain because that’s when we got her) are now living happily. I will have to share pictures and tell her story soon because Samhain is beautiful and is the same color as Jeremiah, even though she is a fancy mouse. I thought all fancy mice were white. Samhain looks like a cross between a mouse and a teddy bear.

Also, in the fall, male ducks always get too frisky, and our male duck, Spyro, injured Anna Maria pretty badly. It has been an epic few weeks of my working daily to keep Anna Maria safe and separate and healing. I am happy to report that she has healed and is able to sleep with the flock again. As you may remember, Anna Maria hates me on a regular day, but when she’s injured, she’s just on the edge and hates me extra.

Because I have also been sick due to a terrible flare of my autoimmune struggles, I was starting to wonder if I still had it in me to care for Anna Maria. But we did it! I am now back to just having to help her stay with the flock when she loses everyone because she’s blind. Just this morning, I picked her up when she got caught up in the turkeys and carried her to the rest of the ducks.

I held her like a baby over my shoulder and said, “I know you hate me, but I will love you until the day I die.” She can’t have too much longer in this world. She is moving more slowly and getting lost all the time. There must be something I am supposed to learn from my service to her. Maybe it’s just service. I am weary though. Thankfully, she is better again now.

And despite the challenges this fall, it has been a lovely harvest season. The baby chickens are good for my soul, and I love getting to know them. Ron has harvested so much good food from the garden. I made a ton of apple butter, finally mastered the cherry pie thanks to a cheat, and learned how to make homemade English muffins. It is more than a little joyful watching that dough puff up in the skillet.

I took some pictures of the baby chickens today, so I thought I would share an update of them along with a few pictures from around here. Wait until you see one of the male turkeys. Those turkeys are magnificent creatures!

This is my favorite baby. She is a Welsummer like our dear Rooster was. She lets me hold her still. When she was little, she was the only one who would come to me. I have no name for her yet. It has to be the best name. I wish to honor Rooster in some way, but that poor boy did not have a good name. Please help with ideas!
This is Bernice. She is the tiniest of all of the Delaware chickens we have, and she is so sweet. She likes to be wild and free though and will not let me hold her very much.
This is Pingvin. She is named for the Swedish word for penguin because she had a creamy white face when she was a baby and looked like a penguin. I spent the spring learning a little bit of Swedish. The main words that stuck were the words for bread, strawberry, thank you, you’re welcome, and penguin.
And this is Pumpkin, an old girl who came to visit with me while I took baby pictures this morning. She is about 7 years old and is the hen who disappeared for weeks and returned squawking outside our bedroom window one night in the middle of the night. Oh, I wish she could tell me her stories! She is just getting over a molt, so she looks a little worse for wear right now. What a magnificent girl she is!
These are the English muffins I learned how to make. They were inconsistent in thickness but consistent in their yumminess.
And look at this cauliflower harvest last week! I told Ron that October and November must be cauliflower’s favorite months. I have never seen him grow more beautiful cauliflower.
This beautiful boy shows out like this all the time. All three boys do. I learned they will not mate unless the females submit and allow it. So far, the hens seem like they won’t be ready until next spring, so the boys just walk around showing off like 80% of the day. I keep asking them if they get tired of it. I guess they just do not. What a beautiful boy! I have to write more about the turkeys. It’s hard though because they deserve much time and effort. I’ll just share this: Their heads change colors depending upon their mood. They have red, blue, white, and colors in between!
We had a banner harvest this year. We put up more food than ever, and the onions were so gorgeous this year. We keep learning a little more each year about how to put by food. The onions have been a staple for years, but they were so beautiful I had to share a picture of them in our cold room.
And definitely not least, this is the cherry pie I made. I cheated. I used the new Bonne Maman cherry pie filling, and now I can finally make a cherry pie. It’s still not as good as my grandmother’s though. Oh, to have her recipes!

Still here…

~ Crystal Sands ~ 3 Comments

It has been nearly a moon since I have written. Though I am full of stories to tell, it has been a busy summer. Summers are always busy, but I am moving far more slowly than I used to. I promised myself that I would finish the summer issue of the journal before I did anything else Farmer-ish. I am so happy to report that I finally finished the Summer 2025 issue.

Whew!

I can’t tell all my stories tonight–and I have so many turkey stories–but I wanted to share tidbits of stories and just let you know I am still here.

I’ll start with the turkeys. The turkeys are getting so big. And I am still in love with them. The cutest part is that Ron is in love with them too. In fact, I think he loves them more. I think it is also safe to say that we are not going to have turkey this Thanksgiving.

The chickens are hanging in there despite the heat. I thought we were surely going to lose Rooster a couple of weeks ago. He is so frail, but he seems to love life so much that he is hanging on. Circe, Vivaldi, and Penelope are all broody, but I am not letting them raise any babies. I am still trying to naturally downsize our flock. I miss babies though, and Clara has been broody most of the summer. She’s taking a break right now, but she has been broody since late May. I have fallen in love with her because she’s so sweet. If she goes broody next year, I am going to her hatch some eggs.

It’s raspberry season right now, and we have an abundance. I am t thankful. We had no strawberries this year and had to travel afar to find organic strawberries and we barely managed to get some. The demand for organic strawberries is very, very high apparently. I hope we get strawberries next year, and I am of the mind that we should plant more berries and open an organic u-pick. Anyway, I am glad the raspberries are being generous.

So far, we have had greens, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, and kohlrabi from the garden. We eat from the garden every single night, and I am thankful because buying organic food at the grocery store seems to be running me about $75 per grocery bag right now. That’s wild, right? Still, it seems it’s just going to get worse.

Boudica is doing well and has been working hard. Bairre has been enjoying the window-unit air conditioners Ron installed. Sometimes, he goes outside but only for a few minutes. Today, I actually timed him. He was outside for three minutes before he was at the door demanding to be let back in.

I got a new job. I will write more about that later, but I am kind of hopeful that I might actually have more time to spend on Farmer-ish very soon. I hope so. I have missed it, and it was so much fun finishing up the summer issue of the journal.

I was also in a car accident yesterday. Thankfully, it wasn’t terrible, but I am in some pain. Just lots of soreness. Also, thankfully, it wasn’t my fault. It’s going to be a giant pain getting my car fixed though.

I hope you are all doing well. I promise some fantastic turkey stories soon. I have no words for how shocked I am at the magnificence of these birds!

I know you’re tired, but…

~ Crystal Sands ~ 12 Comments

I have forever been an idealist. I think it’s what kept me going, made me resilient, in my childhood. After every beating, I would sit in a corner or in my closet and tell myself how much better things would be when I grew up. How I would be a better parent to my children. How I would be kinder, better, smarter. My idealism gave me hope, and my hope worked.

But my hope and idealism led to disillusionment later in my life. I had always thought that, since people are inherently good (and I still believe most people are), given the right circumstances–equality, education, hope–cultures, societies, and governments could be good.

I remember when I started to realize we were on our own, that there wasn’t a society or government that was going to be concerned about everyone’s well being. It was when we had Paul LePage as governor here in Maine. He had made heavy cuts to social services. And there was a little girl who was being abused by her parents. And her teachers reported it to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services over and over. But social services was backlogged. The little girl died. She was 10 years old, and I couldn’t stop crying for her or for the state of the world.

We are on our own. And we have to take care of each other.

One of my biggest realizations of this truth came from my understanding of the food system. The American food system is literally poisoning us. So we started growing our own food. Initially, I think we did it for our two children. We wanted them to eat better, but I realized recently, that it was for us as well. My little brother is dying, and I have learned that our health care system is failing in a way I could not have imagined. I have to take care of my body with exercise and good food because I have to do everything I can keep myself out of the health care system that exists for people in my income bracket. The doctors are burned out. The nurses are exhausted. It’s very difficult to get help if you need it.

Ron and I resist these systems as much as we can by growing food, canning food, freezing food, raising chickens, staying up late to process the beans because I had to work that day but the beans will go bad, Ron getting up early to water by hand so as to not waste water but keep the plants going. It’s all our act of resistance. It’s us realizing we are so much on our own that we cannot even trust the food at the grocery store.

We are on our own. And we have to take care of each other.

Why is our health care system broken? Why is our food system broken? I work in education. Let me tell you that our education system is definitely broken. Why is this?

I believe–no, I know–it comes down to the fact that there is an oligarchy in our country, and they are squeezing every last bit from us because we are nothing to them. They will poison us with fake food and then deny our health insurance claims when we are sick. And they know climate change is going to make things so much worse. And they know, there are so many of us and that, when resources get scarce, we might, might, might, start looking at the people hoarding the resources.

So they make us fight each other. They make sure we do not see our common ground. They want to make sure we hate each other. They want to take away love for each other. Our kindness. They do this by keeping us outraged and scared. It works so well.

I know you are tired. I am so, so tired.

We are in for challenging times, I think, especially if you do not agree with the party in power. Especially if you are able to see the truth, can see past the circus to what is really going on.

Look away if you need to. Look if you need to. Rest if you need to. Resistance comes in many forms.

It comes in the form of love, of taking care of each other, of remembering that we all have more in common that we do not. It comes in the form of growing food, raising chickens, supporting a small farm, buying gifts from local makers, reading books instead of social media posts, coming together for a concert in a barn, repairing that sweater instead of buying a new one, keeping your old phone, writing a poem, or buying jam from a local farm stand. If we can build a strong local economy, we won’t need theirs so much.

I know you are tired, but find your strength to love, to be open, to reach out to your neighbors, to give them some eggs, to celebrate together with music, to find community, even if it’s small. Some of these things are hard for the introverted, like myself, but I can see that we are on our own and that all we have are each other.

But, really, that’s a lot.

I know you are tired. Keep growing and making and loving those around you. We just have to pay enough attention to keep ourselves aware. I mean, keep that bird flu on your radar. Or don’t. I’ll keep it on mine and keep you posted.

History is full of hard times and resilient people. There are more of us than there are of them. Don’t let them divide us. Forgive those with good hearts who were led by lies because they were struggling. When we struggle, it’s easy to be taken advantage of.

I know you are tired. Please know I love you, all of you, and if I can help with advice on a sick chicken or the best ways to eat seasonally, let me know.

Sending light on this tough day. Let it not be as tough as I think it might be. That’s my prayer.

photo credit: Dyu-Ha, Unsplash

A Season of Harvest in Pictures

~ Crystal Sands ~ 4 Comments

December 2 is definitely the latest we have ever harvested anything, but last night, Ron pulled the last of the carrots from the ground. They were so delicious. We learned to always let your carrots stay in the ground until after the first few frosts. The frost does good things to the sugars in the carrots, and the taste is so sweet.

It seems like forever ago that we started this whole process, and I was so tired this summer and fall from the long COVID that I didn’t post as many pictures as I normally do. With that in mind, I decided to go through all of my photos from the summer and fall and show you what we do around here–and how we eat. There are so many more things to share, but I think this gives you a pretty good idea.

Harvest starts in May, and this year, well, it went until December. Both last night and tonight, we had carrots with dinner. They were magnificent.

It always starts with the rhubarb. I make rhubarb cakes, muffins, and jelly. I didn’t even get to share a single jar of this jelly. I made five jars, and Ron had eaten it all within two weeks. I have to make more next year, but rhubarb jelly is a bit more labor intensive–at least if you want pink. Our rhubarb is not super pink, so I have had to learn some strategies for picking and processing to get more of the pink color.
The first greens! And that’s Saint Saens in the background. That sweet girl will be seven this spring. She really loves the greens. I did share some after this photo.
The green beans did pretty well this year, and we froze a record number of quarts. I have not yet been brave enough to try to can them, but I must try next summer. Also, our neighbor gave us several old harvest baskets years ago, and we use those things all the time. I would love to get a few more.
One of my favorite meals every summer is the organic ramen. When the cabbage and onions are ready (usually we have carrots at this time too, but they were late), I boil duck eggs and warm up some organic ramen. It’s a quick, easy dinner–and it’s pretty!
These were the first raspberries of the season!
Ron planted purple cauliflower this year. I mean, just look at that!
We always have a couple of months between running out of potatoes from last year and the new potatoes of the current year coming to harvest. Every year, when we eat the potatoes, those first meals are so precious to me. I don’t buy potatoes. I just wait until the next crop is ready. It really makes you appreciate good potatoes.
When the blueberries are ripe, I am so excited to put them in oatmeal in the mornings. We all love oatmeal with blueberries around here. This year, the birds ate almost all of our blueberries, so Ron and I spent two days picking at a local farm that has really good prices for beautiful berries. We stocked up and still have gallons of frozen blueberries that we will eat all winter. This summer, on one hot and miserable day of picking (the heat makes long COVID symptoms worse), I said to Ron, “We are the ants, aren’t we?” He agreed that we are, indeed, the ants.
I just had to share this sunflower because neither Ron nor myself planted it. A bird or a squirrel planted it in a flower pot on our deck, and I treasured it. So did this awesome bumble bee.
We had melons this year! They were fantastic! When Ron first tried to grow melons about 10 years ago, it wasn’t hot enough. The Maine summers are plenty hot now.
It was a banner year for tomatoes, and we put up a record number of jars of pizza and spaghetti sauce. This is some of the pizza sauce. Each one of these jars contains enough sauce for two pizzas. We use the tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic from the garden to make this sauce. It is slow food that is just so good.
We eat pizzas all fall using vegetables from the garden. This one has onions, peppers, and tomatoes from the garden, and, of course, we make the sauce from the garden too.
Ron chose a hybrid corn this year, so I couldn’t seed save; it was so good it was worth it though. It was a really good year for the corn.
I love apple season. We do not grow our own apples, but we found a local apple orchard with very good prices for pick-your-own, and drops are crazy cheap–and still so good. We load up on apples every fall. We always freeze many gallons of apples, but this year, I started putting up applesauce in jars. I put up eight large jars. They are already gone. My teen son stays up late and, apparently, ate a lot of applesauce this year. I would wake up every other morning or so and find another jar had been opened. Truly, there is nothing like homemade applesauce, right?
Right around apple time is also grape time. We have our own grape vines, and Ron built a beautiful arbor for them this fall. However, we have no grapes yet. Thankfully, I have the kindest neighbor who always shares her grapes with me, and I always make grape jelly. Homemade grape jelly is nothing like the store grape jelly. It’s so tart and so yummy!
Ron plants a fall round of greens each year, so we can have greens when the tomatoes are ripe. This beautiful salad as greens, beets, carrots, peppers, and tomatoes from the garden–and walnuts and dried cranberries from the grocery store.
Our pear trees had a good year. I canned 15 large jars of pears from our trees. We planted two more pear trees this spring, but only one really started to take off. Aren’t pears so beautiful?
I love cranberry beans. A few years ago, we had a bumper crop and haven’t grown any in several years. But Ron planted some this year in his Three Sisters garden, and they are so beautiful. I was glad they were back this year.
We always plant three varieties of carrots–Yellowstone, Scarlet Nantes, and Oxhearts. These are the Oxhearts, and they are great for rocky soils like we have here in Maine.

Beautiful Beans

~ Crystal Sands ~ Leave a comment

I can just write a little tonight, but I wanted to share one of my favorite photos from my seed-saving work this fall. Look at this bowl of green beans! Have you ever seen anything more lovely? Well, maybe you have, but these beans have to be up there.

I have the best story about these seeds. It was the end of the harvest season, and I had been working so hard to seed save so many things. I am not super skilled at some of the smaller seeds, so I had some trial and error. I was determined though and worked diligently all fall to save as many seeds and as many varieties as I could. I just had this strong feeling all fall that it was important this year to really step up my seed-saving game. I wanted enough for us and enough to share.

Green beans are the easiest to save and, somehow, I nearly forgot them. The night before our first big freeze, I suddenly woke up from sleeping and remembered I had not saved the green beans.

“There’s time in the morning,” I told myself as I went back to sleep, thankful I had not forgotten.

The next morning, when I got up to collect these seeds, there weren’t as many as I had hoped because I waited so long, but I was in awe of these beautiful beans I was able to collect. What a gift?

Green beans are the food that made me fall in love with garnering and growing food. They are magic, just like in the folktale–only all of them are magic. You plant one little bean and get all of that food. What is more magic than that?

And these look magic, don’t you think?

Late Fall

~ Crystal Sands ~ 2 Comments

I realize it is not really “late” fall. But I am looking out the window this morning at my maple tree friend, and all of her leaves are gone. Only the oaks still have their leaves. The yard is full of leaves, and the chickens are so happy. The love digging through the leaves.

It has been a strange fall in many ways. The weather has been quite hot by Mainer standards most of the time, with a swing into the chilly every now and again. Today, it is chilly. I think this one might stick. Ron has the basement full of wood and wood stacked near the garage for this coming winter. He is now on a mission to find wood for the coming years, and it seems like his work in that area never ends. We have had our wood stove since 2020, and so far, a storm brings down some tree some where every year in order to provide enough wood for the following year. It could be, however, that the strong winds have cleared out all they are going to clear out, so Ron is wondering if maybe we will have to buy wood to heat our home next year. We’ll see though. Who knows what the winter storms might do.

The chickens have mostly stopped laying. We are getting just three to five eggs per day, and we have feathers everywhere from the molt. I got this picture of Ruby the other day because she looks so cute. She’s still being her Ruby self. She’s very busy and still very vocal. The ducks had completely stopped laying last week, at least I thought. This morning, there was a single egg in the duck house. I was so happy because duck eggs are my favorite. Our plan is that we will not get ducks again after our flock passes away over time, but it will be tough to never have duck eggs again. We talked about how we could just buy some, but I have not seen anyone in our area who raises organic duck eggs.

I have been really busy wrapping up fall classes and processing more food from the garden. The long summer meant an epic tomato crop. I think I have made enough sauce for two years. I was gifted some organic grapes and made grape jelly. Ron planted a fall crop of greens, so today, I will be gathering spinach and lettuce and bagging it up to have it for just a little longer. A big freeze is coming tomorrow night. We have had a couple of light frosts, but the greens can handle that. Ron says they may not handle this one though, at least not the varieties he has planted. I guess it really is late fall.

Mostly, things are going well here on the homestead. Boudica and Bairre, our Pyrenees are busy and healthy. It’s cool enough that we can take them for walks every evening now. In fact, if Bairre doesn’t get a walk, he pouts and refuses to eat, so we are sure to walk. The evenings are just gorgeous, and the walks are good for my soul.

The only bad news is that after over a year with no rats, they are back. I just saw one last night, as I was getting the chicken food to put up for the night. Just a few weeks ago, I was feeling a little smug, thinking that being so neat and careful with the chicken feed has really worked to keep the rats away, but then I remembered that there is a garden full of food, our neighbor’s compost exists, and we had owls living right by the house last fall. I thought it was probably really just a matter of luck that we had no rats. I guess that was right. I am so bummed. They are beautiful, intelligent creatures, but they are so, so destructive. My teenage son loves the owls, and last fall, they hung out with him in the evenings. I told him I needed him to summon his owl friends. He looked at me like I was a crazy witch lady. I get that from him fairly regularly.

I guess that’s all the news for this morning. Stay cozy, friends, and stay sane. It’s a tough time for our culture. There’s a lot of instability. I am just trying to remind myself that, no matter what happens, it’s a good idea to keep learning to be self sufficient. In so many ways, it feels like we are on our own. In so many ways, it seems like we need to stick together.

top photo credit: Ronan Sands

Fall Is Finally Upon Us

~ Crystal Sands ~ Leave a comment

This is Tuesday, Ruby’s offspring. Like Ruby, she’s the special, only I think she is even smarter than Ruby. Well, maybe it’s hard to say about that, but I will say this: I think Ruby is so high strung that it limits her at times. Tuesday is calm, cool, and smart like Poe was. We have been trying to keep the chickens from hanging out in the driveway because I caught Kate just as she was about to take a step into the road a few weeks ago. Ruby is not thrilled about this, but Tuesday has figured out how to hop onto the top of their covered dust bathing area, jump into the pine tree, and then make her way out front. From there, she charms even Ron out of treats all day long.

This picture was taken the other day after she had been given some extra treats from all three of us and was feeling bold, I guess. I heard a noise at the door and when I went to see what the noise was, I found Tuesday with her best begging face on. With the pumpkin next to her, she totally looked like she was trick or treating, so I went to get both a treat and my phone and got this picture of that beautiful girl. Isn’t she fantastic?

The picture looks like fall to me–Tuesday in her orange and black, pumpkin on the porch–and fall is finally here in our part of Maine. We had a long summer, and we have yet to have our first frost, which is just wild. It was nice getting to eat from the garden for so long, and even tonight, we ate greens and tomatoes fresh from the garden. But there is a chill in the air. You can feel the fall finally coming.

Plus, today, we got just three eggs from the girls. I assume tomorrow will be a little better, but we are definitely well into the molt. The girls are beginning their rest for the winter. I’m going to miss the fresh eggs, but I am glad they get to take a break. Our girls work so hard.

Rooster is having a particularly hard molt. I’m so worried about him, but he seems determined. Yoshi is also molting pretty badly, and Lenore had a tough year for her first year too. Thankfully, she’s all done and looks beautiful. Ruby hasn’t started her molt yet. I’m not looking forward to it. I mean, she’s grumpy on a good day.

Interestingly, Marshmallow is STILL broody. I swear, that hen has probably not laid an egg all year! She was broody all summer, and when I finally got her to let it go at the end of August, she started to molt. She had a solid molt and looks great, but about the time she got all her feathers back, that hen was right back in the nest box being broody again. There is a part of me that just wants to let her have another clutch of chicks; however, I will never forget the summer of 2019.

I let that hen have some babies, and she was like a dinosaur attacking me every time I had to bring the food and water. She was wild. I bled. I had to start wearing oven mitts, and she would then just go for my arms. I swore never again. So she continues to sit, hopeful, and I have to resist any urge to give in. She might live forever this way.

Interestingly, she is Broody Hen’s offspring, who was the sweetest hen in the history of the world. I don’t know what happened to Marshmallow.

Anyway, that’s the update from the chicken yard for today. I just finished teaching way too many classes, but I am now working less for a few weeks. I hope to write more. I hope you’ll leave a comment and write back.

Free Seeds (or How to Save Seeds for Next Year)

~ Crystal Sands ~ 2 Comments

I have been so busy with harvest this season that I have had little time to write, but I wanted to share a bit about something extra special I have been harvesting this fall–seeds.

Seeds have grown so expensive over the years. Last year, we spent about $250 getting all of the seeds for our homestead. It all adds up–the lettuces, spinach, beans, carrots, melons, and so many tomatoes. I have always saved a few seeds in the past, but I have never had good rigor or organization in my process. Let’s just say I have been more than a little scattered when it comes to my seeds. Sometimes, I when spring comes around, I can’t even remember where I put some of the seeds, and I haven’t had a good track record in saving all the seeds I could during harvest season. Some years, I manage the green beans. Some years, I manage the tomatoes. This year, I have been saving them all!

I still do not have the skills to save carrot seeds, but I learned how to save spinach seeds this year. I have also saved green beans, two types of melons, three types of peppers, and five types of tomatoes. The squash is still coming, and I couldn’t save our corn because Ron got hybrid seeds this year (a delicious hybrid, I might add). I think when I get the squash seeds finished, I will have saved about 2/3 of our seeds for next year. That’s a pretty big savings! Plus, these seeds are free–just looking at me every time I cut open a pepper or a melon reminding me they are there for me. It just started to feel so wrong to throw them away. And I have saved so many seeds that I have plenty to give away as gifts. I brought some little envelopes for the seeds, and I have been in the seed business all fall. This year, I am organized!

I wanted to share some strategies for saving seeds because it is really pretty easy and can save a lot of money. And, truly, it’s just so satisfying. I hope you find these tips helpful, and I hope you’ll save some seeds this year!

Spinach

I always thought it was tricky to save spinach seeds until Ron accidentally replanted the spinach from seeds after he mowed down the spinach that had bolted. Essentially, you just let the spinach bolt and go to seed. When the seeds are developed, cut the plants and hang them upside down to dry. When they are dry enough, remove the seeds and store in a cool, dry place. I also read you can store them for the winter right on the stalk.

Melons

Melons are so easy. When you cut open a melon, they are just right there for you to save. The only trick is just getting the seeds separated from the mushy insides. I spread the seeds on a plate and remove as much of the slime as I can and then rinse. There will still be a little slime, but progress is good. Then, you just let everything dry for a couple of days on the plate. At this point, the seeds are easier to remove from any leftover pieces of melon. The seeds will still need to dry a little longer before being put away. Let them dry a few more days, and then they are ready to be put away until next year. Just store them in a cool, dry place, as you would any seeds.

Green Beans 

To save green bean seeds for next year, just leave several beans on each of your plants to grow big at the end of the season—the more plants, the better the genetic diversity. When the beans are big and lumpy and start to yellow, they are easiest to save. Just shell them and put them in a cool, dry place to dry. 

Peppers

Peppers are the easiest! When you cut open the pepper, the seeds are already clean and pretty dry. Just pluck them from the inside core of the pepper and place them on a plate to dry. In a few days, they are ready to be put up for the season. After saving pepper seeds this year, I cannot imagine ever again having to buy pepper seeds.

Dry Beans  

Dry beans are the easiest because you are going to get them into shape for saving and storing anyway. After you harvest your beans, make sure you have a cool, dry place for your beans to dry out. Also, make sure you give them enough space. Mold is the enemy here. Once the pods start to feel a little bit dry, you can shell the beans and then spread them out to continue drying. Don’t put them away until the beans are completely dried. As an alternative, instead of picking the beans and then drying, you can also just hang your plants to dry and go from there. 

Squash and Pumpkins 

When you cut open your squash and pumpkins in the fall, simply remove some of the seeds for saving. Wash them to remove strings and such and then let them dry on a towel for about a week. Once they are good and dry, they can be stored in a cool, dry place, just like other seeds. Just be aware, if you have planted multiple types of squash near each other, you may not get pure seeds. Squash seeds, if stored well, can last for several years. 

Tomatoes 

To save seeds from your favorite tomatoes, all you have to do is choose some tomatoes that are big and scoop out the seeds with the little jelly that comes with them. If you are looking for saving tomato seeds that will be good for several years, you should use the fermentation method. Add water and the squished tomatoes to a glass jar. The water helps the seeds separate from the tomato. Then, place the jar in a warm spot for a few days. You should see a layer of moldy stuff start to form on the top of the mixture. Once you see the mold at the top and seeds at the bottom, you can remove the icky mold and run your mixture through a strainer to wash your seeds. Be sure to clean your seeds well and let them dry on a towel for several days. Then, just store your seeds in a cool dry place like your other seeds.

I have also learned from an interview with The Heirloom Gardener, if you are planning to use your tomato seeds the next year, all you have to is wipe the seeds from your favorite tomatoes onto a paper bag. Let them dry for a couple of weeks. Then, you can just fold up the paper bag and store the seeds in a cool, dry place.

Corn

Corn is also easy to save. You just have make sure you have heirloom corn seeds. So many corn seeds are hybrids. There is also the issue that hybrid corn is often sweeter and tastier, but heirloom corn seeds still make delicious corn. Plus, you get the benefit of being able to seed save. Just save several ears of corn from your harvest and hang the ears in a cool, dry place to dry. Once they are dried, you can just wiggle the seeds loose and save your seeds for next year. The one issue I had when I first started saving corn seeds is that I didn’t save my seeds from enough different plants, so I wasn’t getting good genetic diversity. Still, even my beginner attempt provided us with corn seeds for three years before we decided to start fresh with new seeds. But it’s best if you can save seeds from at least ten different ears of corn. I had been using three or four.

*Some of this content was originally published in Volume II of the Farmer-ish Print Annual.

top photo credit: Yuliia Huzenko, Unsplash