The First "I Think We Over Did It" Day of the gardening season.

Every gardener knows it, they know how it feels.  The everything hurts even my hair feeling after the first nice day of working outside after a long winter of inactivity.  That's how Barry and I feel today.  Even though we weren't planting, hoeing, tilling, or mowing, we were working towards this year's gardens.  You see, our new place has come with a wealth of work to do and not all of it directly related to our herbs.

Yesterday's chore looked something like this.  In fact, it looked worse than this because I took this picture half way through the day (so much for my commitment to document before and after photos of our work on the new farm). 

Actually, when we started yesterday morning there was a HUGE pile of broken wood in there too.  The kind with nails of every shape and kind all bent kitty wampus from when the wind took the structure down many years ago.  We spent the better part of the day removing nails and moving the old wood to a burn pile except the wood that was good enough to burn in the wood stove.  Pause here to give me an "awww" for ripping my favorite work pants in a nail.
Then we went to work removing the trees that had grown up in the space and in the end it looked pretty good.

It looked good, but we didn't.  Sore,  tired and by 6 PM almost unable to move. we realized we had experienced the first 'we-over-did-it' day of the year.  But by that time, the sun was going down, there was a good cloud cover moving in and although we hurt, it was a good hurt because we knew we had truly accomplished something. 

Our hope is to finish cleaning this up and then use the metal siding we take out to build a new wash/pack room in the barn and then use the old cattle gates in the barn to put on the poles you see in the photo for a new grape arbor.  We believe in recycling - mostly we're just cheap.  The spot will be perfect for grapes with shelter and plenty of sun and soil that should be rich as cattle were the last things to trod this soil.  Hopefully some tasty grape jelly will be in the future again in a year or two - for now, I just want a good hot soaking, or maybe a back rub and definitely some aspirin.

Wishing we could predict the weather.

Nope - didn't take this picture recently, it was actually taken a few years back, but it seemed appropriate today as I was thinking how I wish I could predict the weather a little better.  Impressive isn't it, the power of weather. 

You see, we have a TON of things that will need doing this spring and while we've had lots of offers for help, to truly get the help you need to PLAN.   Something the weather doesn't always allow you to do.

We've got to coordinate with Scooby to do some dirt work, coordinate with others who have volunteered to help move the high tunnel, the shrubs, the fruits and other things so that we can get them all moved to our new location.  We've got to prepare for moving these things - like building a new arbor for the grapes, hops and bittersweet.  Like mowing and tilling and building a new wash/pack into the barn so we can move the cooler before moving the shed.  We need to prepare, till, and mark out the beds for the fruits.  None of which can be done when Mother Nature keeps her weather plans to herself. 

Over the years we've been really lucky with weather.  Everyone of our planned events has had great weather - never been rained out yet - but I don't like to count on luck.  I'm usually not that lucky.  That might explain my reluctance to visit a casino, dog track or even friendly poker game.  Usually when we've won something, it was because Barry bought the ticket.

There's lots of old wives tales out there about how to predict the weather.  Just a couple weeks ago we were told of one I hadn't heard before.  It requires a North Dakota grown onion cut into pieces and waiting to see what rots, what wilts and then predicting the upcoming moisture based on the results.  This gal told me her onion predicted significant moisture in March and April.  Rain I could take, snow storms - not so much. 

There's the whole ground hog thing - which of course doesn't ever work for us in the northland because from ground hog day to spring is ALWAYS more than 6 weeks up here. There's the one about the width of the bands on the woolly worm caterpillars.  There's something about when you see the first robin or when the first pussy willows show up - that might be a little more predictable but with the geese coming back already across ND, I don't think I'm willing to bet my tilling schedule on them this year.

My weather predictions are usually more short term - like sending the dog outside.  if she comes back in wet, it's raining.  If she comes back in white - it's snowing and if she doesn't come back at all - the sun is shining and her nose has found a squirrel to chase. Speaking of the dog - she has a new suit to help keep the cockleburs and thistle out of her long hair, she's not real thrilled about it, but that's a story for another day...

It's hard to plan when you don't know when the frost will leave the ground, when the snow will leave the field and when the ground will be dry enough to till.  Maybe there's a lesson in there somewhere.  A lesson about living in the moment, making hay while the sun shines or learning to be flexible.  All I know is that my to-do list is always longer than the 24 hours in a day and the best laid plans (schemes) of mice and men often go awry.  So if there's anyone out there with a fool proof way to tell the weather - say about four months out - please publish it so we can all PLAN our spring!

You Can Drill for Oil, But where do you Dig for Carrots?

In North Dakota, we hear a lot about the effects of the oil boom on the eastern part of our state.  We hear about the condition of roads, the burden on schools and social services.  We hear about the lack of housing and the burden on local infrastructure.  We hear about the shortage of workers.  One thing we don't often hear about is what it is doing to our food systems. 

With my work through the Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture at Dakota College at Bottineau, the North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association and as a member of many local foods committees and associations across the state and a producer myself, I hear a lot about local foods and our access to fresh produce as North Dakotan's. 

This past weekend I attended the Local Foods and North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association annual conference.  It was energizing, empowering, and optimistic as many producers and local food proponents from all across our great state got together to increase the availability of local foods.  Then, yesterday, I attended a Super Bowl party.  I met a young gal from Dickinson.  She sent me the photo above.  She told me her story.  It went something like this...

"I dropped into our local WalMart on Friday to quickly pick up some baby carrots, some lettuce and some pre-cut apples.  I got to the store and couldn't believe what I was seeing.  I took the photo to send to my Mom as the produce shelves at WalMart were mostly bare."

Keep in mind folks, the shelves were not bare because WalMart was cleaning, changing shelving or otherwise doing maintenance.  They were bare because demand is outpacing supply.  Demand is outpacing supply because of the influx of additional people into our communities with the oil boom. 

What does that say about our food system when a mass distributor like WalMart can't keep up?  What does that mean for our home town groceries?

We talk a lot about food desserts and how a food desert is a place without easy access to fresh produce.  In the past, we have not included Dickinson in this desert.  But I think we have re-draw the map.  This sure looks like a food desert to me. 

This is a call to action to all local producers in the western part of the state and a wake up call for all of us.  We need to grow more of our own produce, extend our seasons and make sure we can feed our own - the young, the old, the newcomers, and the oil workers.  It's just as important as making sure we have roads.

It's a new day at gardendwellers FARM.  That's right, we've officially moved.  Never fear, we'll still be here and ready to provide you with the fresh culinary herbs you've come to love, we'll just be doing it from a new and expanded location.  We've grown!  From 5 acres to play on to now 12 acres.  Plenty of room to grow, expand and have lots of fun. 

Our new location opens up all kinds of good opportunities for us and we're really excited.  I'm especially excited to begin growing in the great soil that comes with this place.  I wish we could get out there right now, till, plant, transplant and be ready to go.  Alas, old man winter has a few more months before he's ready to let us do that!

The new FARM has great views, great planting areas, big buildings, a great house and is close to our Minot market.  We have to admit, we're not sure yet what we'll be doing about your Grand Forks customers - still searching for a way to serve them this year but its a tough decision as gas prices are set to soar and time is limited when you're trying to cover almost a whole state with fresh herbs.  Keep reading in the future or watch our Facebook page for updates on where and when to find our product.

We of course will continue to provide herbs to our wholesale customers in Minot and the surrounding communities - so you'll again see us in grocery stores, restaurants and direct sale outlets. I don't want to spill the beans quite yet but we're hoping to be at the North Prairie Farmers Market in Minot as well.  We're really excited about that as this great market (voted North Dakota's Favorite Market of 2011) allows customers to use debit and credit cards making purchases more convenient.

We have much to do this spring including transplanting the small fruits and a few shrubs and perennials, moving the high tunnel and all of our equipment, tilling and preparing the new location and preparing for our 10th, yes 10th, year in business but it will be compounded by helping to educate a whole new group of customers in the Minot area.  Please forgive us if we don't offer classes or large group tours this year - we've got so much on our plate there just won't be enough time in a day.  We're hoping in future years to again offer our Agri-tourism activities and invite you to "Come Out And Play" at gardendwellers FARM. 

Here's a little update for you though, next week we'll begin seeding.  Barry and I spent a couple hours yesterday setting up the grow lights, heater and an enclosed area to give the babies just the right environment for great growth.  Every three years we replant our perennial herbs like sage, thyme, savory and chives.  This would have been year three anyway so starting fresh in a new location did not interrupt our schedule at all.  The perennial seeds will be started indoors and moved to our temporary greenhouses when spring gets a little closer and finally to the new fields by late May.  We have also ordered Rosemary and Italian Oregano plugs that will arrive in March and April.  Last year we had such great success and such beautiful Rosemary we wondered why we had ever tried to grow our own!  So we'll be continuing to order Rosemary plugs and this year, due to the increased demand last year, will be adding Italian Oregano.  Oregano is one of those things that when grown from seed you don't always get the best culinary varieties. It really needs to be started from cuttings to get the quality and flavor we're looking for.

So a big thank-you to all of our loyal customers who have been with us through our first 10 years and a great big 'hello' to all of our new customers we'll meet at our new markets, in our new neighborhood and in our new location.  We can't wait to serve all of you high quality, fresh culinary herbs in 2012.

How many of you have friends, family or know someone who is a snowbird?  You know,  a North Dakota snowbird- someone who finds another place to reside temporarily when the cold weather sets in.  Funny how we call them snowbirds when really they aren't around for the snow at all.  And funny how the 'snowbirds' come back to their permanent home when the snow is all gone.  Nuff said about folks that move around during different parts of the year...yeah - you know who you are that asked this question!

My sister from Tennessee sent a link to their news page today.  It snowed in TN last night and apparently it is causing quite a stir.  I saw the photos, it looked to me more like a hard frost than real snow, but OK, guess it you're used to average November temps in the 50's and 60's, it might be a little surprising.

I'm a little worried.  I have received only two - count them, TWO seed catalogs so far and its the end of November.  Wondering if I've made Santa's naughty list or what I did to deserve that?  The one I really need to show up is the Johnny's catalog.  I've got lots of seed to order this year and I want to make sure I get my 'stocking' filled before they run out of the varieties I really want.  They've always been good to me though.  This past year they did not have the Dill seed I wanted so I settled for a different variety.  Sorry to say it did not live up to my expectations and it made harvesting and keeping Dill in stock a little difficult. When I called to let them know, not really complain, just give them some feedback - they credited my account for the whole amount.   In 2010 however, we had to switch varieties of Zinnia and found Johnny's recommendation for the new variety to be a big hit.

I've already spoken with the Rock Lake greenhouse to get the Rosemary plugs ordered and they're looking into Italian Oregano plugs for us too.  OOO, gotta love that Italian Oregano.  The Greek is great for some recipes but you can't beat the true 'pizza' flavor of a good Italian.

For now I guess I'll just wait by the mailbox, hoping Olaf the mailman will deliver what is to me the equivalent of the old Sears Holiday WishBook.  Hope you all had a great Turkey Day!

They say history repeats itself, repeats itself, repeats itself...

Churchs Ferry’s most successful industry was the Northewestern Ironworks which was begun in April 1895. At that time Samuel Hann, who had been working near Cando, set up business in the former Nelson blacksmith shop. Hann and his partner David Hough of Minneapolis erected their first building just east of the intersection of Church Ave. and 3^rd. ST. In March 1897 the iron works started advertising its services statewide. For a few years the business and the number of employees continued to expand. By April 1900 the Devils Lake paper wrote a description of the business that stated, “An institution like this would be a great credit to a city much larger than Churchs Ferry”. The business expanded again in 1901 adding 30 feet on the north side of the building and again in 1903 adding a second story. The company’s most significant contribution to the area was the structures for 14 bridges required by Ramsey County in 1904. In 1905 the company produced steel cells for a jail at Starkweather. Late in 1906 Hann decided to move his business to Devils Lake. Faced with losing this important industry, Churchs Ferry residents responded with punitive measures. On Nov. 12^th the village board president swore out a warrant for Hann’s arrest charging him with violating an ordinance requiring the removal of machinery standing in the alley by his building. Brought to trial before the local justice, Hann’s Devils Lake lawyer fought and won. Thus after 10 years Churchs Ferry lost what was its most important industrial enterprise.

Now after 10 years, the City of Churchs Ferry has decided to repeat history with gardendwellers FARM as the object of its attention. I predict the outcome will be somewhat the same, but this time maybe the citizens of Churchs Ferry can ensure that it will never happen again.

'"Democracy must be more than two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner."

James Bovard

Finally Fall!
It's always amazing to me how fast the leaves can turn their subtle shades of fall gold and orange.  This year it has come all too fast and none too fast at the same time.

I couldn't wait for fall this year.  Not because that's when we usually take our yearly vacation - which we will miss this year - or because that's when nature finally slows to a crawl, but because for me October is the time for a new beginning.

Last Wednesday evening was the beginning of Rosh Hashanah.  The start of the Jewish High Holy Days and the Jewish New Year.  It was a day of prayer and repentence for me and I felt joy after relieving myself of those burdens.  I am certain this new year will be one of great joy, new adventures and a few challenges for us.  What's a life without some challenges?

My first challenge is that my computer has decided the 'shift' key on the right side of the keyboard no longer should be functional.  This makes any capital letter typed with the right hand a challenge, not to mention question marks, exclamation points and dollar signs.  Good thing I'm not one to have a lot of dollar signs, question marks or exclamations in my life1 -- oops I meant "!"

Challenge number two: patience.  When I was young I had a book about a pussy cat named "Perserverance".  Now, when I become impatient that I am not getting things done as quickly as I would like, or there seem to be roadblocks that prevent me from doing all that I need to do, I think of Perserverance and remember to have patience as well.  This and a third "P" word - Planning, will hopefully get me through the mountain of tasks that need to be completed before Jack Frost paints us all his monochromatic color scheme for a few months.

Challenge number three: good posture.  As many of you are aware, we have been without a septic system since June here in Churchs Ferry.  As a result, we have been using the restrooms in the classroom or the outhouses which both are serviced by their own holding tanks.  That means late night trips in the dark to use the lou.  Early - like 6 AM early - about a week and a half ago my warm shoes met the frosty steps and that was quickly followed by my bum meeting the edge of the steps.  While I'm pretty sure I broke my pelivs, I am reluctant to go to the doctor.  As I keep telling my well meaning family members, "broken bones are NOT like birthdays - you do not need to commemorate the occassion with a picture".  In other words, a doctor would not put my bum in a cast, and since I am allergic to most pain killers the most he would give me would be exactly what I am taking for it now - over the counter medicine.  So, here I sit, with really good posture, so as not to lean the back of my pelvis against the chair.  Yes, it's swollen - like I need my bum to be any bigger than it is - and yes, it is colorful, kind of like a tie dyed patch on a nude colored pair of pants.  Who needs tattoos1 - oops there we go again "?"

But none of these challenges is insurmountable, none a thing so big that a smile from my loving husband (you remember him, tall dark and handsome right?) or my son, or a goofy look from the little black dog can't erase, none so overwhelming that the cry in the sky from the hawk we rescued from the bird netting as he swoops on a field mouse or the sight of the sunrise on these fresh fall mornings won't vanquish.  Oh, yeah, and with a little Planning, Patience, and Perserverance - I'll face them all.

Email, Water and Other Random Thoughts for the Day

I love Email, I really do.  However...we have three email addresses and I have one more for work.  Thank goodness for them too as without them I wouldn't know that I could be 'friends' with Freida in the Czech Republic.  I wouldn't know that I have won the Swiss Lottery or that the Bank of Britain has an inheritance from some long, long, long lost relative is just sitting waiting for me.  I wouldn't know that Rolex watches are on sale, that I am trusted friend in G_d of someone in Africa who would like me to enter into business with them.  I wouldn't know you could order Viagra online or that there are pretty girls out there who want me to see their pictures.

Thank heaven for Email newsletters as without them I wouldn't know that the herb farm in Kentucky is selling purslane (my favorite weed) for several dollars a pound, that the folk school is building a new star bale building or that the latest BEST recipe will require me to buy spices never heard of by man nor beast in North Dakota.  I also wouldn't have gotten the Real Simple Email newsletter that claimed "How To Get Rid Of Virtually Everything". 

I have to admit that this particular subject line caught my attention.  I mean, ANYTHING??? Really, ANYTHING?  Several things came to mind before I even opened the message - like water, as in Devils Lake, the flooding in Minot, Bismarck, Mandan and all across ND.  I also thought of other things like weeds, creepy people, mosquito's, and interest on loans.  As I dreamed on it, my list of things that I would get rid of, if I could, got longer and longer...wood ticks, most video games, most reality TV, winds over 50 mph and lastly, junk Email.

How disappointing when I actually read the newsletter to find their answer to ridding yourself of Virtually Everything was rubbing alcohol, baby power, vinegar and Vodka.  Maybe if I were to try just the last one none of the things I want gone would bother me.

Next thought for today - our house is all about water now.  It's quite a quandary when you have too much water on the edge of town so that causes friends and neighbors to move away and leave their homes and farms they have occupied for generations and yet at the same time you are in your home trying save water and use as much.  You see, our city sewer was shut off yesterday.  That means we're living off our holding tank.  What that means if navy showers and tree hugger flushes, washing clothes somewhere else and washing dishes in shallow cold water.  Too much water outside, trying not to have water inside.  And for those of you who don't know, a navy shower means turning the water on, jumping in before it gets warm, getting wet, shutting the water off, lathering up head to toe, turning the water off and rinsing quickly then jumping out.  This method was first developed by the Navy for soldiers on submarines with limited supplies of fresh water.  It is said that a normal shower can use up to 60 gallons of water where a Navy shower can use as little as 11.  Tree hugger flushes, well, let's just say "If its yellow let it mellow, if its brown, flush it down".  Think about it - the typical toilet uses 1.6 gallons of water for each flush.  If you're like me (because I work from home) I use the porcelain throne at least 6 to 8 times per day - that's almost 12 gallons just for me.  Using the tree hugger method can mean half that use each day.    And with the costs for fuel and labor - the less often I need to have the holding tank pumped, the better.

And lastly - random things like why is it the 22nd of June and yet those fuzzy bastard Mayflies are thicker than ever, don't they know May is long gone?  Why is it Canada doesn't want any of North Dakota's water via Devils Lake and the Red River but they haven't hesitated to send Minot a crap load of water from Canada!  Why did some people not learn about fairness and equality in kindergarten and bible school?  Why do the deer have to eat my most prized plants instead of the weeds? And lastly, why do I crave carbs like pasta and bread on cool days like today?

Hope your Email is full of good news, your water stays where it needs to stay and your 'Virtually Anythings" turn into virtually nothings.

Mint!
Boy do we have the mint!  The weather has been great for getting this wonderful herb growing and now its time for it to have a haircut.  This week only, we will have the mint on sale.  Instead of the usual $9 per pound - it is $6 per pound.  It's great for soap makers, wine makers, mead makers, potpourri makers, drying for later use, bakers and maybe just a huge part of Mojito drinkers.  Just call the farm if you'd like to take advantage of our great sale!
Here's a couple photos to wet your appetite!

Gosh, it's been a while since I've written but inspired by sunshine and my two favorite bloggers, I felt I had to take the time to write a little.

It's been a stressful 18 months for us and we're not through it yet, but while the world was busy celebrating the death of one evil person, yesterday tons of other people were out lending a hand to help others.  Bless all the souls that turned out yesterday to quickly move a neighboring family of five from their flooding farmstead and the others that reached out to help those that had lost power and were trying to save their greenhouses from cold and wind and the others who helped when high water and no power were threatening homes and gardens.  That's what North Dakota is made of.  People who care enough to set their own troubles aside and help when a neighbor is in need.  All neighbors should be like that.

Today though, the sun is shining, it is a fabulous temperature and it was even warm enough to move the portable greenhouse outside.  Filled with rosemary plants that have been dwindling at a slow but steady pace while waiting to go outdoors and tomatoes for our personal use that are as big as trees, the little plants are out gathering their first taste of real sun.  Hardly a comparison for the fluorescent lights they've been used to so man are they soaking it up.  Hopefully the weather will hold and the rosemary, chives, tomatoes, thyme and marjoram can go in the ground in the high tunnel soon.  Barry watered it today and once the ground warms again within a couple days we should be able to plant not only the little transplants but also our first seeding of basil.  Always a good day when we get to plant. 

We've already had requests from Louisiana and North Carolina for basil and it makes us wish we could produce year round but until an efficient way of heating a North Dakota greenhouse is found, we're not ready to go there. 

In two weeks we'll receive our shipment of fruits.  I'm very excited to pick up our cherries and Haskaps.  Can't wait to be a little more diverse here at gardendwellers.  I've also been out walking and noticed that the rhubarb is coming up - even after all of our efforts to dig up as much of it as we could to give to others who hope to start rhubarb growing businesses.  Not sure how we'll get that part of the production lot cleared of rhubarb and ready for herbs but I know it will be tough.  But then again, that's why we planted the rhubarb in the first place.  Guess you have to be careful what you wish for.

Tomorrow night is another episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on TV.  I encourage everyone to watch it.  It's amazing to learn more about our food, especially what our children are being fed.  North Dakota is lucky.  We have many schools that serve fresh food and many schools with working school gardens whose produce ends up in the lunches and snacks our children get served.  But not all schools are like this and there is always room for improvement.  I urge you to help make a difference for our kids when and where you can.  It is LEGAL for all schools in ND to take donations of fresh produce or to purchase fresh produce from local farmers as long as it is not processed (raw form, uncut only).  If you need more information regarding this contact FARrMS, the ECH at Dakota College at Bottineau or the ND Dept. of Agriculture. 

So for now, I'm off to go out and enjoy the weather.  What a difference a day makes...

A LOT of catching up to do!

When I was checking in on several other blogs that I like to follow I realized that I had not written in our own blog since early November.  Now, I'm not making any excuses because winter is when those of us in the garden related industries are supposed to have time to just sit, relax, drink warm beverages, read books and romanticize about next years gardens; right?  But honestly, we all know that the holidays are a busy time for everyone and the snow storms have kept us cooped up on the days we weren't busy.

In all reality, 2010 wasn't a stellar year for us so I'm looking forward rather than back at this point.  I am determined to make 2011 a better year for all of us.  I have attacked my reading pile like a rabbit in a carrot patch and am quickly gnawing away at the books I've been waiting all year to read.  I love to read - it's calming and since I read mostly non-fiction - educational as well.  I am determined to finish the tatted ornament that I started two years ago.  So far, I've taken apart what I did wrong last year and have spent several hours 'studying' how to fix it - progress huh? I did a little baking.  I actually successfully made the hubby's favorite holiday candy for the first time in 27 years.  You gotta cut me some slack on this one folks as the recipe includes combining vinegar and baking soda and you know what happens when you do that?  Usually, with me, what happens is either a large rock or a small explosion, but this year I mastered it and the end result was better than the store bought candy I have been substituting for the aforementioned 27 years.  I also made a couple pairs of mittens, both for gifts.  This is way shy of the 10 or 12 pairs I usually make but as I said, it hasn't been a stellar year.

The little dog has been able to feed her addiction for mint as candy canes and mint flavored dog breath drops entered the house early in the month.  The little one is a mint fanatic and nothing makes her happier.  She also got a new coat this winter as after I gave her a haircut she shivered so bad I felt guilty and quickly sewed together a fleece lined felted wool coat to keep her warm.  She's much happier now.

I got a gift card to the book store for the holidays so plan on spending even more time reading.  Once I finish "The Edible History of Humanity" it will be on to "Anastasia", first in the Ringing Cedars of Russia series of books and hopefully end the winter with "Truck, A Love Story" by Michael Perry.  I'll need a laugh or two by then!  If you haven't read any of these books, I highly recommend them. 

Now, it's back to work, waiting for more snow and training with the little dog for our next Rally Trial in April.  Hope all of you have a great New Years and move into 2011 with great hope for a good year.

Eating Locally

For the last six days our house has been abuzz with hunters.  Deer season, statewide holiday in North Dakota, is always family and friend reunion time at our house.  Its the time when our usually quiet home fills with the laughter and smiles of friends and relatives who come to hunt and spend time together in North Dakota.

For me, it means rising early to make the sandwiches for the lunch box and be sure that everyone has all they need for a day outdoors.  It also means large meals around a big table with hungry hunters.  After the group leaves in the pre-dawn hours, I usually crawl back into bed to do a little reading, my quiet time.  Currently, I'm reading a book about local food infrastructure and regulation.  I won't name the book as I'm not sure I totally agree with or even like the author, but I'm reading it anyway.  This morning it got me thinking about what I have been feeding my hungry crew and I was pleased to realize that every meal contained at least a portion of local foods.  For me, more than for your enjoyment, I want to list my menu here:

• Thursday - steak from a local butcher.  Although I have no way of knowing where the beef originated, I feel better knowing I supported a small local business rather than a large chain store.
• Friday - Venison french dip sandwiches and baked potatoes with pie for desert.  The venison, shot during last years hunt and still hanging around in the freezer needed to be eaten.  The French dip was prepared with local garlic and home made Au jus.  The potatoes were from our garden and the pie - well it was home made pecan pie with pecans one of the hunters brought with him from down south.  Not really local, but grown by a small farmer which makes me feel better about the whole thing.
• Saturday - home made pizza on home made crust using ND flour, cheese we picked up at a farmers market in Wisconsin on a recent trip, onions from the Bottineau gardens and pepperoni that one of the hunters had made himself with venison from last year and pork sausage also purchased at the farmers market.
• Sunday  - Chili made with venison - you guessed it -from last year - still trying to empty out that freezer! And more  pecan pie.
• Monday - Walleye caught on Devils Lake this summer, grilled and served with wild rice purchased at the Town Square farmers market  in Grand Forks, carrot sticks from our garden carrots - and of course more pecan pie.
• Today, Tuesday - I'll use the leftover venison from the french dip and turn it into venison barley soup with our home grown carrots, onions from Bottineau and some barley I picked up at a farmers market this summer.  Maybe for desert tonight I'll surprise the guys with an apple pie made in our own kitchen from apples on the trees outside.

So you see, even without breaking a sweat, its pretty easy to eat local, even in North Dakota, even in November.  All it takes is a little forethought and a freezer full of venison!

gardendwellers FARM Fresh Herbs on the move!

Well the last couple weeks have been exciting.  Along with taking herbs to the WomanSong conference in Grand Rapids North Dakota, we've received some great, but somewhat unusual orders.  We received our once per year birthday order to be delivered to Fotis restaurant in Culpepper Virginia.  Frank Maragos, a Minot native runs this really nice restaurant there but misses home so his Mom orders him fresh gardendwellers FARM herbs each year on his birthday.  I hate to say it but she pays more in shipping then on herbs but Frank really appreciates the 'taste of home' and shares his birthday present with his staff family and friends.

We've also received an order from the Grand Forks public schools.  September 20-24th is Farm to School week and they will be doing their very best to put local vegetables and fruits on the Grand Forks Public School lunch menu.  gardendwellers FARM will be supplying herbs for a pasta meal - basil and parsley.  We'll deliver them bright and early Monday morning so their nice and fresh for the students.  Thank goodness we now have a high tunnel to get us through the predicted frost on Friday night!

The best and maybe most unusual order we have received is from the NOLA Brewing Company in New Orleans Louisiana.  http://www.nolabrewing.com/  They have a seasonal beer called 7th Street Wheat and for some reason the basil growers in the south have had some trouble with their lemon basil.  This unusual wheat beer contains lemon basil to give it a unique flavor.  These folks seem like the nicest people - although I did have a little trouble with their address.  Their company is on Tchoupitoulas Street - that's a mouthful and even harder to spell.  You can imagine how well spell check likes it!  NOLA Brewing Company would like 20 pounds of our lemon basil to help them finish off their season of this fabulous brew.  So guess what we're doing?  Picking and de-leafing a whole LOT of lemon basil.  Good timing again as the frost would take all we have anyway - had they called just one week later we could not have helped them out.  This will be an adventure in shipping for us as we've never shipped that large of an amount that far.  We're all hoping for the best and relying on overnight delivery.  Stay tuned for more photos and updates on our adventures with NOLA!

Animal Party!

It seems all the animals of the prairie wanted to party last night.  Barry and I were out in the wash/pack house - otherwise known as the shed - late last night getting orders ready for today's deliveries.  As we were out there we could hear noises and often went to check on them. Which could of course explain why it took until 11 PM to finish orders!  The fox, raccoons, hawks, deer, neighborhood cat and more were out and about last night and all very talkative!  I don't know if it was the weather or just that fall is in the air but everyone wanted to have one last party is seems. 

Then again, maybe they were out complaining because I hung a bunch of CD's and bags from the apple trees trying to keep the animals at bay until after the Produce Party this weekend.  The apples are ready, nice and tasty and colored up - and all the critters know it.  As we were harvesting I noticed lots of deer tracks leading to the trees and saw several squirrels making trips from home to tree to home.  That might be what has them all in a ruckus.  So, IF I can keep the animals out of the trees - come and get some yummy apples with caramel dip this Saturday at the Produce Party - only $2.50!  We'll let the critters have the leftovers!

The migration has begun!

It's official, the migration has begun.  The other day was awfully windy here and Barry was out harvesting with our hired hand Chris for our Minot orders.  He called me from the field on the cell phone and told me to bring the camera.  This is what I saw:

Monarch Butterflies travel between 1200 and 2800 miles between their starting and ending points, flying around 50 miles each day.  They stop along the way to feed on bright colored flowers and nectar from other goodies.  They like gardendwellers FARM because who could resist the rows and rows of Zinnia's?  It gives them a good meal to continue their journey.  It will take them two months to reach their destination in Central Mexico.  They use the sun's orbit as a guide and even without a compass or on cloudy days these amazing insects can find their way to a place they have never even been before.  Although each year the migration pattern varies slightly - most years we're lucky enough to have these beautiful creatures stop on their way to say hello. Those of you in the area should be on the lookout for them and if you do not have a food source, bright colored flowers, there is an easy way to create one below:

Place a small kitchen sponge in a sugar dish in a shallow bowl.  Use a brightly colored and shallow bowl or a bright sponge to attract them.  For nectar, mix 4 parts water with 1 part granulated sugar.  Boil this mix for five minutes until the sugar is dissolved.  Let it cool and then place it on the sponge.  Extra nectar can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week but most likely within a week all the Monarchs will be past our area and further south. 

Be sure to have your camera handy during this exciting time and hopefully you can catch some great photos of the Monarchs as they pass through!

Now, back to work!

Holly

It's Almost Produce Party Time!

The plans are underway for this year's Produce Party and I'm REALLY excited about this one.  We've got so much going on!  We'll have the 'Make Your Own Scarecrow' booth back again this year.  What fun that was last year and there were so many families and kids that took advantage of it.  I even saw one of our scarecrows still hanging out in Devils Lake in July!  The cost will stay the same as last year, $10 gets you a life-size scarecrow to take home.  We have everything you need, you just need to stuff him - or her.  We have a wide variety of outfits to choose from for your scarecrow and you get to draw on the face, so happy, sad, or scary - you choose.  Last year after Thanksgiving, I covered my scarecrow with a large sheet and made him into a snowman - double duty is the way to go - he made a great decoration all the way through to February.

New this year is going to be the caramel apple table.  We're so lucky to have a little extra help from my assistant, Stacy Baldus, from Bottineau to man the table.  We'll be picking fresh Cenntennial apples direct from the tree and serving them up with caramel sauce for dipping.  Only $2.50 - what a bargain!

I'm also really excited about Marte Holen Stensli and Bob Nelson coming with the  Norwiegen Dole Horses.  Marte will be tending their booth with all kinds of fresh veggies but Bob will have one of the horses here and he will be answering questions about the breed.  He'll also do a plowing demonstration in the afternoon.

At 11:00 AM I'll be working with my litttle dog Ida to do a Rally Obedience demonstration.  Ida has now completed all trials to have her AKC (American Kennel Club) Rally Advanced Title and next we'll be heading on to the Excellent level.  For more info on the sport - check out our demonstration or the following web site: http://www.akc.org/events/rally/index.cfm  This is a great sport and with just a couple trips to Grand Forks to visit with their Kennel Club members and learn a few of the signs, anyone can enjoy this great opportunity to work with their dog.  Come and see what it's all about.

The Zion Lutheran Church of Churchs Ferry will be serving up great food for breakfast at a great price and The Prairie Bistro, a division of Sonja's from Mohall, ND will have concessions available after breakfast time to make sure everyone gets fed great food.

Billie's Soaps and Spa will be on hand in the afternoon to demonstrate some of their home made beauty products.  I really love their stuff - especially the waterless soaps - they make your hands so soft!

All in all, it's going to be a GREAT day - so bring the family and enjoy it with us.  Come Out and Play!
Check out our web site for a full schedule: www.gardendwellersfarm.com

We have new neighbors!!!

Yes, there is a new family in Churchs Ferry.  We first noticed them a week ago, although they most likely moved in months ago.  The whole family has beautiful golden red hair.  Mom, Dad, and several little ones like to play tag in their front yard every evening around 6:30 until dark.  They love to wrestly in their nicely mowed lawn and Dad even gets in on the action with the kids.  They're a fun family to watch.  I sure would like to get to know them better.  They seem to like to watch us too!
Sorry for the bad photo, I'll post another better one as soon as I have it - but these new neighbors are 'foxy'!

New Additions, New Changes to the FARM

Well, rhubarb harvest is complete, for this year and possibly for always.  After another disappointing harvest, only about 1000 pounds, we're considering giving up the rhubarb business.  It's really a lot of labor for very very little return and the weeds have become almost unmanageable.  We'd love to find someone who would like to take the rhubarb - dig it, divide it and take it away - so if you know of anyone, please help us spread the word.  We're putting together a short video highlighting all it takes to harvest 1000 pounds of rhubarb.  We'll post a link on the blog when it is complete.

As for new additions - we have yet again been the nursery for tons of baby birds. We have robins nesting and feeding babies in the lilacs, catbirds by the arbor, ducks in the labyrinth, yellow warblers raising a brood in the nanking cherries (right)

and a killdeer family in production lot #2 (left).  We're glad to be able to provide habitat for all of our feathered friends.  Of course we have our toad friends in the high tunnel helping to keep the insect population under control - we're thankful for them as well.

We're proud to say that at least for a while we once again have Chris Klier working for us. I don't know what we'd do without Chris.  He is an EXCELLENT worker and knows just what to do to harvest, weed, maintain and keep the place running with us.  Thanks Chris!

We're also happy to report that with thanks to our new high tunnel, we're about two weeks from our first harvest.  The Basil that was planted early looks great and should be ready to go by about June 28th.  This is about three weeks earlier than any harvest we've had. 

We're already seeing the return of geocachers to our cache and are awaiting the arrival of several education based vacation families this summer.  Watch for updates on our visitors!

As I worked on  updating our web site and other business matters this morning, I came across a poem I had always wanted to post to our site, I'll share it here as my parting words:

This is the field where grass joined hands,

Where no monument stands,

And the only heroic thing is the sky. 

by William Stafford.

Peace!
Holly

Good People, Great Conversations

We were really pleased to have a great conversation with Lisa Hamilton on Monday.  Lisa is a writer and photographer from California who was here writing a story about the water issues our area faces.  Lisa's writing focuses on agriculture and food issues.  Being from California, where water shortages are the norm, Lisa is finding the story of the Devils Lake Basin fascinating.

Lisa arrived on Monday, mid wind storm and with rain blowing her into town, with only a windbreaker to keep her warm.  She had been in the area since Saturday and had already seen her share of water.  Having arrived at a time when overland flooding, overflowing sloughs, gushing culverts and the threat of more to come were abundant, Lisa found as much story fodder as water. 

Lisa's focus with us was the story of the people that have been affected by the water and the story of our business.  We had a great conversation with her about the great community of Churchs Ferry, its previous residents and still loyal supporters.  Lisa is delightful and we'd love for her to come back to the region in warmer, sunnier times to see the beauty of this area as well as the rich history, present and future of agriculture that we all share.  If you get the chance, visit Lisa's web site at: http://www.lisamhamilton.com/ where she features her photography and background.

Lisa was saving a few dollars (and some heartburn) by cooking for herself while she is here.  I was pleased that even in the cold spring of Churchs Ferry, I had some bright green fresh chives to share with her.  Here's hoping they seasoned her little meatloaf to perfection!

Lisa, thanks for telling our story and here's hoping you can arrange a trip back when we're all at peak production.  Count on gardendwellers FARM to feed you full of great organic herbs!

Spring comes early at gardendwellers!

Saturday Barry and I spent a good portion of the afternoon getting the high tunnel ready for planting.  Seems like fall flew by last year and we didn't make our goals for tilling and laying plastic.  As you can see in the photos, Barry started off with a winter jacket but it wasn't long before we were both in our shirt sleeves and sweating up a storm.  It was 40 degrees outside and you can see the snow piles on the outside of the tunnel but inside it was toasty!

It was great fun to play in the dirt again and see sunshine.  I think I even got a little bit of sunburn!  You can see we had to incorporate a little organic matter into one corner as there is a little more clay there.  We also used an organic certified product that helps to break down clay particles in hopes of bettering the soil in that corner.

The soil was warm and thanks to the watering we did a few days earlier, just moist enough to make a fine seed bed.  We put down the black plastic to warm the soil even further and deeper in anticipation of an early seeding of Basil.  Basil likes really warm soil - 55 degrees or more - to germinate and the warm soil bed will help to keep the air temperature warm during cold nights.  Now granted, we won't get the seeds in for another month (maybe) but we're still shooting for having our first crop in the grocery stores and restuarants by July 4th.  That's a two week advantage on other years.  If we're lucky and Mother Nature plays nice, we might even be in to our customers sooner!

Spring really is here - at gardendwellers at least!