Growing Pumpkins

Pumpkin flirting with disaster.

This year we have pumpkins growing in various places, most prominently along the front driveway. We didn't plant the seeds directly, but last fall we did bring home some feed pumpkins for the livestock---more than they wanted to eat, so we have self-sown plants.

The vines along the driveway tend to reach toward the hot asphalt, thus jeopardizing their survival, so I've taken to noshing on any blossoms close to the edge whenever I travel past. The first pumpkin to develop actually selected a dicey location, right on the edge of the driveway, and so we have been watching it with trepidation for weeks now.

Pumpkin growing safely inside the fence.

It finally developed a full orange skin and I was beginning to wonder about harvesting it, but a UPS delivery today smashed it. Lucky livestock. This evening the chickens, goose, and goats are dining on fresh pumpkin flesh.

The more recently developed fruits have settled further back from the danger zone, and should be safe from vehicle traffic. What does one do with field pumpkins, anyway? I understand the flavor is not that of pie pumpkins, but what about pumpkin soup? Time, and a bit of research, will tell.

Blessed Rain

Early August, 2012. Rains have helped renew green forages.

When the severe drought in June brought an early fall, and many trees shed their leaf canopies entirely, I know we were not alone in praying for rain. Thankfully, while the Midwest continued to suffer, Middle Tennessee received rains throughout July. The expanse of dirt that filled our front acreage again became a pasture. Now, in early August, the rains are continuing to keep the grasses greened and growing.

Kids clearing brush behind the house.

A couple of days ago I moved the goat kids into a newly-overgrown area directly behind the house, not generally a pasture space--but since all of our lawnmowers have either four hooves or feet and beaks, it is trimmed by animals. The kids are doing a good job, now that they've gotten over being separated from their dams. I'm glad to have the weeds to feed them.

Our sweet potato patch.

The sweet potato plants are growing like gangbusters. They've taken over the little bed allotted to them, surmounted the chicken wire enclosure, and entered the surrounding field. I don't know if they're producing anything; the plants are so thick, it's hard to dig down there. I should probably add more bedding--hay or straw--for the roots to grow into, and will do this just as soon as a bale of straw wanders this way.

We are blessed with all the rain that has brought life back to the plants. This is a glorious place to live and a glorious time to be alive.

Kefir

Kefir smoothie.

We started making kefir several weeks ago after a friend provided the starter culture from her collection. Kefir is a fermented milk product with a sour flavor, somewhat akin to yogurt. Slightly bubbly and thinner than yogurt, kefir makes a refreshing drink. That said, I have yet to drink a glass of it plain. Certainly, I lick my fingers after wiping the lip of the jug from whence the liquid has been poured, and the tartness is pleasant--but not appealing enough (yet) to drink straight.

Indeed, I must confess that it took me some time after obtaining the starter culture to actually try making kefir. While I see that reluctance as silly in hindsight, at the time I was just nervous about trying something new to us.

Kefir grains remain in the strainer after the liquid passes through.

Kefir is quick and simple to make. In this weather a new batch is ready every day. One need only strain the kefir "grains" (which look more like mini cauliflower florets than any grain) from the current batch, then place the grains in a clean glass container and cover with fresh milk. Of course, we use our raw goat milk; although I understand that kefir can be made with coconut milk or even almond milk. In about 24 hours, the new batch becomes thick and gelatinous and is ready to be strained anew.

The strained kefir gets stored in the refrigerator when we have any left over after making the day's smoothies. Kefir is a delicious way to incorporate raw milk into the diet, with the added benefits of being a fermented food.

Drought Recovery, in Progress

Late June, 2012. Land is day; vegetation is gone.

By the end of June, 2012, the land around here was dry, dry, dry. Annual rainfall was down in excess of eleven inches. The water pressure on our well was insufficient to reach all necessary destinations. Many farmers were selling off their herds, while others of us were seriously contemplating extreme downsizing measures. Our alpacas' coats were packed with dust because we no longer had green pastures for them to roam. And we were feeding hay-- precious hay that was not to have been needed until autumn--with little prospect of second or third cuttings becoming available later in the season. We watched our neighbors cutting entire fields of cornstalks, trying to salvage what they could from plants that would not be producing ears. At one time, such circumstances would have filled me with anxiety, trepidation, and dread. These days I have a deep, abiding faith that allows me to accept what comes with trust in the future.

8 July 2012.  Wet promises.

When the calendar flipped into July, the rains came. Steamy-hot days were concluded with showy thunderstorms and the blessedly cool breezes they delivered. We opened windows wide to welcome the fresh air, and positioned buckets and barrels to catch the roof runoff.

The okra plants along the driveway that we had started from seed, and watered by hose just to keep alive, finally put out more than the two or four leaves they had been sporting. They have began to look like plants with a future, although not yet like productive bushes. The self-sown pumpkins down beyond the gate have stopped wilting dangerously. The blueberry bushes are even showing some sprigs of spring green, although it appears that we did lose one of the six bushes we put in this year.

14 July 2012. The land is greening again.

May these rains continue to fall. Although this area is not yet out of drought conditions, we have escaped the Severe Drought label we carried through June and have dodged the sword that has fallen across so much of the country's farmland. Praise the Lord!

One of our remaining two horses, the black-and-white Spotted Saddle Horse named Millie, is close to being sold. Soon she should be romping across 400 lush acres with 80 other horses. Miss Janet, the filly, will be next. That will leave more pasture for the rest.

Hopefully, the rains will continue apace, allowing the land and water-levels to recover fully. In the meantime, we continue to feed hay judiciously, and are rotating the goats and alpacas through the back acres and woods to graze on the green as it appears.

Sweet Potato Patch

Our little sweet potato patch.

We have yet to succeed at growing sweet potatoes, but are giving it a go again this season. We put in a small sweet potato patch in a raised bed beside the house using plant starts from Edwards Feeds, our favorite feed mill located in downtown Lebanon. Later we added a couple of cut ends from sweet potatoes that had sprouted in the kitchen.

This afternoon when I checked the bed, the butt-ends planted a week or so ago were doing well. That is a relief, especially as the weather has been very hot and very dry of late. Many plants indeed many whole crops, are struggling just to survive these days. Thriving seems out of the question.

Already our little patch is doing better this year than in any of our previous attempts. Let's hope the weather breaks soon so that plants can return to the business of growing,