Going Local-Sunrise Acres

 

Right near the heart of Lincolnton,

I mean, literally minutes away from downtown,

locals can find farm fresh eggs for sale.

This sign led me to Sunrise Acres,

a regenerative farm,

where I met a kindred spirit in Lynn, the chicken keeper,

among her many other jobs.

We have chooks, but there are times when

we don't have enough eggs, and so I choose to 

support other chicken tenders, rather than buy from the store.

What a great discovery this farm is!

Lynn and her family manage about 12 acres

and a collection of animals,

including chickens, cows, guinea fowl and horses.

When the property was first acquired,

cows and sheep were used to clear several pastures

that were full of unwanted brush.

What a great way of using livestock to work the land.

Over 40 chooks are able to free range safely all day,

with the assistance of electric fencing and

several guard animals.

There is a large shaded area under the trees

for added comfort in the summer months.

The overflowing veg beds contain much of the family's food sources.

Cucumbers, green beans, melons, onions,

pumpkins and tomatoes are some of the main crops grown here.

There are also several types of fruit trees and bushes to

contribute to the family's harvest basket.

I couldn't help but notice that the elderberry bush 

was fully loaded and ready for picking.

Lynn is well versed in food preservation skills,

and I shared an elderberry syrup recipe with her.

This family is quite self-sufficient,

as most of their dietary needs are fulfilled on the farm.

On the day that I visited, the onions were curing 

underneath the cover of a nearby outbuilding.

When asked about her method of growing, 

Lynn shared something she learned over time.

Growing onions in raised beds has given her the best results,

as drainage is vital to the bulbs.

She has also been trimming the greens down to the shortest stem

about halfway through the growing process.

These two factors have helped her have the best onion harvest.

Garden Protector

The property is dotted with metal raised beds

filled with flowers.  Lynn enjoys making arrangements

to bring indoors.

The pollinators are everywhere!

Her colorful zinnias are especially stunning!

Cows use rotational grazing to enhance the soil,

keep parasite pressure low, and improve the pasture

for the next rotational move.

Keeping the livestock moving is better for the animals,

and strengthens the structure of the soil.

One of the magical sights I got to see

were these guinea eggs.

They had been left in a nest beneath this bush.

Guineas are one of the best defenses against pest pressure,

especially ticks!

As time allows, the family continues to work on their landscape.

This beautiful grass has been used to keep soil from

being lost on this area where a slope begins.

Using what they have on the property to deal with challenges

is one of the basics of homesteading.

And why I felt so comfortable with Lynn.

She and I have a similar mindset when it comes 

to homesteading and I felt a connection to her

the very first time I bought eggs from her.

It feels good to support folks who are good stewards

of their land and the animals that dwell there.

Here's more information about this wonderful place.

Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome back to Homestead Happenings!

Well, it's been a while.

I was having trouble getting pictures to load up

on my laptop, and I'm not sure how I figured out 

a different way, but we'll see how it goes.

I really am trainable!

This lone sunflower has been a major hub of activity

over the last week or so.

Although many, many sunflower seeds were planted,

for some reason this is the only one that showed up.

It could be the drought that we are still experiencing,

but it's just not been the same summer without them.

The Seminole pumpkins are doing well

and started to climb the arched cattle panel.

So far, we have no flowers, but I continue to hope

that we will be able to enjoy this fall treat.

This particular pumpkin stores very well.

Let me know if you'd like some seeds.

The bed where the onions grew is now seeded with

carrots and a few lettuce varieties.

I've grown carrots before, but had decided

that since organic carrots are so affordable at the store,

it's not really worth it to grow your own.

I changed my mind.

The boards and screen cover you see are 

left in place until the seeds germinate.

I learned that on GrowVeg,

one of my favorite YouTube gardening channels.

The secondary reason for the covers is to keep the chooks

from scratching up the seeds.

Let's see what pops up!

Some of the leeks have been harvested,

and these will be cleaned, chopped and put into

the freezer in glass jars.

They will come in handy during soup making season.

There's nothing better than homemade leek soup

on a cold wintry evening.

Having this wire rack out on the front porch worked out well.

Garlic, onions, and now the leeks can dry there

before being put into long term storage.

This corner of the porch stays dry and shaded,

so we'll use this method from now on.

I've been thinking of giving up on growing onions,

because the harvest seems so small and the fruit

does not seem to bulb up as expected.

This is our harvest this year (apart from some

which has been given away), which added up to

seven pounds.

They are fine looking bulbs, and I'm sure they will

taste great, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra bed space.

Leeks have always done better in my garden,

so time will tell if this veg makes it into next year's list.

This is my first ever homemade

elderberry syrup made from the land!

The honey is local (3 doors down),

and the recipe was SO simple!

The best tip was to pick the berries

when they are super dark,

place them in a container and freeze them

until you have enough to make a batch.

Once they are frozen, they are much easier to destem,

and fingers stay clean and dry.

This will be a yearly ritual now,

and there are still berries left on the bushes

for the chooks and the birds.

(I'm secretly thinking I need to make more room for elderberries.)

Another new venture in the kitchen

is this non-dairy ice cream recipe.

It uses water, almond butter, vanilla and maple syrup.

It is incredibly creamy tasting and because it

is so clean, it can be enjoyed anytime,

not just for a special occasion.

I can't wait to try new combinations!

The bread baking continues with my new obsession

of everything fresh-milled flour.

The flavor is amazing and knowing that this bread

is actually nourishing my body motivates me to explore

new recipes regularly.

The book below is one of my go-to sources

for easy to follow, simple recipes.

Our baby chooks are all grown up!

They are free ranging with the rest of the flock,

and will soon graduate into the big run

with the rest of the girls,

although they will continue to stay in their own coop.

In just a few weeks, they should be laying and

allowing us to share eggs with our neighbors and friends.

What a blessing these girls have been.

They actually seem to enjoy being together, share food without fighting,

and move as one unit when they are out foraging.

They could teach our older girls a thing or two 

about getting along.

So grateful to have been able to grow our flock

and that everyone is healthy and active.

It feels good to share on the blog again,

and I'm glad that at least for now,

things are working okay.

I missed writing, and it's important to me

to record my day-to-day garden adventures here.

It's the simple things in life that matter.

~daisy

Hope to Be Back Soon

 

I've missed sharing our Homestead Happenings.

I'm hoping that the difficulties with loading pictures

will soon be resolved.

Enjoy this gift of a day!

~daisy

Happy Birthday, America!

This is America to me. 

God bless us, everyone.

In case the video doesn't work,

here are the words to this masterpiece.

What is America to me?
A name, a map, a flag I see
A certain word, democracy
What is America to me?

The house I live in
A plot of earth, a street
The grocer and the butcher
And the people that I meet
The children in the playground
The faces that I see
All races and religions
That's America to me

A place I work in
A worker by my side
A little town or city
Where my people lived and died
The howdy and the handshake
The air of feeling free
And the right to speak my mind out
That's America to me

The things I see about me
The big things and the small
The little corner newsstand
And the house a mile tall
The wedding and the churchyard
The laughter and the tears
And the dream that's been a growing
For a hundred and eighty 250 years.

The town I live in
The street, the house, the room
Pavement of the city
Or a garden all in bloom
The church, the school, the clubhouse
The millions lights I see
But especially the people
That's America to me

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Earl Robinson / Lewis Allan

The House I Live In lyrics © Music Sales Corporation, Chappell & Co., Inc.

Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on 

here on our Piedmont property.

Last week it felt so much like summer,

even though it is still days away,

but this week has been fairly mild,

which made it a pleasure to accomplish 

a few tasks outdoors.

This cattle panel arch will be soon supporting

our Seminole pumpkins.

This particular variety is less prone to trouble

with the vine borers that plague so many squash plants.

They store well and make a wonderful and hearty soup.

Garbanzo beans (also called chick peas),

are one of my favorite beans.

They are so versatile and I use them in everything

from hummus to salads to stews.

It makes sense to try to grow my own,

so I sprouted some in a bowl and planted them.

It's always exciting trying a new crop.

We'll see how it goes!

The new lettuce bed is making great progress,

thanks to some much needed rain.

Baby greens will be harvested in the next few days

and this bed should do an ample job of feeding me

for a couple of months.

I'm thinking of placing some sort of cover over the bed,

to keep the harshest of the sun's rays off of the plants.

It may be something as simple as a beach umbrella,

if that's all I can find to keep the crop cooler.

The straw will help with this objective.

It took me a minute,

but I finally remembered what had been planted in this pot.

It stayed in the garage over winter

and started to emerge over the past week.

It's turmeric, and it comes back

reliably, year after year.

Maybe I need to put a tag in there

so as not to strain the old noggin next year.

The garlic was harvested and is now curing 

on the front porch (see the photo below).

Out of 100 cloves planted,

we got about 50 bulbs.

A bit disappointing, as I grow for myself and sister,

but we are cooking less and less, so it will be enough.

Two new areas in the ground were used this season,

so perhaps the soil was not ideal.

We'll try a new spot in the fall and hope for the best.

Here on the front porch,

a rack was set up to cure the garlic, leek and onions,

as well as dry some herbs like lemon balm and rosemary.

We had been using the garage for curing,

until I thought about the emissions from the cars,

and decided to make a change.

When you learn better, you do better.

This lavender is bursting with blooms!

What a delight to brush up against it

and take in the fragrance.

Even I can smell it,

and I can't smell much these days.

I'm thinking about drying some of it

so that I can make something with the dried flowers and stems.

This low maintenance plant does quite well

with very little water and absolutely no fertilizer.

What a dream!