Trickle Creek Mercantile
  • homestead
    • Our Vision >
      • The Journey
  • Excerpts
  • Youthful Endeavors
    • Notably Notched
    • Glori B... in action >
      • G.B. Gallery
      • Angora Rabbits
    • From Me To You >
      • From the Workshop
      • FMTY Gallery
  • Art & Activities
  • Mercantile

What's Happening...

A Garden Poured Out...

8/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
 Although, it's not without it's work, the Lord's touch of abundance has filled out the Kitchen Garden rather nicely! As we no longer have the ducks to munch down all our slugs, and we did NOT get truly dry weather until mid-July, it has been a challenge to keep those munching mollusks at bay!
Picture
Picture
Picture
We were gifted Sunflower starts from Miss Judy,  bought some local sunflower mixed seeds from 'Chipping Twigs Farm' (acclimated better for growing) and we got some started from our own seeds.... I was determined to have some Sunflowers!
We had to wait to get all the starts in, but when it was warm and dry enough we planted them just in front of the wood chip border mounds. They are coming in well as a living privacy screen.  The slugs were able to get to some of them creating some gaps, (grrr!) so, I used some Jerusalem Artichoke (also from 'Chipping Twigs') to fill them in as they also do much better with soggy weather... They are getting quite tall, but have yet to flower....The bonus, these produce a high fiber root crop that will expand and produce even more next year!

Picture
We have also struggled with greedy, hungry MOLES!!! These guys have found the areas we topped with rabbit manure, or where we put it into the holes before we planted (I recommend this to everyone) and they love all the worms that gravitate to those nutrient rich spots. Unfortunately, as they tunnel, they tear up root systems and we go out to the gardens only to find giant sunflowers tipping because their roots have been seared. In the case of our raspberry patch (on the other side of the house), we've lost over a third because a mole tunneled through and we didn't know until the poor raspberries had baked in the heavy sun and were drying out so quickly! Because we mulched heavy with wood shavings in that area, it is much harder to see the digging and harder to get soil back into those roots.

We work diligently to make the soil rich for the plants and those moles want to fill their bellies on the goodness as well! We have tried a number of measures and have only trapped one mole so far... One thing we've noticed in our raspberry patch, the row we made a hugel kultur in was not affected. The wood chunks make it very hard for the moles to dig - so YaY! We're learning!
Making more of our beds hugel kultur will require quite a bit of forethought and work. But will be work for the winter, not now...
Picture
He's standing at about 6' tall, yes, those are BIG broccoli!
We are now harvesting HUGE heads of delicious broccoli that Jr. Farmer is showing off! They are 'the best broccoli' Dad says he's ever tasted. I was pleased they had solid, strong stems. I learned years ago that a local, large farm was having problems with hollow shafts on their broccoli. I researched it and learned it was due to low levels of boron. I believe the Lord has directed our efforts to avoid that with our soil amending & compost tea treatments and that is something many don't consider, but another aspect we're thankful for! Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ has poured out a fruitful garden for us!
Picture
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time... Ecclesiastes 3:11
0 Comments

Kitchen Garden Progress

6/3/2017

0 Comments

 
After several months of productive composting, soils heaving with the freeze and settling again, I wondered if we'd have little to do but work what would be great garden loam for spring planting. After all, I'd found putting my rabbit litter in one area over winter resulted in beautifully rich soil in just a few months, years ago...but alas, this time -Not so much! 
Picture
This was not my previous rabbit manure mix and as it had sat in the weather before we 'harvested' it, it was a more soggy form when it was put into the original rows. I realized it had been distributed far too heavy in the limited areas and didn't get enough air to break down correctly. I went through with the pitch fork and tried to transfer it more equally amongst the entire garden patch but realized it was going to take more work to open up the clumps and allow them to break down. The challenge is, our soils stay wet a REALLY long time here in Washington; in particular, our property has a lot of evergreen trees (extra shade) and in some areas, quite a high water table and clay soils. For us this means we HAVE to wait until it's been dry for several days before we can even attempt to till, otherwise we'd have more chunks with a severely compacted soil base only a few inches down. Jr. Farmer and I tilled it once in April and we still had a lot of heavy manure chunks. Jr. Farmer tilled it again, going a different direction a while later - mind you, these dry day streaks aren't so common here... still a LOT of chunks! In between I was going out with the pitch fork breaking up pieces as best I could. Finally, in May, Lil' Miss was able to help us out and she went yet another direction. I was thankful for the help and grateful we had reached something I could work a bit better in...
Picture
Making Progress! Our Compost Tea barrel in the upper right of the garden is our natural fertilizer! We use rabbit manure & Azomite in the beginning and comfrey, nettle and dock as it begins growing later in the season.
I made several pitchfork mounded rows and utilized free coffee  burlap sacks to put down before I added the  sawdust for the walking paths.
I ended up taking advantage of our local hardware store's sale on starts because even with the aid of Jr. Farmer's hand made cattle panel greenhouse, my starts were a flop. Late into May here, I planted almost 100 different brassicas starts - cabbages, kohlrabi, broccoli, Brussels sprouts & Chinese cabbage. Blue Hubbard squash was planted in two rabbit manure based mounds. I also added some  herbs and celery to round out the mix a bit. Dad decided the cement mixer would stay there as "it looks like it's pouring out a garden!" I hope things fill out well and what we're both picturing comes about!
The most important thing I do when planting is ask for the Lord to bless our work with His wonderful abundance. I encourage you to do the same!
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day....      Genesis 3:8a
0 Comments

A New Kitchen Garden

2/4/2017

0 Comments

 
It has been a wonderful treat to see the growth and progress in all areas of the garden.
Last year, as we were working on getting a new house in, we didn't get to work much in the garden. In fact, we did a LOT of dirt work, but the heavy equipment kind, taking out stumps, leveling the ground, bringing in big gravel, repairing the garden beds and getting branches and lots and lots of tree parts out. This year we are also having to use heavy equipment to move dirt away from the foundation making sure we are allowing for the 5% grade we were informed we're required to do. Beyond all that, we finally, finally got to dig into the gardens again.
This January we decided to add a new 'Kitchen Garden' to the other side of the house because the new kitchen window faces the opposite side of the house it used to. I enjoy being able to see the beauty of a garden as I'm working in the kitchen and while preparing meals and it's especially lovely to catch glimpses of easily accessible food we can add to what we're making! The previously existing weeds and grass were already gone because we had to clear out trees in that area and we finished fall 2016 by mulching it all with straw and keeping the remaining Maple tree's leaf litter in place.
So, I found an ad for someone needing their excess rabbit manure picked up  (woohoo!- top quality garden & worm food there) and we got the farm truck, pitch forks & shovels and filled it up not once, but twice! Each time we got it home the boys spread it in nice rows to prepare for a potential garden layout. I also put free, raw sawdust from a fine furniture maker in between those rows as a great mulch and to better define the planting areas. The rabbit folks were happy, the furniture store is happy, we are happy, and I'm dreaming of explosions of greens, pinks, and tall yellow and orange Sunflowers....aaahhh.....
Picture
Picture
Yes, that is our tiny farm guard we got from Grandma and Grandpa surveying our work and the giant stump (on the far left) is what's left of the huge tree that destroyed our old house. After the length was cut off, it ended up slowly righting itself over a period of weeks and looking like it never fell! I plan to mulch heavy around it and use it as a 'nurse tree' to grow goodies in the future!
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Genesis 2:15
Additional Note: Later, we were able to get some free local wood chips from a service doing work along our road. We used this to make a mounded border around the entire garden making a nice walking area and definitive line dividing it from the grass. This also acts as a nutrient hold capturing excess water or potential runoff and filtering it before it heads down the hill to filter again through the grasses toward the creek.
0 Comments

Oh, the weather outside is...

11/26/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Cold!!! Wet!!! Not much fun to work in...

Okay, so really, it's typical Washington weather but interestingly enough, things in the garden kept going for quite some time...I still had strawberries growing in November! That's unusual for us, but our first true, cold freeze didn't happen until pretty late this month. Typically we have our tomatillo plants growing late into October, and they were, but because we decided this summer to put a lot of effort into our 2017 garden, the plants were excelling from our extra effort.


Read More
0 Comments

Putting Your Garden to bed

11/14/2015

0 Comments

 
PicturePaul Gautchi's Orchard, completed covered in plenty of wood chip mulch!
When you go to bed at night, do you wrap yourself in your favorite comforter preparing to catch some comfortable Zzzz's? Have you considered that your Garden, as it's entering the shorter, colder, wetter days of Fall/Winter could use a similar type of comfort?
For several years we have been employing a number of soil amending mulches to insulate and create a 'skin', as
Paul Gautschi calls it, that will utilize the natural processes (rains, snow, frost & thaw) of these months to enhance our soils. One year we put three inches of composted horse manure on all but a couple of our beds and wouldn't you know everything, but those two, was easy to plant in, while those left bare nearly needed a tiller to free up the soil. Not only were the mulched beds less labor intensive, but they produced more abundantly as well. 
Only this year did we get several loads of wood chips, enough to get us started on a sizable area- on grassy, never tilled ground - and have a chance to see the mimicry of God's work and it's affects into the next year. Already we saw how it fed the soil and we enjoyed bigger black berries, produced more abundantly, for a longer duration than we ever had along our fence line. The berries were delicious and juicy despite never being watered with anything other than the rains that came - remember it was record drought season here this year. We have begun putting this area to bed and using some of the excess for a new berry patch. The former hoop house area is now full of Marion Berries, Boysenberries, Logan Berries, Thorn-less Black Berries, and several varieties of Raspberries. These were all a very special gift, from the Lord, through various people, and we couldn't be more thrilled! We're anticipating our largest harvest yet and look forward to reaping the rewards of the hard work!
Although we had only enough time and space available to add the wood chips and chopped leaves/greenery to our pathways this spring/summer; we see our paths maintaining body (not compacting but springing back after we walk) and had several luscious weeds and plants easily starting in it, and easily uprooted, including several strawberry runners!
In the past, using wood chips in a select area, we did not have the same results.  We lost a large number of herbs with a chip mulching done over one season and all our strawberries as well, while other areas flourished - like the rhubarb on our smaller hugelkultur. We're not certain where we erred... did we not have the chopped greenery too? Did we apply too thinly/thickly?
The years and experiences the Lord gives us are meant to be times of fruitfulness for the Him, which equates to lots of learning, and we count all these experiences as such.  Just as important is accepting and using those mulching materials the Lord provides. They may not be wood chips; it may be dirty wool, composted horse manure, lawn trimmings, leaves, rotting straw/hay, livestock bedding, etc. As Joel Salatin encouraged in his book You Can Farm, we've learned to take all we can get and apply it liberally for it will only enhance our soils!
We have done further study with video tours of Paul's property posted by a
'You Tuber'. We've also learned he now has a book written by another man, David Devine. Paul's expressed zeal for intimate communication with the Lord, in spirit, is inspiring and points to where true wisdom comes from, the Lord!



And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 1Kings 4:29
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. Job 28:28

0 Comments

Changing of the Seasons

10/25/2015

0 Comments

 
PictureA flowering artichoke. Past it's prime, but oh, so beautiful!
Our garden has been the biggest project this year by far. Even as we work into October we have been enjoying a few strawberries while harvesting herbs and veggies from the garden. The rabbits continue to eat plenty of kale but as the moisture levels increase we have been harvesting, dehydrating and storing herbs by the arm loads to beat the mold. (Thank you, Lord for the abundance!)
We have been using the herbs in a number of oils, enjoyed plenty of tea, made some supplement capsules, Lil Miss made herself some special hair oil, and we are planning more tincture combinations.  Additionally, we are harvesting enough to add to animal feeds throughout the winter months.
We have also taken down our hoop house (mold city-my poor tomatoes!) and will be relegating it's use (in a dryer area of the property) to hay storage, while it's former home becomes the new berry patch. Raspberries and Marion berries will be filling in a substantial area, creating an edible garden hedge, while our expanding strawberry bed will be moving to their past location. We are so pleased that the strawberries have produced many runners for our expansion and Miss Judy, also needing to thin her plot, is generously passing more our way. What a blessing!
Additionally, we have been extending our hugelkultur to completely run the dry paddock and nearly connect with our first h.k. This will be the new home for our fruit trees and squash for next year - a beginning food forest! It will hopefully be a far better area for the trees to actually get enough sun to fruit! Certainly the abundance of mineral rich compost and continual moisture from rotten logs will add to the growth potential. We sincerely hope next year will be our best harvest yet!

Hopefully this will give you a general idea for making your own hugelkultur beds! They are a superior sustainable approach and with the wacky weather, will make it much easier to ensure our berries have plenty of moisture during the trying months of summer. Those dead wood chunks act as sponges, slowly releasing minerals and water into the soil only the searching roots will find tucked underneath the soil.
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. Isaiah 58:11
0 Comments

Gathering before Winter

10/10/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Remember the swarm of bees we brought home and an extracted hive Dad carefully removed from an abandoned church building; only to have them both swarm again and leave? Both bee families have settled high in two different very tall trees. The hive from town in our neighbor's tree bordering our garden and the other, in the woods - both with easy access to an abundance of flowering plants and several clean springs for water. They know how to pick the perfect location!
Although we cannot harvest the honey, we are blessed to have them happily pollinate all they want and it is a treat to hear their harmonious hum as they bumble about the gardens and native plants, even late into the season.
Picture
I couldn't capture, with Dad's phone, all the humming on this large Sedum as there were far more than each photo shows...How many bees can you find?
Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.  Job 37:14
0 Comments

Gleanings From the Garden

8/23/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
PictureSadly, the only picture of our 'new' squash bed.
Mom was thrilled to harvest her first larger heirloom tomatoes that had ripened. We learned from Farmer Daryl (at the Black Diamond Farmer's Market)  that tomatoes will actually go dormant and not ripen as they are saving their energy during excessive heat cycles. We learned from Frankie (at the Orting Farmer's Market) that California growers all plant their tomatoes to grow along the ground (like indeterminate vines), rather than being staked, to keep them cooler in the high heat. Interesting! We love learning tidbits like this, just from talking 'shop' with other farmers in the region. So, this year our first BIG tomatoes didn't ripen until August 12th. Even though they are quiet large, their skin is soft and they are sweet and delicious! Oh, nothing from the store tastes like it does from the garden, trust us on that!
This pumpkin, and several others like it are coming up from an heirloom, organic pumpkin we had picked up at the store, but had rotted before we got to eat it. What we bought was not ripened (although we didn't know it at the time) and was a beautiful dark green and yellow speckled squash. This is how it should have looked, and will likely store better because it was able to complete it's growth cycle. The rotten squash was just tossed onto a bed that hadn't been used much along a path to the rabbitry. This year, we dug out the pathway, filled it with wood chips and piled up the extra dirt on these seeds and decaying shell. We are blessed with a large number of squash plants happily growing in this sandy soil we didn't even need to amend!

This is a great example of how we are blessed by the natural fertility of the Lord's creation but things can be very different  - here's another experience we had:

Read More
0 Comments

Successive planting...

8/16/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
This summer we have been hard at work maintaining garden moisture while trying to keep up with our weeding and successive planting.  Successive planting essentially means that you are continually planting and adding to your garden as the season persists and/or while you harvest. For instance, when you pull up a delicious beet, put another seed in the ground - it could be another beet, a radish, or perhaps heirloom lettuce- and you'll be harvesting again soon enough! You must take care to consider when the plant will mature, how big it will get, if it will cast shadow on the crops, (sometimes you may want that- to shade a lettuce crop, for example) and ultimately, know what you want to eat.
This year we have done the best yet, but we've had help from our dear friend Miss Judy who started a few more plants in her cold frame (article 2) than she was able to use. Her generosity became a successive planting of cabbages, cucumber, kale and lettuces - what a treat!


Read More
0 Comments

Drought in Soggy Regions

8/2/2015

0 Comments

 
The difference between the farmlands of Eastern and Washington State are significant. We learned how much we appreciate all the greenery of our side (western) and how very much this depth and variance of color affects our own perception of life around us! All of Washington state is experiencing record heat and drought, but vibrant color is still apparent in so many places.
Picture
You can see that Mt. Rainier does not have much snow left on it's glacial exterior and there is nothing on the hillsides surrounding; but there is still life in the trees and the grasses that are grazed by cattle. After all the days and hours of dry, brown hillsides and sparse vegetation (with few exceptions around the rivers), we were so happy to see the greenery again!


Read More
0 Comments

Garden Beginnings

6/14/2015

0 Comments

 
Lil Miss has taken several photos of her growing garden and we wanted to share them with you to inspire you in your own gardening endeavors. If you are concerned that you are too late for a garden, don't be discouraged...there is always something you can do! There is still plenty of time to plant and plan for an abundant harvest. In the past, Mom has direct seeded zucchini plants in July and still gotten more produce then purchased starts planted in June. You can do it!

Read More
0 Comments

Dual Purpose Feed

11/16/2014

0 Comments

 
The seeds of pumpkins have long been known to be a natural *vermifuge. Each year we harvest as much as we can from a local farm and use it as a wonderful, dual purpose feed additive for our animals. Just as the flesh and seeds are tasty to us, they are relished by the animals (the rabbits, not so much.) and this huge stock pile that filled our trailer and truck bed has already been consumed. 
Even the farmer didn't know the benefits of this simple feed, having grown them for commercial use for  many years.  This is an old practice that has been lost through the years, but it cements the necessity of planting them not only for ourselves, but the animals too.
Picture
*Vermifuge: n. [L. vermis, a worm, and fugo, to expel.]
A medicine or substance that destroys or expels worms from animal bodies; an anthelmintic.
 American Dictionary of the English Language   By Noah Webster 1828
  Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.  Job 40:20
0 Comments

Rosa Rugosa

9/27/2014

0 Comments

 

Another Trickle Creek Peek...

These hardy and beautiful plants not only bring native color to your homestead, but offer a rich reward after the blossom has faded.  Rosa Rugosa's very large rose hip is rich in natural vitamin C that is easily assimilated, especially when you extract the properties in tinctures and teas as we do.  Yes, it's healthy contribution is a primary reason to have this plant but additionally, situated in an intimidating hedge formation,  it's prickly thorns will create a menacing barrier not easily breached by potential  predators.
For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.   Isaiah 18:4
0 Comments

Stir your thinking

9/3/2014

0 Comments

 
I love this heirloom plant. It's beautiful, unique and under-appreciated in our 'modern' world. We learned of the primitive uses for it in a fantastic book called The Forgotten Arts and Crafts. Years ago we stopped at a beautiful farm in Snohomish and they were growing it next to their dahlias and pumpkins. This time I captured it in a demonstration garden at the Evergreen State Fair. If we lived in a warmer climate or had more sun exposure, I'd grow it for it's intended use. Do you think you know what it is? It may  not be what comes to mind first....really look at it.
Picture
We received a wonderful note from our friends at Milestone Books a rich resource of books the encourage and bless your entire family's studies...we want to share it with you!   "Take a moment to visit this scene from heaven:"
“The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:10-11).
0 Comments

Swarm SEason

8/2/2014

3 Comments

 
Picture
We were working on tidying things about the homestead and came inside for a reprieve from the heat.
~I do believe this has been the longest duration of heat we've had since I can remember!~
A message had just been left and it was Miss Patty asking if we or anyone we knew could extract a swarm of honey bees that were making the Farmer's Market vendors a bit nervous.




Read More
3 Comments
<<Previous

    About us:

    This is our journey.
    From City to Farm.
    From 'The Norm' to Natural.
    From Excess to Simplicity.
    Relying on our Heavenly Father to lead us, to wisely instruct our children, and have the depth to live according the Lord's will for our lives. To generously give back beyond what we've been given.
    To Live joyfully, deliberately and simply.

    Archives

    April 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    Adventures
    Alpacas
    Angora Fiber
    Angora-rabbits
    Angora-rabbits
    Angoras
    Animal-husbandry
    Animal-husbandry
    Apartment Sheep
    Creative-batts
    Dyeing
    Events
    Farmers Market
    Gardens
    Glorious Beginnings
    Grooming
    Heritage Pigs
    Homestead
    Honey Bees
    Horses
    Immersion-education
    Lambs
    Luxury Loft
    Mob-grazing
    Serene Spinning
    Shearing
    Sheep
    Shepherd's Extravaganza
    Spinning
    Spring Fair
    Study Support
    Sustainable Agriculture
    Sustainable-agriculture
    Trickle Creek Eats
    Videos
    Weaving
    Wool
    Yarn

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.