A Second Bloom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We came home from a week on vacation, to see the Japanese Knotweed in Full Bloom.. AGAIN!
Typically, from what I Have read, Japanese Knotweed is a fall bloomer.  It has always bloomed here in June/July and then would be done for the season..
I drove our 12 miles of gravel yesterday to see it in full Bloom throughout the entire Forest for a SECOND TIME! This is a  major Honey source for us( and the bees) here in the Pisgah National Forest.


Does this mean another Honey flow for us?? We will have to wait and see until this weekend when my husband gets into the hives...if nothing else, its more nectar for the bees!!

Blessings
The Cools

Year of The Tomato

Ok, So I consider myself a pretty good gardener. Ive learned so much since planting my first garden in 1999 (16 yrs ago) and can identify most any  garden bug or fungus. I know how to fertilize organically, keep bugs at bay, and reduce the chance of fungal disease ..

I can grow almost anything with success...


Except a Tomato.. The prize of Summer.


Now when I lived in the Midwest, growing a tomato seemed so easy, you threw the plant in the ground, pretty much ignored it, and then went out and picked TONS of tomatoes.

And then I moved here. For 9 years I have been trying to grow tomatoes with very little success.. Between minimal sunlight ( we live in a holler between 2 ridges so get about 6 hours of full sun, the minimum for gardening), the humidity, and giant downpours in the summer months, My plants either just didn't put on fruit or died quickly from some type of blight. I tried every year. One year I planted around 80 plants, and I don't remember how many I picked, but trust me it was nothing to write home about.

This year I picked a new location. It was totally last minute. I had Robb till 3 strips about 20 ft long. put down some weed barrier, and planted about 35 tomato plants. I noticed this area did get quite a bit of sun compared to my other locations,,about 7 hours.
The soil in this location is awful. It is extremely acidic, rocky, and in need of some serious amending. I did add a little chicken manure and compost.

Add , to the sunny location, and very very hot and Extremely DRY summer...and that is the equation for TOMATOES!!! I have no other explanation. This location only gets about an hour more of sun. I do think it being so dry ( we have had pretty much no rain this summer) has helped  too.

               I even picked a 2 pounder, Biggest Tomato I've grown yet!




I can't tell you how many I picked, a couple hundred pounds atleast. I was picking near 20 lbs every other day at one point.
I've been canning up Salsa and Tomatoes non stop. What a treat it will be once the Snow flies!

My husband and I have been having tomato tastings ( kinda like wine tasting, where you try it and talk about the flavor, except we are usually barefoot and wearing  overalls ,haha)
Because If you haven't had an heirloom tomato, you just haven't experienced  the amazing flavor a Tomato can offer.. really, I'm serious.

Our favorites???

 

 From Left to right: black Vernassiage, Wagner Blue, Solar Flare, Indigo Apple, Natures Riddle, Cherokee Purple, PorkChop


I believe Robb really liked the Solar Flare Tomato. I vote On Indigo Apple, the flavor is like NO OTHER, and the yield is awesome

What's your Favorite Heirloom Tomato??

Blessings
The Cool Family

Homesteader of the Year

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some exciting news here at The Cools.
I am sure many of you are readers of Mother Earth News Magazine ( and if not you should totally pick up a copy, best magazine ever!)


Anyhoo, we were recently informed by them that were have been selected as ; Mother Earth News Magazines 2015 Homesteaders of the Year!

You can find a small article about us and our Homestead on page 30 of the Current Aug/Sept issue!
Or you can read about us here online

http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/self-reliance/self-reliant-living-homesteaders-of-the-year-2015-zm0z15aszkon.aspx

we are the second story titled ; "The Bees Knees"


We are just honored and completely tickled ( and still in shock) to be chosen for such and amazing title by probably our favorite magazine ever!

Just thought I would share this exciting news , and hope to get a more lengthy post in here soon!

Blessings!
The Cools

family, food and farmin'

 

 

 

(this post was written last week.. hehe, just now getting it posted) 

 

 

 

 

Hello! well I am still without a couple of keys on my keyboard so please forgive any typos!
Well I often feel like I am repeating myself, but life has been extremely busy on the homestead.
Mid July is a time for full on harvest of veggies, canning, soap making and labeling, pulling honey , filling jars and attending the market, butchering chickens . and on and on....
I feel like I should post about some new amazing remodel project that is going on , or some craft I have been working on, but there is just NO time right now.
We have numerous  minor house repairs that hopefully Robb can eventually get too once Bee season slows down and I cant wait to get behind my sewing machine again! Another month or 2 of full on busy and we will really start to slow down and exhale!

On another note, my Dad came to visit this past week. We had WONDERFUL time.. He wanted to be here to Norah off to Camp and then spent a few extra days with us, and was a wonderful help! He helped Fill honey Jars, chop wood( I think he was a bit puzzled that it Is July, we heat completely with wood and had an empty woodshed, I assured him this was the norm and we would catch up,,hahah) We even got creek time in , along with some relaxing evenings enjoying each others company.

Miss Norah is at Camp for an entire week at Turtle Island Preserve. If you are not familiar with this place, or Eustace Conway, you owe it to yourself to check it out. We are very lucky to be able to send here to such an amazing place! I am hoping she is having a blast and cant wait to get her back on Saturday and here all about her experience.



Life is Good!
How is Summer in your neck of the woods?

The Cool Family

A picture is worth a thousand words...

A picture is worth a thousand words......................

and luckily this Is very true!!! my S key  is broken along with a couple others ,so shifting between the keyboard and online keyboard to type has been a pain in the butt..

So for todays post I will let the photos speak for themselves :)

 

Blessings

The Cool Family

100 degrees

Holy smokes, is it warm in the holler! We have been hovering around 95-100 degrees that past few days, with about 70% humidity. Add to that me canning the bounty, being off grid with no A/C and limited fan use, and cooking doesn't really sound all that  inviting.

Luckily everyone has been happy with watermelon and popcorn,,hahaha, but I figure I should probably actually make something up with substance today...


The following recipe, is my new summer go to, Its amazing! We have a lot of Kale growing, and this is a great way to use it without sauteeing.



Summer Time Kale Salad

1 very large bunch of Kale

1 cup almonds
3/4 cup raisins or cranberries

1/2-1 cup diced red onion

Blue Cheese to taste, I use about  3/4 cup or so

 

 

Dressing
1/4 cup White Balsalmic Vinegar
3/4 cup Olive oil
2 tsps. Dijon mustard
pinch of salt

chop up your kale very small,,add diced onion, almonds) or walnuts), cranberries, blue cheese
whisk the dressing thoroughly , pour over salad,, let sit for an hour..

SO easy to make , healthy , delicious, and a great way to use up all that kale in your garden!!!

**** Keep in mind, I don't measure much, hahaha,I just kinda eye it, but you get the idea


 and For Dessert..............................

Blueberry Popsicles

 

1 cup Fresh Blueberries
1 cup almond milk
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt.
Raw Honey (optional, if using Plain yogurt I would definitely  add honey or they wont be sweet)

Put all ingredients in blender,,, pour into popsicles containers and freeze

My daughter and husband LOVE these.. We make them with Peaches too :)

 

 

 

I would love to hear your favorite summertime recipies!



Blessings

 

 

The Cools

                                                            

Hello June!

Is it June already!?

Time has slipped away from me, as it usually does this time of year..

I figured I would stop in and say hello and give ya quick update on whats been going on, on the homestead!
* We welcomed 4 baby chicks into the world
*gardens are growing and we are harvesting all kinds of  beautiful veggies!
 * We pulled our first 2 rounds of honey
* 17 chickens were processed last week and filled up the freezer!, and we have another 20 to do next month
* The Farmers Market has started so we have been quite busy with that as well....

Ill leave you with some eye *candy* of our June happenings....

                                 One of our many gardens, filling in nicely

                                         Norah running the booth at the market

                                             A beautiful frame of Spring honey!

                                                Extracting Honey with Dad

                                      A Freezer full of Chicken

Processing chickens

Until Next time..........................

The Cools