Back in Business - Farmer Fitting

Things are finally starting to get back to normal after my whirlwind travels of last week.

Well, sort of anyway. I'm still buried in a pile of laundry, the house is slowly coming back together, my brain is still halfway fried from alcohol consumption but I'm GETTING there.

And it's been cold around these parts. I came home to a broken heater (wtf) so it's been REAL cold around these parts. 32 degrees in the morning. A frost that is trying to kill my last, dwindling tomato plants (because of course there are still tomatoes in November, this is CALIFORNIA people).

Holy shit is this WINTER? Nah. Winter around here means buckets and buckets of rain... and since I have been out of town for all of it so far, I'm firmly denying it. But we are very firmly entrenched in Fall. And I love it.

I love the rustle of the leaves as we go for walks. The color of the trees and the funny way that the light has changed to make a sky that isn't really the same color blue as it is during the summer.

But with the advent of another, different, growing season, I am at a loss. I don't know how to grow stuff in non-Summer and Spring months. I assume that things CAN be grown around here during the Fall and Winter... after all, it really doesn't get that cold most of the time. But what?

I planted greens, some hopefully hardy Lacinato Kale, swiss chard, and I'm trying to keep the lettuce alive for a little bit longer. I planted broccoli, but some asshat animal (bird, chicken?) has eaten it. (I just planted it last week. I mean REALLY? )

So I guess the question is, what do I plant now? Do I try to jerry-rig a greenhouse of sorts? Are there vegetables that will survive the winter here in Northern CA?

Help me internet!

I know I have access to Google. I know that all I have to do is look it up. But I want to know what your favorites are. What do you do during the winter, besides turn your compost pile and wish for Spring? How have you found success in planting during these months?

Give me your wisdom, I demand it.

At least I'm successful at 4 things. I swear, we have eggs coming out of our eyeballs.

Anybody want some?

Farmer Fitting : Update

So after weeks of being away, I'm just now taking stock of my once-glorious vegetable garden. Sadly, I think that it might need some serious help, even though I thought a few weeks away from me might actually do it some good.

So after tallying up the points between Mother Nature and myself? I think it might be a draw.

Winning


Look what I harvested yesterday!!!

One zucchini, that I rescued from what might be a dying plant, and that I'm not even sure was finished growing yet. Whatever.

A gazillion little Yukon Gold potatoes, all from one potato plant that looked like it was ready. This of course assumes that I know what ready looks like.


An Egg!! YAY! I still only have one hen that is laying so far and we are getting about an egg a day but it's still awesome. The nice thing is that it's really so small it's only half an egg, so it makes feeding the kiddo that much better.


There is more winning -

A few tomato plants that are giving tomatoes.

The strawberry plants have continued to kick ASS, as long as I drown the predatory slugs in beer. Who knew that Lagunitas had more than one use? They love the stuff! 

The rest of the potato plants are growing like crazy and the rosemary is taking over like the vile weed that it is.  And we have CITRUS! Its not ripe yet, but what the hell... it's been known to help the flavor of a Pacifico now and then.

FAIL 
Um, yeah, while some of the tomato plants have some fruit on them... the rest of them look like they are about to croak. Not so bueno. Any ideas people? And please don't say water - they have microdrip and we think they may be overwatered, but since I suck at this, it's anyone's guess.

The arugula has gone to seed, along with half of my herbs. This is in spite of constant pruning to prevent it.

The spinach all died.

The cucumber met his untimely death as well.

A moment of silence please for all of the vegetables that met their fate at my hands.

*****

I am disheartened by my garden this year, not gonna lie.  I do think that I got a little overzealous with my veggies and had a tendency to cram things into the planter, as opposed to picking what would work and planting that, but I didn't think it would be this bad.

I tried to lay out what I wanted to plant for the summer but things ended up a little bit crowded. I tried to get uber farm-like by using seeds instead of starters and ended up fighting a losing battle with the birds (why is it always birds that plague me). After Armageddon of my seedlings I thought what had survived was all basil. Once again, WRONG. I am now the proud owner of about 10 dying tomato plants.

I feel like I tried a lot this year but not much worked. Hopefully next year when I start planting it will come out better, but for now, I'm going to say that Mother Nature has made me her bitch.

Sigh.

But at least the chickens are all still here.

The only chicken that is worth ANYTHING.

Building a Better Mousetrap

Hello?

Oh, Hi... I have a blog? Crap. Who knew?

Yeah, so things have been a little bit hectic 'round these parts for the past 3 weeks. You've seen the BlogHer nonsense... I mean have I stopped talking about it for a minute? Yeah, not so much.

But while all the madness of trips to Tahoe and San Diego and parties and drinking have been going on, we did have a completely amazing moment here at It's Fitting.

I received that picture from my husband during the Haute Green party and just about keeled over and DIED. The world's most difficult and expensive chickens have finally started laying.

Well, let me rephrase that. The chicken has started laying. Only one of the four. So while I'm SUPER excited that we now have an egg a day, I would love it if the other difficult little shits would start as well. Because people, these things have cost quite a bit lately in both money and man (read: husband) hours.

So you remember the issues we had with them getting out? And the joy with which we put up bird netting and watched them puzzle over it and lament their situation in life?

They outsmarted us, again and again, until we not only had the one, most bold, chicken getting out (Thelma), but all of them. Every night into the redwood tree. And pretty much giving us the finger every time they did.

I thought the hubby was going to lose his MIND.

So more money was thrown at the problem... and a super-structure was constructed. I do believe that his manly pride for wielding tools and building shit was damaged by our insensitive winged friends and that this was just something that he HAD. TO. DO.

So, a bazillion dollars later, we have built a better mousetrap. The girls are no longer getting out (for now) and that one egg a day that we are getting? Is the most expensive egg we have ever eaten.

Wordless Wednesday : Free Range

Righteously Pissed Off

So if you have followed me for a bit, you know we have four feathered bitches friends that just moved in. You also know that we are having some issues with the girls lately... namely, flying the coop. They are not producing eggs yet, so in my mind that makes them significantly more work than they are worth.

I came home today from a blissfully fabulous three days without the hubs and kid. I love them, but BOYOBOY was it needed. I look so well rested I may just have had a facelift and botox while I was there. (I did not)

The issue with the girls was still there though when I got back.

So instead of sitting down to a nice glass of wine on the patio with the hubs? We got to work.

We put chicken netting all along the top of the coop, basically covering their access to the giant redwood tree they are so happy to roost in every night.

OOOOOOOH BOY. Ever seen chickens when they get pissed off?

Not seconds into having the run enclosed they were testing the boundaries. Looking for chinks in our armor of netting. I was nervous they would find a way, but the hubs was like, "I mean, not like they are velociraptors or anything." HA. Watching one of them army crawl along the top of the fence looking for a way out, we were both speechless. It was like watching National Geographic. An hour passed with all of them trying various ways until they finally decided it was time to give it up and go to bed.

Chickens - 9  Us - 1... for now.

And of course the hubby had to mock them a little bit. Sorry ladies.

And the password is Drew 

Righteously Pissed Off Chickens from ItsFitting on Vimeo.

How To Suck at Farming

1) Go to expensive, non GMO, heirloom seed store with little to no idea what you are doing. Buy up about 20 dollars worth of seeds with the intention of "doing it yourself, from scratch gosh-darnit".

2) Plant said seeds in either the raised beds or the seedling planter, enclosed in the greenhouse-ish thing that is part of the raised bed.

3) Leave for a week

4) Come home to find sprouts! Little green shoots that boast of your green thumb and ability to raise things from the earth.

5) Leave for a few more days

6) Come home to find the larger seedlings, for the most part, eaten.

7) Curse birds, build rudimentary scarecrow. Laugh with the knowledge that you have now bested those pesky birds and whatever is left to grow will do so uninterrupted.

8) Walk outside a few days later to see that not only have the damn birds NOT stayed away, they have eaten the last of my zucchini plants. They are laughing at me from the fence... I just know it.

9) Contemplate going out to buy bigger starters for the seedlings that were eaten. And maybe a gun.

Before and After 

These little babies are all I have left.