Beginning to put the garden to bed

I pulled up the San Marzano tomato plants this morning.  Once I got the main crop in during the summer, the plants grew a second flush, but they never did ripen - even in hot weather. There were lots of green tomatoes on them, full-sized ones in full sun for weeks, they just wouldn't get ripe.  Out they came.  I picked all the green tomatoes off, and composted the plants.  Compost has become nearly as important a 'crop' as anything else I grow. I found a few red  and ripening ones, a few past their prime to feed to the chickens, and maybe 20 pounds of green ones.  

I will probably make the green-tomato salsa I linked to a post or two back, because it can be canned.   I found about a dozen ripe, or nearly-so 'German Pink' tomatoes to enjoy now, and left the plants in the ground for a while longer. These did very well in their protected place last year.  It was only after a heavy frost that the foliage died and revealed even more tomatoes. 

   

This is just two plants!

After some research, I have found this is a 'vineing' variety.  Simple stakes are useless, and cages aren't much better.  They will just continue to grow taller until killed by frost.  I have thrown the vines over the fence (8 feet tall) and they have still grown another two or more feet on the other side.   The neighbor has been told anything growing on his side is his.  Lessons learned this year:  Get the seedlings started inside and in the ground much earlier so I can enjoy the tomatoes in the summer instead of fall! 



I pulled the hot pepper plants too, mostly because I'm tired of messing with them.  I got another couple of dozen jalapenos and almost that many green cayennes. Green or not, they are still hot, and will dry just fine in the dehydrator.  I got a warning tingle on my hands as I cut up the plants to put in the compost pile.  Apparently even the leaves and stems are hot too - no wonder the insects leave them alone!  I know I got well over 100 jalapenos off two plants and probably half that of cayennes off one plant.  I wish everything I grew was so prolific! 

    

My fall garden has been more failure than success, but I am not discouraged.   Cauliflower and Brussels sprouts in containers started off much better than the ones in the ground, but then were eaten to pieces by cabbage worms.  I didn't plant any companion plants with them, because I didn't think they would grow so late in the year.  The ones in the ground are catching up now, and have little-to-no insect damage, being planted with radishes!  I may get Brussels sprouts for Thanksgiving after all.   Overall this year, I did see a positive difference in outcomes with companion planting.

I am in love with French Breakfast Radishes!  I planted 3 varieties of radish this fall and all are doing well in the ground (they didn't like pots) but the French are the fastest to mature.  I looked it up, and the French eat them raw, dipped in soft butter with salt.  I tried it, but the butter on a raw veg seemed superfluous, so I just eat them the American way, raw with salt only.  They are mild and have a great 'root vegetable' taste, unlike regular varieties, which seem more like a garnish or accent.  I want to plant lots early in the Spring, and in the ground, not pots. 

• Turnips are still promising in the pots.  It remains to be seen if they continue to grow through frosts so I can get some baby turnips before a heavy freeze does them in.  I'm in it only for the roots.  The greens go to the chickens and rabbits, or the compost.    
• Two varieties of kale planted from seed are coming up fine, but will probably have to be eaten in the baby stage. 
• The Bok Choy grew to seedlings, then stopped.  Didn't die, just simply didn't grow any more.  I will try again in the Spring - to be harvested at 'baby size.' and steamed or sauteed with other vegetables. 
• The eggplant have grown fine this fall and have very healthy foliage and blooms, but will not have enough time to set and ripen fruit before frost.  Go back to pots next year - they did fine there. Add companion flowers and herbs. 

 More lessons learned:  Concentrate on what I can grow that will produce the most in the least space or fewest plants.  As mentioned before, squash are out.  Even if I could overcome insects and disease, they are simply too big for my small space. Ditto on the pole beans.  Instead of saving space by growing UP, the plants were just huge, with few beans.  I'm going back to bush beans next year.    

My garden space is not suitable for 'floating row covers,' which are needed to garden well in seriously cold weather - to keep things going after frost and freezes to get full-sized plants and veggies.  The plants need to be grown in - uh - rows to use those. Mine are grown in clumps, more like the square-foot-gardening style. If I had started with rectangular raised beds, it might be different, but my garden stared out as a very big, deep English 'herbatious border' - stylish a the time - that evolved (degenerated?) into my small oval planting plot studded with shrubs and flowering plants, some large, some small.

Chicken update:

I'm going out on a limb and naming one of the Orpington chicks.   I have been calling her Gracie, after   

Grace Coolidge  

Gracie is a cute name that seems to fit the chick, but I confess I don't know much about the real Grace Coolidge, except that she loved animals of all kinds :-)   I chose that name not so much because of admiration for the lady, but because of this fabulous portrait.  It, along with one of  Edith Roosevelt  are among my favorite First Lady portraits.  (Yes Edith, TRs wife, although Eleanor's portrait is very innovative) 

And here she is - little Gracie herself - trying to get away while I try to take her picture.  She is very shy, and hides behind Abigail much of the time. I'm still working on winning her over. I got her on my lap the other night, and after a minute she decided she liked it, and started to trill.  She has no comb or wattles to speak of ......and I hope it stays that way.   

On the other hand, look what Dolley has grown in the last month!  

  

A very impressive set of comb and wattles (comb looks even bigger on the other side where her feathers are flatter)  Even her earlobes are bigger.  She had smaller wattles and comb before, but I could literally see them getting bigger every day.  This change roughly coincides with putting no-name chick in with her.  I don't know if it's a hormonal thing, or if she is really a he!!!   If that's the way it turns out, I'm going to be very upset!!!    These aren't the only indicators of gender.  She hasn't started to crow or try to mount any of the other chickens - but then she's not laying any eggs, either....at about 8 months old!  That's not unheard of, according to what I read on Backyard Chicken Forum - especially this year, there's been a lot of that.  I don't use organic feed.....I wonder what GMO stuff they might be putting in there, and if it's having an effect on our livestock?   Sigh.......if Dolley 'turns into' a rooster, as long as there continues to be no crowing - she's staying.  I'm much too bonded now.

Here is little no-name below.  I'm still waffling nearly daily on this one - does have a pretty big comb, has wattles, but small, pale unless excited, not displaying obvious roo behavior, like crowing or mounting other birds.  It is much more outgoing than Gracie.  Not really brave though, in fact, if I try to pick it up, or it gets upset about something, it does it's best "henny penny / the-sky-is-falling" imitation.  It's hysterical - both the chick's attitude, and my amusement.  Abigail wants nothing to do with it anymore, poor thing, but it's getting bonded to Dolley.    

The chicks are 9 weeks old today, and are nearly the same size as the older chickens.  If you consider Dolley is mostly feathers, no-name probably is the same size. It's amazing how fast they grow.

Holly-bunny (who would not let me take her picture, because she is partially plucked and not looking her best) gave me a scare this week, when it seemed as though some of her legs were partially paralyzed!   After giving her a thorough going-over and watching her move, I think she has hurt her back somehow, but not seriously.  This is not uncommon in rabbits, due to the length of their spine and the extreme power of their back legs.  They can actually break their own back while playing, and die.  Holly is gradually getting better, and while not being her usual snotty-diva self, she has not relinquished her "Princess" title, and is relishing all the extra attention.   

 Those are the updates from Wren Cottage .....

Another One Behind Us

Another KY Sheep and Fiber Festival has come and gone.  I'm tired, sore and my allergies are doing a number on me, but overall it seemed to have been a great success!

I was in the livestock area this year, and liked it much better in many respects.  Since I was there to promote Angora Rabbits as a luxury fiber source and the 'ideal' livestock for the Urban Farmer, it made more sense.  I think people accepted the rabbits in that way more too, seeing them right there with sheep, alpacas and goats.  It was a great spot - the side entrance to the tent was on one side of me, and the front entrance on the other - we couldn't be missed!   My posters were a little worse for the wear after getting soaked with rain last year, but I used them anyway.  They were more accessible to people and they actually looked at them and read them this time.

Truffle and Holly went with me the first day.  They were a big hit and a few people even remembered them from last year.  We had a nice breeze, but when it got really warm in the late afternoon I made some ice packs for them to lay on.  We were "on show" non-stop from before 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.  People were already around the booth before 9, and I heard "There she is!" and kids ran up to me wanting to pet bunnies even while I was carrying them to the table from the car!  

I didn't take fiber, and in the end I was glad.  Being in the livestock tent rather than with the vendors, some people asked about yarn and roving, but not like last year.   LOTS were interested in starting in Angoras though!!!  I gave out all my handouts and most of my cards the first day.   I was talking so much, I didn't touch my wheel the first day, and wouldn't have wanted to deal with money.  It was too hectic. 

 Susan Anderson  was our special guest the first day. She held a workshop, then in the afternoon, had a book signing of her newest book.  She was set up all of 15 feet from me but it took a long time before I got a moment to run over to meet her and have her sign my book.  She was so great.   As nice a person as you can imagine and "real," she is just the kind of woman who would be your next door neighbor, or in in your knitting group.   She even supported our vendors by shopping a little before she left the first day, and coming back the next day before her plane left, to shop for a few hours more!    

Ivy and Niko went the second day.   Probably the most asked question I got was about plucking the rabbits - could I hold them in my lap and spin right off them?   Ivy has such a strange coat.  The top is lovely and silky, but barely grows (she's nearly 2 and I've only sheared her on top once, right after I got her at 4 months).  She has a 'petticoat' that does grow, along with her belly wool, and it can be plucked.  Since she is my only 'plucker,' I decided to take her.   It was cooler, with a good breeze, so they were fine.

There were all kinds of fiber animals represented: 

There were BIG sheep (Wensleydale) ....  

 

And little sheep (the famous Lila lamby) ....... 

There were Alpacas....

Llamas ......

and goats with BIG horns!

But the most fun were all the babies! 

sleeping babies .......  (the second one is Luna)

eating babies......

and babies with looooong necks!

One of the disadvantages of being a "vendor" is there is almost no time to shop!  Well, maybe my bank account thinks that's a good thing.  It was so busy I had a hard time getting in even one meal the first day.  The second day had a MUCH lighter crowd, (we'll have to work on that) so I did get to do a little shopping.  I only went to a few booths, because I was too busy trying to get feedback from the vendors ("are you happy with everything?  Anything we could do better next year?)   I got lots of enthusiasm, and no real complaints - just some suggestions. I didn't get any photos of the vendors at all, so you will just have to visit the  Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival website and/or on Facebook for those.

All I bought was a pound of Cormo fleece I thought I might try blending with my Angora for some super-soft yarn, and some BFL roving dyed in luscious shades of pink, raspberry, orange, purple and olive. 

This photo doesn't do it justice.  BFL luster just makes the colors glow.

When I look at the photos of the booths on Facebook today , I think "Oh!  I missed that one ...and that one ....  There are some things I'm already regretting  not getting - like the lovely felted bowls (including some nesting ones!) by Tanglewood Farms   (Dianne is Luna lamby's "Mom")   She had great colors on her her yarns - really got some nice results on her dyeing.

Shortly before it was time to close down on Sunday, we got word that "some weather" was coming, and we could break down and pack up if we wanted to.  Mine took very little time, so I tried to help elsewhere, but I don't know if I was help or just in the way. :P   I took halters in the pens to round up Dianne's lambs, and Luna walked right over and stuck her head in!!  I guess she was ready to go!  The other lambs - not so much.   I chased and tried to corner them for a minute or two, but then stopped because I didn't want to stress them. But when I saw Dianne doing "sheep wrangler" all over them, maybe that wouldn't have been a problem!?!   Ya' just never know.  About then the skies opened up and it 'came a flood,'     It was wild for a few minutes with wind, thunder, lightning, and trying to load up in a deluge.  Then, about the time everything was loaded.......it stopped. 

What an end to the second annual Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival.  

We'll see you next year!!! 

Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival

It's all over but the shoutin'.   By all accounts the first annual KY Sheep and Fiber Festival was a rousing success.   There were lots of vendors (over 60, I'm told) and we had good weather on Saturday - low humidity and not too hot.  The rain held off until after we were done for the day.  Sunday weather was chilly and drizzly, but we still had good traffic until it got serious about raining later in the afternoon.  All the vendors I talked to were planning to return next year.  There were a few glitches, but what event does not have those?   

This is my booth for UARC (United Angora Rabbit Club), as we opened on Saturday.  Holly is in a carrier on the table at the left, and Truffle was in his carrier on the ground on the right. 

        

this shows the few samples of skeins and garments I brought for people to see and feel. 

Truffle was a real trooper.  He calmly let hundreds of people pet him, and was one bushed bunny by the end of the day.  Holly (the Diva) did surprisingly well too. She loved the fresh air and cool breeze, and tolerated petting most of the day, but by late afternoon she got fed up and turned her behind to everyone. (bunny body language for 'leave me alone').  Niko came with me the second day, and did equally well.  Holly came back again (Ivy just didn't have long enough coat to be a good representation) and was none too happy about it.  She pouted almost all day, so I had to be a little more cautious about letting people pet her.   

The kids were crazy over the bunnies - especially the little ones.  I guess because they were smaller than the other livestock there and non-threatening.  Some families came by time and again because the little one wanted to 'see bunny, Mommy.'  The adults were only slightly less fascinated.  I really had LOTS of people stop to talk about them.      

There were a surprising number of people who had pet rabbits at some point, and a few who have Angoras now - but because they don't show, they were flying under the radar.  I think I achieved what I set out to do with the booth - get people thinking about Angoras as a fiber source, especially those who live in town, who will never have a farm. 

(For more photos, the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber festival has a page on Facebook, and are encouraging anyone who attended to submit photos.  They already have some good ones)   

Personally, it was a fun time, and of course I spent too much money, but with all those goodies, who wouldn't!?!   I was exhausted by the end though.  Truffle and Niko got haircuts on Monday, Holly and Ivy will get their bib and belly wool cut tonight.  I bought some Romney and Cormo locks in natural white, some Romney cross dyed roving, and some dyed alpaca locks.  It will be fun to see what I can do with that, and maybe blend agora with some of it. 

It will be nice to turn my attention back to the garden now.   

Yarn and more

I finally got my first skein of angora done.  It was a blend of angora and Corriedale wool.  I don't have scales to measure exactly, but I would guess it was roughly 30% to 40% angora to wool.  I used hand cards for this.  I have fine fiber cards, but just used my regular ones, and it worked out fine.  I used the clipped angora, and since there were 3 or 4 lengths of coat in each 'lock,' I thought the shortest pieces would act like second cuts and pop out, but they didn't.  How much it will pill remains to be seen.  It was surprisingly easy to spin - because of the wool, I would imagine - and seemed similar to alpaca in the way it spun up.  I don't have a photo of the skein, but if I take one, I will add it later.  Not much to see at this point, just a light gray skein of yarn, but it is soft!   I could tell just as I held it while spinning, that it will be warm.  I spun it as fine as I could, and I normally spin pretty fine.  I found a lace scarf pattern that is supposed to be good for beginners, and thought I might use it for that.  This first spinning will stay natural gray, I think - plenty of time for dyeing later. 


Shearing vs plucking experiment:  Holly's  (the clipped one)  coat is growing in very, very dense, but at times I think to myself, "but it isn't soft....' (relatively speaking-I'm sure it's just my imagination).  Ivy (plucked) is very silky soft, but her coat has lost a lot of it's density, naturally, since plucking removed 1/4 to 1/3 of her coat, depending on how many she was growing in when her baby coat began to molt.   I haven't decided what to do in the future, but especially since the clipped wool spun up so nicely, and clipping is so easy..........I haven't thought about clipping Ivy down at this point, though.  It's too cold, and I want to see if I can get more length on it.  


Holly and Ivy are still loving their pets and ear rubs, but still hating going in and out of the cage.  I don't know where I would put it, but I may also have to resort to a grooming table.  They are far more interested in exploring and wadding up the towel I have them on, rather than be content to sit still for grooming.   And easing them onto their rump to tip them back enough to get the belly brushed - fu'get about it!!   Holly pulled a naughty one last night!  I had been petting her and touched her toy to move it so I could reach her better, when she growled, lunged and tried to bite me.  She did it twice, so I said NO!, took her toy away, closed the cage and left the room.  Later after she had calmed down, I came back, gave her the toy back and stroked her a while and she was fine.  Everything I am reading says this is hormonal, that pet rabbits should be spayed or neutered, but not to let any vet who is not a rabbit expert touch your bun.  I'm sure my vet is no rabbit expert, and I don't know if I want the expense of that anyway, so - since rabbits are supposed to be able to be trained, to some extent, I'll try to temper the hormones with that.   My bunny girls are funny, sweet when they want to be, but placid - they're not.  (can you say Diva?)


I'm searching for other Angora owners in KY, and think I may have found a couple, but none of them show, which is why they don't join the clubs or show up on member's lists.  Still, it will be fun to meet local rabbit people.

My first 'livestock'

It's official.  My 'urban farm'now has 'livestock.'  Last weekend I went to Lancaster, Ohio to meet  Lisa, a breeder of beautiful French and Satin Angora rabbits, to pick up two black does I had bought from her.   My girls are gorgeous, and sweet most of the time.  We had a lovely time in Lancaster, at a rabbit show there.  I was shocked to see so many people.  I had no idea there were so many people interested in rabbits.  It was such a nice day (in late November!!), the Angora people had set up their grooming area outside, so we sat around and talked, got to know one another.  As usually happens when I meet other folks I have 'met' on  blogs, it was very easy to get aquainted.  We already had a lot in common, we all spin, knit, love animals .....   I also got some lessons in rabbit grooming and husbandry. Everyone did very well in the show which made the mood even more jovial.  Congratulations, guys!!

Now that I'm able to tell them apart, I'm working on names for the girls (to the shock of some friends who love the naming process, and can't believe they're still nameless).  The girls come from a litter that were all named after poisonous plants!!  Their brother "Somerhill Nightshade" did very well at the show!  I'm thinking of Holly and Ivy (both toxic plants) since it's fairly near Christmas, and I've always loved the name Ivy (sorry if I steal it, Dianne) or Jasmine and Violet.  Jasmine (Carolina Jasmine/Jessamine) is toxic, Violets are not, but one of the girls is a little more 'blue' in color, while the other is a little more silver.  Sometimes they are naughty bunnies, like flicking water at me to get my attention (yes I made sure they weren't peeing!) so 'Stinker and Brat' might be more appropriate!  ha - ha.  Opinions, anybody?

They get along fine with the cats.  There wasn't a hiss, not a growl from the felines when I brought the bunnies in - unlike the pandemonium that ensued when I brought each of the two newest cats home.  I have been putting them on a towel on the bed to groom them, and both bunnies have been nose to nose with 3 of my 4 cats, and no one has blinked an eye.

The girls were purchased specifically to provide me with lovely, soft, angora fiber (I looked it up and it can be 10 -12 microns).  I will probably blend it with wool most of the time.  They 'molt' periodically and can be 'plucked' or shorn with scissors.  I'm saving every scrap, though, and already have a small baggie full after a couple of grooming sessions.  Even 'waste' fiber can be felted. At the show, Annette told me I will be surprised at how much fiber will come off those 2 bunnies.   Bring it on!