As each new year rolls around many see it as a time of reflection, an evaluation of sorts – Did I reach my new years resolutions? Did I earn more money? Did I learn that new language? – things like that. Some see it as an opportunity for a fresh start. High schoolers are starting college and reinventing themselves with a new peer group. Taxpayers are taking earnings to add to savings for that dream vacation or dream car. Others invest monies back into their homes for home improvement projects. For others one year merges into the next, seamlessly. A new year, is just another day. No changes. Nothing new except removing debris from the neighbors New Years celebration. I have no judgement for any of these philosophies. In fact, if you were to ask me, I would say I am an eclectic amalgam of all three lines of thought; each valued for different reasons.
Reflection
I would hate to say that 2025 was a tough year considering how the entire world is in disarray right now. It truthfully makes our problems feel small maybe even insignificant. However, I will indulge for the sake of this newsletter and say 2025 WAS TOUGH! Our family lost dear friends and family to “the last enemy death”, some so suddenly that it took our breath. Others, we prayed for their relief. We have witnessed the sharp physical and mental decline of family matriarchs and patriarchs as we have hurriedly attempted to absorb every bit of wisdom we can from them before it is too late. I know that many of you have experienced the same and from one grieving to another, please accept our condolences.
We had disappointing earnings on the farm this year. It is interesting as the aforementioned circumstances undoubtably played a large part in this. The farm is my work and respite. It is my stress and peace. As oxymoronic as it may seem this is my reality. When I am in pain, I run to the fur of my rabbits. When I’m stressed the warm soil under my hands sends serotonin and dopamine through my body until calmness is attained. Often times this is where I find myself in deep meditation and prayer. What though when the source of the peace is the source of the pain? Maybe my expectations were too high. With my new hips I felt this year would be the year for excelling on all fronts – farm (veggie & animal), social media, YouTube, farmers markets – all of it. Though I did not fail, I most certainly did not excel.
Harvests were fair this farm season. As hard as I can be on myself, I do realize the blessings in being able to grow even a little of our own food – from veggies to our eggs, and occasional meat. The issue becomes processing the food efficiently before it seeks to return to the source. In 2025 the rabbits and the chickens feasted on many refrigerated items I never found the energy to care for or completely forgot existed. That is until a strange smell or an odd fluid would begin to reveal what I had inconveniently forgotten. Sticky. Stinky. Disgusting. Sigh. I hate food waste and when this occurs, I feel more than frustrated. The whole idea of growing the food is to eat it or sustain the farm by selling it to our community. With sales down and my energy as well, it was just not ideal. The late Spring and Summer are notorious for this issue every single year as there are so many tasks tugging at my mental and physical energy. Overwhelmed is a word you will often hear me use during the months of May through August. Things that need regular attention on the farm will often demand it during these months and if it is not given, disaster results nearly immediately. From pest & disease control with the vegetables to weight and ear monitoring with the rabbits – it can be a lot! This is the homesteading life. However, when it is good, it is so good that I cannot crawl away. You could not drag me away. I am an optimistic addict and I hold out for the dopamine boosts. They are as certain and the summer heat.
Good things are also a big part of my yearly reflection. Positivity is a primary tool of how I cope with loss and disappointment. Looking at 2025 through lenses of positivity centers me. Our egg sales for the year were admittedly higher than they had been in previous years. I reckon that is because of the farmers markets but also the unpredictability in the market. Price increases and egg shortages due to bird flu and other causes drove crowds to the farmers market and to our website in the search of fresh farm eggs. We appreciated having the boost to sustain the feed bill as feed costs continue to rise.
We lost several rabbits this year. Some were lost due to a feed change that was not tolerated and others, well, I’m not certain of what actually happened. I couldn’t bring myself to do a necropsy, though I’ve been studying up on the subject. One day I will gain the nerve to add this skill to my homesteading resume but it was not in 2025 and likely will not be in 2026 either.
Breeding the rabbits for 2025 was an epic fail! I do believe some of the issue was the feed, thus the aforementioned change. However 2026 will lend more data to work with in that division of the farm. Thankfully, this month we did have a successful pairing of our Giant Chinchilla doe, Cher and Flemish Giant buck, Peter. By the end of February Cher should be kindling.
In reflection on 2025, I think the most influential blessing was a Builders and Backers grant that funded our freeze-drying initiative. This grant allowed us to purchase a freeze dryer, advertising materials, video editing hardware and software, and benefit from excellent mentorship. We have many tasks yet to reach in connection with our freeze drying initiative. There are tests that must be completed by the Alabama Department of Agriculture. As we wait for these to result we are running experiments with processes and recipes to ensure that we are producing the freeze dried candies, fruits, vegetables, and other items in the most efficient way possible to yield the tastiest product. Longevity of shelf life is also a vital aspect we are striving for. Although a freeze-dried item can be safe to eat for 25 to 30 years after it is stored, the way that the item is stored impacts that heavily. I have learned so much in the few months since the freeze dryer was delivered! What to freeze-dry, what can’t be freeze-dried, what explodes in the freeze dryer – oh yeah, that is a thing! You can catch up on the adventure here.
A Fresh Start to Nothing’s New
The clock has reset and a new year begins. All things 2025 are over. Or is it? It depends on the prescription of your lenses. If you are farsighted you may reason that farming is cyclical. How we tend to the soil in 2025 will affect 2026’s outcome. Seeds we plant in 2025 will be harvested in 2026. Uninterrupted life cycles of pests will impact crops for seasons to come. However, if you are near sighted, you may see a fresh start within the fiscal year. Perhaps there is hope that this will be the year that the business ends in the green for a change, rather than the red. Staring down the barrel of website fees, business licenses, and other yearly membership dues does not inspire confidence in profit but that is the way of the small business owner.
We worked diligently to nourish our soil over the past year. We utilized cover cropping and fed with molasses throughout the year. We used leaf mulch from our own fallen leaves to retain moisture and as these breakdown more nutrients are released into the soil. Most of our planting areas are rich with organic matter for these reasons. It is odd to be so protective over the very thing we sweep out of the doors, clean from under our fingernails, and dust off our shoes. A shift in the paradigm? Certainly.
defaultdefaultdefault
The high tunnel is full of seedlings started in 2025. Trays of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, moringa and more fill the shelves of Meenie, Hoopty’s grow room. This sight fills me with excitement and teleports my mind to the future when we are harvesting the fruits of our labor. To the moment we reap the benefits of our early start. As early as we start, we have found that others start even earlier. This makes us feel less overzealous and more normal – whatever that is.
We continue to invest time, money and energy into educating ourselves on how to successfully care for our stone fruit trees. The hard frost and snow in January may be problematic for our fruit production in 2026. The peach & nectarine trees had already put on new leaves and buds and now they are, in truth, a hot mess. The lemon trees seem to have a little damage, however, their dense canopy of leaves serves as a significant protection. The apple and pear trees remain dormant so we think they will be unaffected. It would be really nice to freeze dry our own peaches and nectarines this coming summer as we did with our large lemon harvest. That indeed would be a fresh start.
Well, today is a new day and I choose to see it as such. In fact, everyday wakens anew. A new sunrise on opportunities missed yesterday and unrealized dreams germinating in the warmth of the soil, awaiting the day they are welcomed to the surface where they will bask in the suns warmth and flourish in spring rains. So whether it be your aspirations, livestock, pantry, bank account or garden – grow big from home! We are growing with you.
By the time March has marched on and April has arrived, we are looking forward to the rain to wash away the yellow sins of yesterday and water the seeds of hope we planted. Thankfully our earth’s cycle continues despite her injury, despite change. She is resilient to say the least. We chose to follow her stead. The month of April definitely tested that.
Allergies On Another Level
This year allergies have required us to tap into every single home remedy in our apothecary. Personally allergy season isn’t usually rough for me. This year even I have fallen victim to spring’s unintentional weapon. I do feel for anyone who has to regularly deal with such issues. This is why our tea garden continues to expand year after year. Our family needs all of the help the soil can offer! In light of the struggle all of us were having. I decided to make a Goldenrod Lemonade. The hope was that having the medicinal rich herb at our fingertips, just a pour away would help aid us to intake it more regularly and in turn help our systems fight the chaotic, unnecessary immune response to pollen, histamine. It seems to have worked to some degree. If nothing else, it was refreshing. Next time I’ll make more. It’s a good thing that Goldenrod grows so freely here.
Goldenrod tea is a favorite of our customers this time of the year for this very reason. I’m thankful to have had the guidance to help me appreciate its benefits a few years back. If you are interested in trying it our for yourself you may purchase it from us here. One thing we tell anyone who is interested in our herbal teas is to research the ingredients before ingesting. Although organic, many herbs interact with prescription medications. Remember most meds are plant based. The point is to be careful and do your research!
If you have ever tried doing anything while having an allergy attack, you can likely imagine how difficult it is to complete farm chores while sneezing, coughing, and trying to maintain a level of dignity. It is not pretty. Mornings tend to be the most difficult so we found ourselves doing farm chores later in the day. Unfortunately, April brings much warmer temperatures and by the time the allergy symptoms let up around mid morning, the heat was also UP! This created a vicious cycle throughout the month. It was be taken out by allergies or the heat. Our choices were few. The heat was as unrelenting as the allergies. Either choice we made resulted in a shower and a long nap. Needless to say, things moved a bit slower than we would have preferred as a result. This was concerning since May brings farmers market season and we needed to keep to our schedules if we wanted a chance to have produce items for our customers.
Experiment Pay-Offs & Fails
You’ve likely followed our early planting of okra. This trial has been rather exciting. Feel free to catch up here, here and here. We harvested our first okra for 2025 on April 21st by utilizing our high tunnel. I wish this had been something we had been doing not just for okra but other summer items. Next year we will definitely add more crops to the early planting schedule.
Our experiment included watermelon as well, however the watermelon did not do very well with remaining in the starter pots for the long time period. Since we decided not to plant them in the high tunnel we were forced to wait until danger of frost had passed to plant them outdoors. It is unclear where we errored or if watermelon simply will not be rushed but those results are a complete and utter FAIL. We did try with an heirloom variety. Perhaps that is where our error was. Next time we will use a hybrid variety instead.
Not so much as a trial, more a last ditch effort, was our attempt to stop the life cycle of the fungus destroying our nectarine harvest and the insects causing damage as well. More details here. Unfortunately, our attempts here also failed. This is so very disheartening. Our trees are like an extension of our farm. They each reflect an investment of time and love. The harvest is the return on that investment. To have it stolen year after year by pests and fungus is hurtful. We think the best option at this point is to do a deep cutting back of the nectarine tree to protect the peach trees. This will mean we won’t have a harvest for at least another year. If it works, the sacrifice will have been worth it.
In other orchard news, we have successfully rooted Mulberry & lemon tree cuttings! We used rooting hormone for the first time. That along with scratching off a small section of the bark, which exposes the cambium layer, of the cutting seemed to be the missing ingredient. We simply:
Cut the ends on a 45 degree angle
Removed bark to cambium layer on bottom half inch of the cutting
Dipped the aforementioned end in rooting hormone
Allowed to dry for about 5 minutes
Stuck cutting into moist medium ( we used seed starting mix)
We hope to use this same technique to clone our fig tree later this fall. Stay tuned!
Managing The Harvests
Garlic scapes were among the first things we harvested this month. They have become something we look forward to each season. One reason is of course the wonderful flavor. Who can resist the child of a green bean and garlic? Not us! Another reason we look forward to garlic scapes is they mark the time we assist the plant to stop its focus on reproduction. If left, the scapes will create flowers then bulbils for reproduction. By cutting the scapes, energy that would go into the production of flowers is now diverted to the bulb.
We began to harvest our cabbage earlier than we had planned due pest issues. I have mixed feelings about that as those were among items we planned to have on our tables for the farmers market in May. On the otherhand, I always welcome the opportunity to have more fresh produce for the family. We have some real exciting plans for this cabbage harvest. So far we have enjoyed using it in a cabbage soup, of sorts. Along with it we added home grown carrots, fennel, garlic and onion.
Speaking of onions several of our late planted onions have already began to fall over! Considering how late they were planted, this was surprising. What’s even more shocking is that some were even decently sized! There are many yet to be pulled from various areas of the farm. In raised beds, in ground, and in the high tunnel. We will have just enough for farmers market season and perhaps enough to last us until at least October. Well, that was rather generous. August is more reasonable. What can we say – WE LOVE ONIONS!
If you look at our photo gallery from the month of April you’ll find that our nasturtium plants are continuing to grow well, we planted amaryllis bulbs along the outside of our fence line, eggs are in large supply, chicks were moved out to their own beach, we grew pink oyster mushrooms on our kitchen table again, the knock out rose is in full bloom, peas, greens, beans, tomatoes, honeysuckle – AND THEN SOME!
By the time we commence to blogging again we will have experienced our first farmers market in over a year! We will have plenty to share. Until then, grow big from home – from our family to yours!
The Farmer’s experience is something of wonder to me. As much as you learn as each growing season progresses you seem to always be grasping for more – more stability, more growth, more sustainability, more knowledge! Is it because the farmer is greedy and may never be satisfied? No. It is because Mother Nature is at a constant state of flux. She is always changing much to her own chagrin. As I watched the dime size hailstones fall fast & heavy, I flinched at the thought of the destruction happening before me, what’s more, to the crops growing in the fields around the area. Although just beginning, this growing season does not feel like any other. It is changed. New. So we must, too, be brand new.
New Crop Investments
My desire to grow as many types of vegetation often over shadows a need for said vegetation. I’ve attempted to become more balanced in this area, really meditating on new fruit trees, bushes and vines before making them a permanent addition to our homestead. Some choices are better than others. This year however we have made a conscious decision to add few more interesting items to our everchanging homestead.
Seedless Grapes – After experiencing our very first harvest of table grapes in 2024 we learned quite a bit! First, and oddly enough, chickens like ripe grapes! Second, these grapes tend to last quite a while if stored properly. This was very refreshing to learn. Finally, grapes with seeds require more time to process into the various goods that our family utilizes them for. Please, don’t misunderstand, any homegrown food is going to be superior to the store brought. Still, time is a valuable commodity that, unfortunately, we can not grow in the garden. So we must manage the time we have wisely. Seedless grapes will help us to do just that. One less step in the process will free up energy and time for other endeavors. This years new grape selection is in the ground and growing well. If you missed our video with all the details, you may view that here.
Goji Berry – With all its claim to fame, there is no wonder that we have added this incredible super food to our apothecary.
Blueberry Bushes (Again) – Once upon a time, our homestead had three blueberry bushes. They grew. However, they didn’t thrive. They did produce a small fruit harvest but not large. We eventually moved them to what we thought would be a more appropriate location, which quickly became their graveyard. So here we go again. We only invested in two bushes this year. If they do well, we may install more in the upcoming seasons. While we will likely never have enough blueberries for the community (with our current space), we would like to eventually grow enough for our family’s needs.
New Flock Additions
We really had no plans to hatch any chicks out this year as our flock is already quite large for our family of five. However, we had so many inquiries about hatching eggs and chicks in lieu of the egg prices that we gave into the pressure. It actually wasn’t so much the pressure because who doesn’t love the cute, little, fluffy, adorable chicks!?
We determined that we would do two hatches this spring with our barnyard mixes. The first hatch went really well coming in on the last two days of the month. This hatch was offered to our community. A sense of pride fills me knowing these chicks have been cared for with love and fed organically while in our care.
There are numerous stories online of potential chicken tenders entering big box stores to find chicks lethargic, dead, or worse – decomposing! It’s sad. We are thankful to have been able to acquire our initial flock from a trusted source. To be able to pay that forward a few years later is rewarding, to say the least. Eventually we plan on separating our flocks by breed. Much infrastructure is needed before that will be possible but it is in our future.
Harvests Remain The Same
March was full of leafy greens! We harvested so many collards for ourselves and our friends. Last count we have harvested around 12lbs from one the one row. It became the gift that kept on giving! Along with the collards, Swiss Chard has also been in good supply. We have noticed some issues with it though that has limited how much we have been able to eat ourselves or sell. It is the dreaded leaf spot! Fortunately, the flocks do not seem to mind and they have readily transformed these leaves into fertilizer for us.
Lettuce has also been in large supply for us. We love a homegrown salad! Here in zone nine, though, it’s rare to harvest lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers simultaneously. Lettuce prefers cool temperatures while the other ingredients like it hot! This year, we are toying with some new varieties of lettuce in hopes of sorting this dilemma once and for all! If it results in year round lettuce for the family – all the better! If not, we have only used a few seeds and the rabbits happen to love bolting lettuce. Win-win!
Spring onions have literally sprung out of the ground. They are growing faster than we can use and it seems the community is not as interested in buying them this season. However it is still money in the farm piggy bank for a couple of reasons. First, we will process these green onions with other items from the farm to make a nice veggie broth that will be used in place of store bough broths. Money saved is as good as money earned these days. Second, we will get the dehydrator working for us to make some value added products. Our spice blends tend to be a hit at the farmers markets when we have the pleasure to attend. We also make use of the dehydrated chunks in our breads that we make for the market as well. Its nice to have the farm work for us for a change!
Asparagus has really preformed well this year. We have harvest a couple of handfuls and could have harvested more had I been paying closer attention. When will I learn!
New Knowledge & Familiar Sights
While our stone fruit trees are very early to awaken from winter slumber, others are not such morning plants. This month we did see the muscadine and table grape vines make their presence known with beautiful leave sprouting from the seemingly dead vines. The green leaves trimmed in pink are just the most darling thing.
Our fig tree, Iggy, also woke up. Oddly putting on a few random figs before any leaves! Perhaps it was in case Jesus walked by? Each year it seems that this tree doubles in size. I am beginning to wonder if we should have put it in a different location. We did attempt to clone Iggy by propagating cuttings over the fall. We did not have any success. We have to look into more techniques. I have researched air pruning and it seems to have good results. Of course, those result do not account for my forgetfulness and the chaos that is my life. We will see.
Wild black berries are EVERYWHERE! We enjoy seeing the bees explore the white delicate flowers. Those thorns however are NOT SO DELICATE! This year we will be cutting down many of the vines after they produce. We will then apply some vinegar and salt in the areas where no other produce is growing, to keep them from growing back. If they decide to, hopefully it will be after we get the landscape fabric and rocks down around the perimeter of our home.
In yet another case of “I did not know that” one of our pear trees has pears! Welp, guess it also establishes fruit early! The blossoms do have an marvelous aroma and they are pretty. However, they cannot out-scent the lemon blossoms! Just sitting under the lemon trees is an intoxicating experience! So much nicer than the chicken poo smell that permeates the hill on rainy days.
As quickly as it came, March was over. She left us we tons of work and high expectations! Would the blooms and blossoms actually yield? It will take months to see if our faith is miss placed. We only shared a little here. For a more detailed look at what is growing on, check out our Spring Garden Tour Video. Till then, grab your umbrella, here comes April with her showers…
Please do not mind our adjusted blog title as it just for this post. Or perhaps it may give you a smile or chuckle. When looking back over how long it has actually been since I have completed a blog post, those exact words bounced around my head as my fingers began to commence typing. There is no real way to document all that has taken place since the last time I took to blogging. If I tried, this would be quiet the lengthy read. Bear with me if I seem a little confused as a lot of this blog will be pieced together from farm notes and photos. While it likely still be my longest blog yet, I do hope you enjoy this year in review, of sorts, blog about what in the world did go on at Bain Home Gardens over the last eight months.
April
When April made its arrival, the farm was bustling, despite my surgery in January. This was largely in part due to planting that was done late Fall. For instance, we harvested our first round of garlic scapes and used them in as many dishes as we could. The bonus of two crops from one planting makes me wonder why anyone who could plant hardneck varieties wouldn’t. Ironically, the veggies we paired our scapes with are also ones that yield two different crops from one planting. Carrots are used on our homestead for the tops and the roots. Either we wash and dehydrate the tops to use in soups and stews throughout the year or we feed them to the rabbits. Our onions also pull double duty as we dehydrate them or use fresh in sautés. Having these items growing early, by planting in the fall, meant that we were harvesting homegrown goodies while we waited for our summer crops, which had just been planted, to thrive. Harvest of spinach, chard, mint and radishes kept us content as we watched the first tomatoes and squash babies arrive on their mother plants. Nectarines, peaches, pears, grapefruit and tangelos were all teaming with life. Would it be false hope or would we actually harvest bountiful fruit from our orchard for a change?
Rabbit babies were born to Sweet Pea on the 12th. Their sire was Peter, our Flemish Giant. Sweet Pea and Cher continue to display great mothering skills as they care for their young. These babies would go to the flea market with us later in the year. Their sell would help to make up for the inability to attend famers markets this summer.
Chicks were also chirping inside the Bain home. The Barred rock eggs we secured along with those of our own hatched in the broader giving us 14 little adorable chicks. They were all so stinkin’ cute… and I do mean STINKIN’! We fell in love with one or two in particular who had very curious personalities. We used a new plate warmer verses the bulb this go round and we really do enjoy the peace of mind this tool offers over the bulb. You can find a video on our unboxing and use of it here.
May
May was a real blur. One reason being that the second surgery would be on the 17th. We decided to do the surgery sooner than later since the previous surgery created more of a discrepancy in leg length, making rehabilitation more challenging. Still the farm does go on. So there was a need to do much in preparation. Blackberries were coming in faster than we could harvest and process them. As a result, the native wildlife was able to benefit. We were able to harvest enough to dehydrate for teas and other uses in the future. We sampled some of the elephant garlic heads to get an idea of how close to harvest we really were. They were very large and we were able to harvest seeds for next season. More garlic scapes came in along with beautiful perennial flowers bringing in butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. It really was beautiful outdoors but the heat came just as swiftly as the season did! As we rushed to harvest beet and radishes before they would become woody and bitter we also fought off the horrible amount of gnats and mosquitoes that seem to have made permanent residence on our farm. Cherry tomatoes were fully coming into blush. They teased us greatly. Little did we know it wouldn’t be until June before we would taste the first one. In the mean time we were pleased to enjoy ground cherries. They held up very well despite the early heat wave and became quite productive.
The biggest task we had on hand was butchering and processing several roosters that had become a bit of a nuisance to the hens and us. That was done expediently and they sit now in our freezer.
After surgery there was little I could do besides point and direct. The family really had their hands full managing me (nurses make the worse patients) and the farm! I had ignorantly started two fermenting projects – ginger bug and sourdough starter – that needed attention. To my own defense, I will add that it felt like one of those now or never moments. If I don’t do it now, I never will! Dramatic? True. Factual? Yes! So I did. Thanks to willing friends I was able to make it to my physical therapy appointments several times a week, my follow ups as well. It almost seemed impossible to manage it all but we made it work. We did loose a couple of the chicks for unknown reasons and several of our winter squash transplants, however, we thank God above things went as smoothly as they did!
May brought in the nectarine harvest which was the most disappointing event ever. Pest and disease wiped out what would have been our most bountiful crop yet. Unfortunately, the same pests and disease affect one stone fruit affect all of them. So chances of us harvesting any peaches were slim as well. I will keep you in the same suspense we experienced! Sorry – not sorry!
June
June brought in our first tomato and eggplant harvests of the season. Overwintered peppers also yielded their first fruits making this the earliest we have ever harvested peppers on our farm! Fennel and the garlic bulb harvest was completed. Large heads of both made me feel like I had done something right despite not being able to do much myself on the farm for the year.
Grapes, both table and muscadine, were coming into their color. The chickens did break out and came downhill to sample them. We think they enjoyed them since they took quite a few clusters. The mint went absolutely WILD and we loved it! The smell, intoxicating and so relaxing filled the air on breezy days. The bees loved the flowers and often were very territorial of them. We would have to wait to do any harvesting until they had moved on to the bee balm or sunflowers.
Bread making with our sourdough starter and soda making with our ginger bug proved to be very rewarding. I immediately noticed the shelf life on the sourdough bread to be longer than that of the standard white bread. That alone was enough incentive for me to continue making it. Thank goodness for that lactic acid bacteria!
July
July was so hot. I think I remember reading that the summer 2024 of was the hottest on record for our region. This was not surprising as many of the crops suffered as a result. Keeping the animals cool and happy was our next challenge. We mottled through it – all sweaty hands on deck!
An exciting development was the invasion of the Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars in our high tunnel! Fennel that we had been allowing to go to seed for saving was absolutely full of caterpillars! Later in the month our daughter spent quite a bit of time gently catching and releasing the young butterflies. It brought all of us such joy to aid these graceful creatures.
The first harvest of figs came in heavy as well. We didn’t harvest as we should and lost quite a few, unfortunately. We did, however, make a few jars of jam and experiment with fig and onion focaccia bread. It was the best! We are looking forward to the 2025 harvest to make this tasty bread again!
Our first ever table grape harvest would be this month. It was a very nice harvest! We were able to make quite a few jars of jam and of course we ate plenty of them fresh as well. This would not be the first, first harvest of we would have this 2024 growing season! Later in the month we harvested our first edible peach! It seems it was a rather late harvest for our peaches but given what we had seen with our nectarines, we were happy to get to eat even one! This peach would be our second, first harvest of 2024. In fact, in typing this year in review blog, I’ve realized just what an epic year we actually had on the farm this year! Despite two major surgeries and financial set backs we have truly been blessed! So much so that I literally just had to take a moment to say a prayer of thanks.
August
August was beyond hot. Sweat, shower repeat was the tone of the entire summer. By now I was moving more independently and had gained a little more freedom with my family. So I opted to get up early with my handy dandy Brian and do as much as I could be for tiredness or heat, whichever came first, set in. This month we lost our beloved Barry, the sole Barred Rock cockerel from our March hatch. We believe it was the heat coupled with the fact that he may have not been drinking as he should to avoid the bigger chickens in his flock. It was very sad. These things happen so quickly that watching the flock and our rabbits like hawks became our go to over the next month or so. At least until the temperatures were not so harsh we would be outside several time throughout the day refreshing waterers and adding ice as needed. I had become a little paranoid! You, of course, understand why.
We finally got around to processing the garlic we had harvested months earlier. It all went into the freezer in food saver bags until we were ready to begin dehydrating for spice blends. It was rather poetic as the garlic we would be planting for summer 2025 harvest arrived in the mail. Around the same time we were able to harvest a good bit of our muscadines at once. These were used to flavor sodas and kombucha and we actually just juiced some to drink. Hoping for another bountiful year next season as wine in on the to-do-list!
The goldenrod flourished this year more than it ever has and as a result huge weedlike stalks of it towered over raised beds and inground beds all over the farm. We decided to harvest it early this year. We would leave only a few plants to come back to and harvest the flowers from later. The leaves were harvested, washed and then dried and stored away for the dreaded cold and flu season.
Planting was rather interesting as we replanted squash and cucumbers for Fall harvest. We also were planting brassicas for Winter and Spring harvest. When you are growing year round, it does all tend to run together!
Our third, first harvest was pears! Our two pear trees, though young are doing very well and one of them yielded us 5 pears for the 2024 growing season! We were beyond excited and pleased. These, like our muscadines were used to flavor sodas and kombucha.
August would give us one more surprise before she left. In speaking with a friend outdoors I happened to look up and realize that one of our three lemon trees actually had fruit on it! When did that happen? When did it even flower?! Well! At first we only observed one. As we moved around the tree we quickly saw there were more! Would this be they year that we FINALLY HARVESTED OUR OWN LEMONS?! Here is a video of our discovery.
September
September was a pretty chill month. The most interesting thing was the arrival of two new kitties. Two boys just randomly appeared on our farm. They appeared to have been cared for. They were just a tad hungry and in need of human attention. We believe that someone dropped them off as we are outside frequently and hadn’t seen them previously. In addition to that, our cats are very territorial and tolerate no uninvited guests. We ended up keeping them both. We reached out to the community for assistance and we were donated a cat tower, litter box and other supplies. We named them Timothy & Paul. Paul has a more laid back disposition. He is very curious and very verbal. We enjoy conversing with him as it seems he is very well aware of what is being said. Timothy is much more wild and stubborn. Paul earned a spot indoors while Timothy gained respect from the outdoor cats and now fits right in!
As for produce, there was very little being harvested during this sort of transition month into the fall garden. The peppers did not get the memo. We did not complain as we enjoyed using thing in various dishes.
It was around this time that we found our citrus trees full of bird poop! It was interesting as we seldom see birds on the trees themselves. Further examination revealed it was actually a worm! This little guy is another variety of swallow tail caterpillar our farm has been blessed to observe. These caterpillars which will eventually become the Giant Swallowtail butterfly, partial to citrus leaves. As you may notice in the photos, there will be evidence of munching but they will not decimate them a healthy tree. takes around 9 -18 to fully grow from egg to chrysalis stage, depending on temperature and food availability. Once in the chrysalis, it will then transform into a butterfly within a week or two. Ah, the circle of life is absolutely amazing! We feel privileged that these beautiful butterflies visit our farm and utilize its organic produce as their personal nursery each year. We hope to continue to plant more native flowers that will encourage these visits year after year.
October
October was a fun month. The weather was really all over the place with large gaps between the highs and the lows. The cooler nights decreased pest pressure which was a welcomed assist! There were not many cooler nights, in fact the fall garden now began to yield squash, cucumbers, green beans and lettuce. I’ve determined that fall harvested green beans are definitely the tastiest. Next year we will plan to plant them in the high tunnel to extend our harvest just a few weeks longer. We also harvested quite a bit of our arugula along with other greens for fresh salads throughout the month. One of our hold our peppers, Datil, finally gave their first harvest of bright orange peppers! These peppers are habanero hot and are absolutely gorgeous. We froze most of our harvest to use for food preservation projects during the winter months.
October also was the kick off of our fall microgreens session. We always find ourselves very impressed by the incredible ways our members utilizer their weekly deliveries! This session was no exception!
The girls really appreciated the break in the extreme temperatures and as a result they rewarded us with plenty of butt nuggets. We did not offer an egg subscription this year due to my recovery but the girls didn’t get the memo! Our customers surely loved the abundance as we did!
The biggest event of October was our annual CNG inspection. For the first time we used community members to do our inspection and it worked out far better than I expected. I feel like this option is a great way to increase community awareness of what CNG is and for the community to get to know our farm and practices up close and personal. It is one thing to read about a farm and how they handle things on a daily basis but it is something else entirely to see in person. We find also that many visitors love to offer some type of assistance in the form of farm labor in exchange for education on where their food is actually coming from. We call that a win-win!
The chickens were not included in our recertification this go round. This does not mean that we are not still caring for them organically. No! They still eat the same USDA Certified Organic feed. However, their runs and coops currently require some maintenance and even more expansion. Chicken math is a real tough subject! We hope to get this done while the temperatures are cooler over the winter.
November
This month we had the privilege of inspecting fellow CNG farmers Hawkins Homestead Farm. We always enjoy visiting with other CNG farms. The education and edification we experience as we grow each others knowledge and encourage each other to continue the road less traveled is priceless! Let’s faces it, there are certain issues only other organic farmers are truly going to understand!
This month we did mate a few of our rabbits. The hope is that they will have they most adorable kits by the end of December. Spending time with the rabbits is very enjoyable this time of year. Their winter fur is so luscious and fluffy! It makes them so cuddly and I honestly wish that they looked this way all year long! It does mean that we must line them up for more spa days during the winter months as their manure can get entangled in the fur easily. Caring for long hair rabbits is more labor intensive. However, any rabbit can require time and effort. If your are privileged to adopt one of our buns, please know that we firmly believe in education and not watering down the facts – rabbits are not easy pets! They can, however, be the best cuddle buddies if, you, the owner, do what is needed. We have been making notes here and there on the details of owning a rabbit. As time allows, this endeavor is under construction to give our readers a complete a guide to owning a rabbit. Stay tunned for that.
December
If you have traveled this far through the past into the present with us then you are truly vested into our blog. For that we thank you!
This month is always an exciting one for us because it is our wedding anniversary. We prefer to call it our familiversary, as it was the beginning of the beautiful chaos we call family! This month on the 11th we celebrated 25 years of togetherness. It has been quite the journey! Just looking at the past 8 months is wild! Now, multiply that by 25! We are beyond thankful and privileged that out of all the other hearts on the planet our hearts found each other and in time began to and continue to beat in concert.
The month has only increased our joy as we have two more first harvests – fourth, first harvest of tangelo oranges & fifth, first harvest of lemons! It has been well worth the wait. While we are STILL waiting on the remaining lemons to turn fully, we have enjoyed the thrill of climbing the ladder and harvesting our very own lemons. This variety was gifted to us from a friend who really enjoys growing plants from saved seeds. When we got these lemon trees they were small enough to fit into a solo cup! It is hard to believe!
We have one more potential first harvest on the horizon – grapefruit. These will be small as the tree is small itself. Currently there are three fruits hanging and slowly turning yellow. Will they mature before 2025? Well they have 7 days. Literally, time will tell! It is our hope that this is only the beginning of a long history of the Bain Orchard growing in all her glory with citrus, stone fruit and apples, for years to come.
When I finally set my heart to get this blog done, I had no idea how it would go. Now I must say that this has been quite the interesting blog to type. There were a lot of other exciting events on the farm that I realize I am leaving out. That is okay, as they are etched on my heart. There were also quite a few sad occasions. How we focus on these events will determine our joy and peace. Perception is everything! Please remember that it is our God-given right is to be joyful. How we maintain that joy, how we feed and water it, that is up to you and I. Today and forever I chose joy. I pray you do as well.
As I finalize the conclusion of this blog, this year is, in fact, ending as well. Let’s have a joyful 2025 growing season, taking all our learning from 2024 and the years before along with us. After all, knowledge is the best kind of baggage. As the past gives way to the present which shines hope on the future, please do not forget to get those hands into the dirt and grow. Love and blessings – from our family to yours.
At last, the air is feeling as it should. The temperatures have dropped, and it is officially SWEATER WEATHER! As I pull out the turtlenecks and hoodies, I reflect on 2022. There was much more abundance and less complications. We are behind yet again, and it’s all on me.
These Hips Do Lie
I mentioned health issues in the previous blogs. Specifically, spina bifida, which comes with a host of other issues. One currently being monitored is my bilateral hip dysplasia, which isn’t all that uncommon. It basically means that my hips grew abnormally. This condition is graded in stages 1 – 4, 4 being the most severe. To help you better understand, my hips are at a stage 3. Stage 4s are usually only seen in developing countries. Follow?
As a result of the dysplasia and other congenital deformities, arthritis and pain are just a part of who I am. Hubby called me tenacious smany years ago when we were dating, and it is a fair representation of who I am. I’ve desired to be at the helm of my own ship, not cocaptain to pain and my many imperfections. So, I’ve worked with orthopedists, neurologists, and physical therapists over the years. With their help and the awesome support system I’m blessed to have, I’ve been able to manage these symptoms and lead a fairly average life. Recent event though have required some, how shall I say, reevaluating. Th3 hip pain is with juzt cause as there is much degradation shown on x-ray images. Thus, my awesome team of doctors have determined that these hips need to be upgraded. Tentatively, the most problematic hip would be taken care of first, likely in late spring/early summer 2024, followed by the next hip the following year. Since recovery will likely take longer than most, due to my medical history, we are having to seriously plan and adjust to make sure the farm doesn’t suffer while the BHG team aides me to recovery.
Adjustments To Our Services
They say nothing good comes without some sacrifice. Unfortunately, this seems to have merit within evaluating what we can and can not do the upcoming year. With heavy hearts, we have to let you know that we will not offer the Flowers by BHG for the 2024 season. I am the primary arranger of the bouquets, and there is no way to really know how well things will go. Also, most of our flowers are not consistently ready until late spring. Additionally, our 3-6-5 by BHG will not be available for 2024. Not all is lost. Howeve
Our Eggs by BHG will be available but offered separately in the spring of 2024 as a stand-alone service.We felt that the family could handle this as they have already shown their aptitude for caring for thr flock, knowledgeable of egg shell law, and efficiency at washing and packaging our eggs.
If our flowers are something you look forward to each yearnwe have a little light for you too. We will make our flower bouquets available on our shop page as we have them for those interested. This takes pressure of me and allwos me to work as I have the strength to do so while recovering.
Given the approximate timing, we have decided to offer a Winter 2023 (December 18th – January 29th) & Spring 2024 (March 18th – April 29th) microgreen session. The family is already in training for these sessions to ensure your microgreens continue to be top noch!
We will take summer and fall off to recuperate, recalibrate, and hopefully resume the Winter 2024. We just want to emphasize the word tenative! The Winter 2023 session of our MICROgreens by BHG is now open for those interested.
Lost Time & Lost Plants
As aforementioned, limitations in my mobility have really cramped our farming style here at BHG. We have lost time crucial to ensuring our spring & and summer crops are successful. This includes putting beds and rows rows to sleep. That in itself can be time-consuming. One has to remove existing plants, ammend soil, then cover with leaf (which needs to be raked up first) mulch or weed barrier fabric.
Also, our bulbing plants, like garlic, are planted this time of year (October 1st for the last couple of years) to allow for cold stratification over the winter. This year, we ordered more garlic than we ever have! It is important to plant a few weeks before the frost so plants can get themselves established before dealing with harsher winter temperatures. So far, we have only planted a fourth of what has arrived in the mail. The delay? Well, we need to prepare the location. This area was covered with soybeans during the summer as a cover crop, for soil enhancement, and a small section for eating. However, when time came to mow and tarp the plot, issues ensued! The short version – it did not happen. So the area is more than a bit out of control and is in need of some serious taming before we can plant anything! We saw the chickens scouting for bugs this week. Hopefully, they took care of any pests for us. That is one less thing to worry about!
Days confined to the bed also affected our seedlings. These tender babies need more care than larger established plants. Water but not too much; light but not too much heat; cool but not freezing! You get the idea. Well, Mama Shena was not able to do these things, and as a result, we lost some important trays. Our artichokes died. We lost our Brussels Sprouts as well. These were most disappointing because timing is everything with artichokes and Brussels Sprouts in our particular zone. We may try it again, although chances for success have dramatically decreased.
Preparing for Tea Season
What is tea season? Well, for us, we use the winter and fall months to process our summer and fall grown herbs for teas and spice blends. Although we grow year round, we have less activity in the winter because, as of yet, we are not enrolled in any Farmer’s Markets outside of the summer. This time of year, it is also much cooler, so it is not uncommon for our dehydrator to run nearly nonstop with various tea ingredients. We have a few gallons yet of Roselle to process. We have completed Goldenrod. Mint and lemon balm are yet to be harvested. This makes me nervous as there will be some just above freezing temperatures this week! Hopefully, we will be spared frost and be allowed to gather these goodies soon.
We call this time of year tea season for another reason. As the cooler wind blows, it beckons one to sit with a warm drink, hoodie, and book on the weekends. Why not a nice herbal tea? For our fellow tea lovers out there, we will be releasing our roselle tea in loose leaf packages. These will be added to our store sometime in the month of November.
Our tea garden has grown to include various herbs over the last few years, and we will continue to expand. It has become our little apothecary of joy. For instance, I tasted a stevia leaf for the first time this month. It was so sweet! Green but SWEET! I’m hoping this plant especially survives the winter and returns in spring.
Are there any particular herbs you’ve been looking for? We are happy to include them in our growing plan! Just let us know.
Figgy
This is the first year that our fig tree (aka Figgy) began bearing fruit around the same time as other fig trees in our area. It is normally later in the season before we can enjoy the fruit deliciously sweet fruits . This year, we rejoiced as our bounty came in earlier & in abundance. Oddly enough, Iggy also decided to give us a second harvest of fruit. This second round is not nearly as sweet as the first round but still delicious. We are new to fruit trees, so we are curious. Is this a normal occurrence? No complaints from us for extra fruit, of course, just broadening our understanding.
Harvesting & Planting
We made time to harvest our sweet potatoes from our Ollie raised bed. Given the fact that they were fairly neglected, we are happy with what we were able to glean.
All roselle has been harvested and almost all has been processed for storage. This was an intense undertaking as it is twice the amount we harvested last year! Yet again, we were caught red-handed. That never gets old!
Garlic, peas, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Swiss Chard have all been planted. Still carrots, beets, fennel, cilantro, collards, mustards, spinach, arugula, kohlrabi, celery, onion, and leek – to hit the popular veggies – are yet to be planted. Since it is fairly late into the season we, we likely will not get a large harvest until spring. And that is just fine. Taking each day as it comes, with all its amazing drama, joy pain, and mischief, means our schedule may not look like the average farmer’s, but then again, have you met the Bain family? Not on purpose, I assure you, but we are an out of the box family for sure! We really would not have it any other way!
Fall is going to be as busy as ever! We better get to work! Catch us on our on the next adventure!
