Farmer Nemo

Happy winter everybody!

A gift for farm friends

One tomato for each member of farm friend family Brendan, Helen and baby boy on the way.

Harvest: Mucho

Every plant is pumping out produce right now. Today we harvested swiss chard, fatali peppers, salad mix, green beans, roma tomatoes, green peppers, striped eggplant, cucumbers, beefsteak tomotoes, jamaican hot yellow hot peppers, banana peppers and jalapeño peppers.

Surprise Party for Farmer No. 2

Farmer No. 1 went all out planning a surprise birthday party for No. 2. It was a very touching ode to the Minnesota State Fair replete with:
the amazing produce showcase,
a butter sculpture (margarine actually) of No. 2's head courtesy of Jon,and homemade pies.

There was much more including a fake mustachio show and a cotton candy machine. More pictures soon.

Drying Lavender and Making Sachets

I planted a lovely lavender last year, and this year it has tripled in size and is nearly taking over the beets. In full bloom now, it scents the garden and is ready for harvest. The best time to harvest is early morning before the sun warms the buds and they emit their oils.

I rinsed out the lavender with the garden hose to remove any dirt or insects and left it to dry inside on a clean towel. Within minutes, our entire apartment smelled of real lavender (not a fake air freshener) and made it worth growing just for those few days of scent.

After drying for four days, I separated the buds from the stems and put a few scoops into a little sachet. The sachet is small pouch made from simple muslin - a fabric that is light enough to allow the scent to pass through and fill clothes drawers and linen closets with a fresh scent.

I sewed a little heart on the sachet for cuteness. And made a few more from a Japanese fabric I've been waiting to use. Very sweet and they smell great.