Too much to do, Not enough time

I confess, and apologize... to my all-to-frequent lag with our blogs. BUT, I promise, we have a good excuse... we have been busy! Busy redesigning the primary and experimental gardens, busy adding viognier to the vineyard, busy weeding/mowing/planning, busy planting, busy growing Terra Del Sol; just plain busy!!! We often complain that we work "harder" in our "free" time than on our careers, but our passion to care for our family (kids and animals) has led us to this unexpected path; we never would have thought of ourselves as farmers and environmentalists, but yet, we love this lifestyle. The more we learn, the more we dream.

I can only imagine the comments my mother must think after the many years of whining and complaining about weeding, yardwork, and caring for animals. This is our first year, of officially being/living Terra Del Sol; yet, we wouldn't trade it for the world (maybe... only for more land)! Mom, I know I swore I would never garden, but look at us now! Who would have thought that a country girl- wanna be city girl- would return to her roots? Who would have thought that a suburban boy would ever manage a farm? Shhh... don't tell mom!

Square foot gardening

As we patiently wait for the last frost to plant the big summer garden, we thought a little experimentation might be in order. Using the old raised beds, we built a simple grid to try our hand at square foot gardening. I already like the nice, neat organization. It makes it easy to track what is in the ground. If this proves successful, we will replicate the method  on a much larger scale later this summer in the larger garden.

Invasion of the... tomato and pepper seedlings!

Mmmm,  a summertime favorite- tomatoes! Yes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant in February! Okay, so they might not be producing JUST yet, and there's probably a few more than we can plant (300+ seedlings each), but the darlings are going gang-busters!  A few will be planted in the greenhouse within the next month for fresh summer veggies come April/May; some 

will definitely be pampered and later planted in the garden when the frosts end. As for the rest- well, anyone want to buy some delicious heirloom veggie plants? I can promise they have been well-loved and tended. Lizzie promises they produce the most delicious after-school snack!

Oops!

A lesson was learned this week, at least as far as managing a small homestead is concerned. It was a tough week, and we were a bit short on time, energy, and hands. We lost a beloved member of our family. Unfortunately, that meant only the things we deemed critical (like feeding the animals and kids) were accomplished. Watering the greenhouse was accidentally forgotten. Fortunately, it is humid and mild, and we will most likely be able to cut back the greens in an attempt to rescue our winter salads. I guess there is more to fret about on the farm than just kids and critters when you're short-handed. But, all is not lost... not everyone would agree with that assessment. It seems the girls are QUITE happy with our error!

Just add water

Got to love rural California in January- the weather is cool and damp, and the farm is green. Perfect for our goats and the girls (chickens), they have all kinds of wonderful, yummy weeds to eat and grubs to peck. The dogs enjoy it as well; the soft, moist dirt is ideal for digging and hunting gophers. I love these early mornings when the world is still asleep and the mist just hangs in the air as I make the morning rounds with Ripley's "help". But with the new year, it also means it's time to prune and begin planning the gardens for the coming spring.

The first post

Well here goes nothing! I can't believe it was nearly six years ago when we bought our home and began renovations, and it has been two years since we started Terra Del Sol. Finally, I'm starting our blog. I wish I had done it sooner, keeping a journal of our journey to transform this plot of dirt and weeds into a small permiculture farm. Oh well, better late than never!