Northland Alumni Site

We’re getting a lot more eggs now. The average is 5 or 6 a day. It’s always a treat to eat them knowing they came from our farm.
Today John discoved that one of the hens has “gone broody”. She’s sitting on a nest in the garden shed. Who knows if we’ll get any chicks, but it will be fun to keep an eye on her.

But, yesterday I was remined of one of the down-sides to having chickens. They can be pretty destructive when left to free-range. I’d set some plants outside the back door before taking them to the cold-frame. When I returned the chickens had completely destroyed them. All the leaves were gone from the broccoli, and most of the cabbage was eaten too. Needless to say I was PISSED! It was my own fault for leaving them there, but I didn’t even think about the chickens getting into them. So, the stems of these plants are now in the cold frame, and on a bed of manure for warmth. Maybe there will be a grand resurection, or maybe we’ll be buying some broccoli plants from the local greenhouse.

(Here they were a couple of weeks ago, they were about 3x this size before the chicken attack yesterday)

We have seven resident chickens here at the farm. One rooster and six laying hens. With warmer weather and longer days the chickens have started laying again. This morning I headed out to the coop to let them out and collect the eggs, and there I found two brown eggs waiting for me. They were warm. I can’t say I’ve ever collected warm eggs before. It was kinda cool and kinda wierd. But, that’s about as fresh as they get! (We ate them scrambled with asparagus and cheese, bacon and Gimme Lean…yum!)

We grew enough strawberries to make lots of jam. Thanks to everyone out there that helped plant, weed, mulch, weed, mulch some more and pick the berries! Here’s what to do with them once they come inside:

(this is cooked jam, which tastes closer to what you can buy at the store, strawberries can also be made into freezer jam which is also delicious, and easier to make)

 Wash the berries,
 then cut off tops and slice. This recipe calls for 2 quarts of strawberries.

 Then, mash the sliced berries. There should still be some chunks of fruit as well as juice.

 Making jam can be done all by one person, but it’s easier and more fun with two people working  on it. One person can be measuring and prepping all the stuff, while the other slices, mashed and boils the jam. This is the 7 cups(!) of sugar waiting to go in with the berries.

 Wash and rinse jelly jars, this recipe makes just over 9 jars worth of jam.

 Then place in the oven, set pretty low, this dries the jars and gets them hot enough.

 Also put lids and water into a small pan and bring to a boil (this sterilizes them).

 After the berries have been mashed, transfer them to a large pot and add fruit pectin (“Sure-Jel” is a popular brand, but we use whatever is cheapest) Bring the fruit and pectin to a rolling boil, then add the sugar. Return to a rolling boil, and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then get the jars out of the oven and get a ladle and funnel ready. (This is where it really helps to have another person)

    Ladle the hot jam into jars…

 wipe the rims with a damp cloth…

 place lids and rings on the jars, and make sure the rings are tight.

 Then flip the jars upside down for about 5 minutes. This puts all the hot liquid around the rim, so it has a better chance of sealing. Flip the jars back over and then listen for them to seal. They make a very satisfying “pop”! After that it doesn’t take very long for the jam to set, then it’s ready to be shared with friends! Yum!