Happy NEW YEAR folks!!! I don't think I'm alone in being thankful that 2012 is through. Between Jamie's medical saga, epic farm-wedding preparations, becoming caretakers of three new sheep and dozens of new chickens, it's been quite the ride! In all of these ways and more it was my most challenging year yet, but in other ways it was so full of growth, new friendships, powerful memories, garden successes, and artistic development. Obviously I have a few lists of things "to-do" but if they don't get done in 2013 it's no big deal. I wrote them way back in the summer anyway, so they're ongoing. One of the things on those lists was to save seeds and I did! I saved seeds from Stowell's Evergreen Corn, McCaslan 42 Pole Beans, Tam Jalapeno Peppers, De Bourbonne Cucumbers, and Sugarbaby Watermelon. Last night we watched movies and I bagged everything up safe and sound.
We actually have a surplus of the beans and jalapenos so if you are interested, send me an email at mckenzieditter at gmail dot com with your address and I'll mail you a couple baggies. Both were very disease and pest resistant, and also incredibly prolific growers. The beans grow very tall (10+ feet!) and have tons of beans on each plant. I'd recommend at least 8" spacing between each one, but our best producing plant was over a foot away from the next because a couple seeds never germinated and I didn't notice in time to fill in the gap. You can pick them while they're small and they're string-less or let them grow long and they're still great for eating fresh but I would definitely string them before you do.
The jalapenos were enormous and sturdy plants and each one produced close to a hundred peppers through the season. I'd space them apart at least two feet, but a bit more is probably better. Pick them when they're small and they're not too spicy. When they're sized "just right" the flesh is still not too spicy for me, but the seeds are smokin' hot! (I am very sensitive to spice, so if you're a spice fanatic, these might be too mild for you.) They kept producing late through the season since we consistently harvested the peppers.
Seeds aside, I want to say thank you to everyone who kept coming to my blog during this past year. There were some pretty dark times here, so I really appreciate your help getting through them. I have such sincere "readers," though I dislike that term and would prefer to call you faraway-friends. Hope your first day of 2013 is off to a good start!
What small things are you happy to have accomplished in 2012?
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I'm writing you from spain and in 2013 I'm moving back to my country, Portugal to become a farmer. I've always lived in a city, but I believe my family and I will be very happy in this new adventure. I follow your blog and it inspires me for my future life. I've been reading another blogs and all say 2012 was wonderfull. I don't doubt it but your description of 2012 seemed more realistic, of course there are good moments but also not so good. I hope you have a wonderfull 2013
ReplyDeletehappy new year - from a "new reader"
ReplyDeletejust wanted to say I enjoy your blog.
Happy New Year to you! I will have to email you about the seeds, my grandparents love planting jalapenos and beans, so nice of you to give them away :)
ReplyDeleteThis year was pretty tough, like yours, so I am anticipating this new year to be glorious! I did get my Bachelors and traveled and worked on a farm, 2 of my biggest goals. So there is that! Cheers to a great year!
thanks for your generosity!
ReplyDeleteMan! Just reading through Jamie's health issues and mention of debilitating health costs (which I know aren't covered by insurance) made me feel incredibly grateful I'm Canadian. Were you guys able to recieve significant monetary help from others and family? Are you guys in horrible debt? I hope you guys can come out of that alright. I also thank you for mentioning your struggles to make ends meet-while inspiring others to make changes they want in their lives along the way. I love your quaint folksy aesthetic and I will continue to promote you on my blog (I did once, for your cards and calendars, but I'm not sure if all new readers would be ones who'd read all my past stuff). You also inspired others who might not think college was for them-even though we're made to feel we NEED to do it in order to be educated and succeed in life, college can easily = learning what you need and want to learn using the plethora of well-written things out there and just READING. I have a college degree, but oftentimes we fall into jobs frequented by people who don't have ONE degree, much less multiple ones.
ReplyDeleteQuinta Sinfonia, I hope you also have a wonderful 2013! Your new adventure sounds so amazing. To live in Portugal too? Oh my god. I've only traveled to England and France once in my life, but the history in Europe is so different than that of America. All those ancient ruins and culinary traditions... dreamy.
ReplyDeleteHannah, I would love to send some to you. I have to go through and make a list of the emails I got about this. Congratulations on getting your degree! I can imagine it feels like a huge weight off your shoulders now that it's done! :)
Sonrie, you are welcome! I got your email. Going to respond today. :)
Alicia, in that sense you are absolutely justified in feeling grateful, haha! It's pretty ridiculous that the amount we owe totals up to close to $30k, AFTER they decreased the cost for medicine by tens of thousands, and AFTER Jamie's mom had to pay several thousand as deposits for his surgeries so he could even have them! What's even more frustrating is that the infection was their fault and the reason they had to overdose him on such crazy meds was also their fault. We have plans to take some of this to a lawyer, but it's just too much to balance right now. I just consider it a fantasy bill at the moment, haha! Thank you so much for your compliments about my blog. I'm so glad that it makes you feel that way, and that the fact that I didn't complete college is empowering for you. Oh, and thanks for sharing my Etsy shop items on your blog. That's so nice. :)