Another little interlude for a long-overdue Homestead Update! Here's what we've been up to lately…
Things We Learned Whilst Attempting to Make Maple Syrup:
1. Tapping trees is super easy. It's a lot of fun to see the sap running out through the spile into the bucket!
2. But then comes the part where you have to reduce it by 40 times to make the syrup.
3. This cannot be done successfully over a campfire with a stock pot.
4. It cannot be done inside in one go because the vapor will increase the humidity in your house too much.
5. So we had to do it a tiny bit at a time, over campfires, with our rocket stove, in an open crockpot, and finally on the stove. It took for-ev-er.
6. This is on our "do not try again unless you have a better set-up" list until further notice.
7. However, we still got a lot of syrup! We thought we had half a gallon, but it's very thin so we'll have to reduce it again. But it has a complex flavor and was very tasty on buckwheat pancakes.
Planting spring seeds
This year I swore that I would not fuss with spring crops, as I have have very little luck with them in the past due to St. Louis's weather pattern of nightly frosts, a week of "spring," and then 95 degrees from April until November. But I also had a ton of seeds picked up from the seed swap, as well as leftovers from our attempts to grow spring crops last year in Portland (they failed there, too). So on a warm day, I emptied all the seed packets into a single bowl, mixed them around, raked some soil in the back yard and front yard, and sowed the seeds, raked them in, watered them, sprinkled them with some fertilizer, and called it a day. We'll see if any of them grow!
Planting summer seeds
We also got some tomato and pepper seeds set up in the basement, on top of heating pads and underneath grow lights. Some of the tomatoes and one pepper just started sprouting last night!
We were originally going to have a couple more varieties of tomatoes, as well as tomatillos, but the post office has continued to refuse to believe that we live here, and has sent our package from Baker Creek Seeds on a marvelous adventure to who knows where (this is the third time we've contacted them to confirm that we actually do live here). I was pretty bummed about that, but am trying to remind myself that we can buy seedlings in May when planting time comes.
Another swap n' shop
Following on the heels of the previous swap n' shop, another one, this time at my church! About 15 people showed up and filled up seven tables full of fun stuff. I came home with a dart board, some candles, a nice glass storage jar, and a ton of home goods for a friend who is currently furnishing her house. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and we've agreed that we should do this quarterly! Most people had never heard of this idea before, so I was happy that I got to share the fun (as well as the household goods).
One last sunchoke harvest
On a warm day, we put on some gardening gloves and harvested the remaining sunchoke tubers! We got two five-gallon buckets for eating, and at least that many for replanting and giving away. Sorting through the soil in search of tubers feels like a treasure hunt!
I'm excited that spring is coming and that we'll get to see a gardening season (more or less) all the way through this year. Here's to the 2020 season!
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