Farm Gate Chats

We are going to be at Mayne Island's Christmas Craft Show. See you there!

2011-11-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

Garlics, Garlics and more Garlics!

2011-09-27T09:50:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday was a lovely Fall Day. I sat outside on our deck and prepped and sorted all our garlics from our 2011 Harvest. All our garlics are Certified Organic and because they have been hardened off, they can be either consumed or planted. Some of our garlics will available to buy at Happy Tides Health Food Store here on Mayne Island.

The following Garlic varieties are available to buy at Happy Tides Health Food Store.

Leningrad

Leningrad packs a lot of punch! It is very hot

and strong. Leningrad has become a staple

thanks to its excellent flavour, ease of growing

and long storage life. Leningrad is listed in the

Seeds of Diversity Canada catalogue of

heritage varieties as endangered and very hard

to find.

Chesnok Red

Chesnok Red is a gourmet delight.

It is a purple stripe hardneck variety

and one of the best cooking garlics.

Highly flavourful. It holds its shape

and retains flavor well when cooked.

It has large, easy-to-peel cloves.

Northern Quebec

Good strength, flavour, size and

vigour. A strong, hot garlic!

Northern Québec is listed in the

Seeds of Diversity Canada

catalogue of heritage varieties

as endangered and hard to find.

Tibetian

It is an excellent keeper and has

a flavour that entices one to

eat more.

Sicilian Gold

Sicilian Gold is a medium strength

garlic with a pleasant flavour.

It has consistently produced

large softneck bulbs, probably

of the Artichoke variety.

I reserve a good selection of the harvested garlics for next year's harvest. I will be planting our own Starry Night Meadows Farm certified organic garlics Thanksgiving weekend.

The garlics that don't get sold or replanted make their way into the kitchen. I love to cook with garlics! I am looking forward to preserving a new jelly made with roasted garlics. Enjoy!

What to do with Lemon Cucumbers?

2011-09-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today I was faced with what to do with a wonderful bounty of Lemon Cucumbers from our Greenhouse. So, I went out onto the InterNet to see what I could find. Of course, I found many great ideas, but, I especially liked this site. If you check this site out you will find the recipe that I adapted for my own pickles. The difference was I cut my cukes into segments and added red peppers with the onions to give some contrasted colour. The results were amazing!

The Lemon Cucumbers are at their best when they are just turning yellow.

This picture shows how I cut the Lemon Cukes into segments.

Once the liquid mixture came to a boil, I added the cukes and onions and brought it back to a boil.

Just look at the beautiful colours! I put a grape leaf at the bottom of each jar to help the cukes stay crisp.

Lemon Cucumber Pickles.

Lemon Cucumbers have been called, Lemon Apples, too.

The cukes have also been called, Salt & Pepper cukes because of the black bumps on their skin. The bumps look like peppercorns.

Whatever you want to call them, Lemon Cukes are a lovely mild, less tart cucumber! Enjoy!

Apple Time is Here!

2011-09-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

Today I picked our Hall's Pink Apples. They are a pink-fleshed apple. Not only are they delicious but they are also beautiful to look at and to bite into!

Just picked!

The Hall's Pink apple is tinged with pink flesh on their inside.

DELICIOUS!

I made some Fermier Calvados Jelly with our Red Fleshed apples

Some of my Preserves made with wines, like the Fermier Calvados Jelly,
included as Wedding Favours.

The apples sauce made from the red-fleshed apples is a brilliant pink.
The flavour is amazing and no sugar was added!

Alpaca Fibre 4 Sale/SOLD

2011-08-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Good News! The Boys are happy to say that all their fibre has been sold! Buttercup's yarn blended with silk went to a Silk Weaving Studio on Granville Island and the rest of the yarn went to Baad Anna's Knitting Store in Vancouver.

The Boys are enjoying the fall sunshine. Taking well deserved naps!

Starry Night Meadows Farm now has

their Alpaca Boys' second year fibre ready for sale.

It was milled at Qualicum Bay Fibre Works in

British Columbia. All the yarn is $1.50 @ 10

grams. The yarns are on spools. The rovings are

$10.00 @ 100 grams. The rovings are bagged.

View this slideshow to meet our boys and see their fibre

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvNFfQW

Here is what is available

Shogun's Blanket with 10 % wool

Dusty Rose Gray

2 ply worsted weight

2 pounds 7 ounces

1113 grams

$166.95

Shogun's Seconds with 11% wool

Dusty Rose Gray

2 ply worsted weight

2 pounds 13 ounces

1266 grams

$189.90

Buttercup's Blanket with 20% Tussah Silk

Ivory

2 ply worsted weight

4 pounds 5 ounces

1945 grams

$291.75

Buttercup's Rovings

Ivory

1670 grams

$167.00

Robbie's Blanket with 15% wool

Black

2 ply worsted weight

2 pounds 9 ounces

1157 grams

$173.55

Rudy's Blanket

Sable Brown

2 ply worsted weight

3 pounds 4 ounces

1468 grams

$220.20

Rudy's Seconds with 12 % wool

Sable Brown

2 ply worsted weight

3 pounds 3 ounces

1441 grams

$216.15

The Boys Blend I( Monty, Shaggy, Arthur, Ted and

Walter) with 10% wool

Heather Mix

2 ply worsted weight

5 pounds 12 ounces

2600 grams

$390.00

The Boys Blend 2( Monty, Shaggy, Arthur, Ted and

Walter) with 10% wool

Heather Mix

2 ply worsted weight

1 pound 13 ounces

819 grams

$122.85

The Boys Blend (Monty, Shaggy, Arthur, Ted and

Walter)

Black

washed ready for felting

1560 grams

$156.00

The Boys Blend

( Monty, Shaggy,

Arthur, Ted and

Walter)

Black/Brown

washed ready for felting

715 grams

$71.50

Cucumbers to the Ceiling!

2011-08-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

I have been busy making cucumber Relish, Cucumber Onion Mustard Delight and the old time favourite, Piccalilly. All available at our Mayne Island Saturday Farmers' Market. See you there!

Cucumbers taste like summer!

Cucumbers are picked fresh and taken to Market .

Lovely, crisp, delicious, Slicing Masters.

The Green House is a green jungle! Cucumbers growing
to the ceiling.

Summer 2011

2011-07-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our Summer of 2011. Yesterday I picked the Black Currants and made some delicious Black Currant Jelly.

Blackcurrant Nutrition

...the nutritional value of blackcurrants and full blackcurrant nutrition information...

Fancy a high dose of vitamin C? You cannot go wrong with the blackcurrant as this particular fruit contains more than three times the amount of vitamin C as oranges.

Blackcurrants have an extremely high content of vitamin C (302% of the Daily Value per 100g) and also good levels of iron, vitamin B5, potassium and phosphorus.

Blackcurrants contain anthocyanins (a powerful antioxidant), which are compounds naturally found in berries. These are very potent antioxidants which are responsible for the colour of blackcurrants. The darker the blackcurrant, the more anthocyanins it contains and the better it is for you.

Anthocyanins are also associated with anti ageing benefits.

Blackcurrants contain a good amount of potassium which help the muscles and nerves to function and also maintains the bodies' acid balance. Potassium can also help lower the risk of high blood pressure.

Blackcurrants also contain good amounts of phosphorus which plays a part in bone and teeth formation. Phosphorus works with calcium for maximum effect in this area.

The blackberry fruit as well as the leaves, work as an anti-inflammatory, which is very helpful for rheumatism, arthritis and gout. Their nutritional values also stimulate digestion and the function of the liver, pancreas, spleen and kidneys and have diuretic qualities.

One cup of blackcurrants contains around 71 calories.

It's Time to Jelly!

2010-07-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

It's time to Jelly! Our Red, Black and White Champagne Currants are wonderful this summer. My kitchen is just bubbling with jams and jellies. Most recently I have made Strawberry Champagne Jelly, BlueBlack Currant Jelly, Red Currant Jelly, and Black Currant Jelly. Today I am going to pick some Raspberries and make some jam. As soon as the fruit is picked we either sell it, process it or freeze it. Some days are very busy! Here's a picture of some of my very 'gem' clear jellies.

Mayne Island Annual Home & Garden Tour

2010-06-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

This year we have been invited to participate in the Mayne Island Annual Home & Garden Tour on Sunday, July 4th. Tickets are available to purchase at Happy Tides Health Food Store in the Fernhill Centre Mall. Here is a Map of our Farm.

Apple Blossom Time

2010-04-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

Apple Blossom time on the farm is wonderful! There is so much energy happening out there in the orchards. The unfurling of blossoms, the movement of the bees, the warm sun, and showers. It is a time of anticipation.

The Boys' Yarn is here! Click here to view their yarn 4 sale.

2010-04-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Rudy's yarn is sable brown in colour.

Last year's (2009) fibre is back from the mill. The yarn is every so soft and lovely!

The boys will be sheared again, May 10th. They get sheared once a year.
It takes 8 - 10 months to get the raw fibre processed to a yarn at the mill.

Robbie's yarn is black in colour.

Shogun's yarn is Rose Gray in colour.

Buttercup's yarn is Ivory in colour.

Spring is here and the earth is warming up!

2010-04-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

The Green House is finished!

2010-02-27T15:24:00.000-08:00

The green house sits above the strawberries at the south end of our vegetable garden.

Here you can see the south side of the greenhouse nestled in with rows of strawberries.

Here is a view of the greenhouse from our North Star apple orchard. Notice the buds on the tree. Spring is coming along quickly.

Our New Green House

2010-01-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

Gary has been working steadily through out all the rain to prepare the site and to build our new green house. The green house is going to sit above the strawberries in our lower Gemini Garden. The green house is 20' by 45'. We are planning on growing certain crops through out the year and to get a head start on planting our own vegetable seedings.
We are planning on growing the Nightshade vegetables in pots. That would be the tomatoes, eggplants and peppers.

Island's Trust

2009-12-28T14:40:00.000-08:00

Islands Trust has studied Mayne Island and identified sensitive areas for landowners and visitors to be aware of.
Here is a Map of Sensitive Land Areas on Mayne that is of great interest for us all.

2009-12-20T08:53:00.000-08:00

Dear family & friends,

Well, here I am with my girls. Molly is so sweet! But so FULL of energy! We have decided not to put up our usual big Christmas Tree this year because I would be in constant motion trying to keep her and the tree safe! Billie doesn't mind and Molly doesn't care as long as she has a house full of toys and people adoring her. Today I am baking pies and keeping a constant watch on Molly. Wish me luck!

Have a good day,

diane

Meet Molly

2009-12-05T14:38:00.000-08:00

Meet Molly our new Flat Coat Retriever puppy. She is just 8 weeks old in this picture. Today is her second full day on the farm. She enjoys walking and tumbling through the apple orchard where there are still dandelions to play with.

Mollie's big sister, Billie is getting use to her new little sister. Both Billie and Mollie have Farm Duty responsibilities. Billie is our official Dog Bell. She announces all visitors. Mollie will learn to be on the lookout for roaming deer and to bark to keep them away from our perimeter fencing.

November 2009

2009-11-16T19:34:00.000-08:00

November is proving to be a very wet month! This month our challenges are prepping our garden space for our new greenhouse. We are looking forward to getting a head start to growing many of our preferred vegetables and flowers.