Struan Farm

Raindrops on Veggies

It's been raining here at Struan Farm over the past week. You'll hear no complaints from me about that given our recent drought. I'm not sure if it's considered officially over at this point, but the situation has improved considerably. Grass is growing before winter, something that prompts farmers to heave sighs of relief.

Out in the backyard at Struan Farm I've been captivated by the glistening, crystalline beauty of raindrops on the brassicas. In certain light they sparkle, incredibly so. In the Sound of Music Julie Andrews waxes lyrical about raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Let me tell you raindrops on veggies are magical too. You just have to stop and notice them.

I suspect we're all appreciating the small things at the moment.

Tomatoes and Veggies, The Winter Edition

I haven't been the best at blogging during lockdown, my apologies. With John working from home my office and computer have been commandeered, as has the dining room table. And yes, he does have an entire spare room designated as his home office as well, although we've now learned it doesn't get our wonderful rural wifi internet signal terribly well. Zoom video conferences have restricted my movements around the house.

So I've been preoccupied managing around "All Things John" as a result rather than all of my normal pre-COVID activities. Like most people, there's been a new normal.

But I'm wanting to get back on track with Level 2 starting to happen shortly. And there's good news to report from here at Struan Farm!

The tomato plants grown from seed to experiment with a winter crop in the glasshouse have been thriving. I've got seven big plants flowering and starting to fruit, with four more seedlings off to the side. I managed to give some of my surplus seedlings to others in the community with glasshouses, but still have four remaining. They're vigorous and flowering. I can't bear to toss them into the compost bin, so I may end up putting them into big pots and staking them, turning the glasshouse into even more of a tomato jungle than it already is.

I've also got planters going with rocket/arugula, mesclun lettuce, Italian parsley, spring onions, silverbeet/chard, spinach, Cavalo Nero and another type of kale in the glasshouse as well. All started from seed. Outside in the troughs and beds are silverbeet, beets/beetroot, curly kale, spinach, winter lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, peas and coriander. Snails and slugs decimated the first rows of carrots I planted, but I have resown seed and returned the favour so it doesn't happen again.

What we don't eat will go to the Piopio Community Fruit & Veg Stand, due to re-open in Level 2, or the local foodbank. We're all in this together.

Languishing in Lockdown

We all contend with lockdown differently, even the sheep here at Struan Farm. I had to laugh when I looked out and saw pet lamb Spice taking over the pet lean-to once again, and other ewes, including Bubbles, blobbing out beside the fence that runs from the backyard along the tawa grove, with others dispersed around the paddock. They look utterly bored!

Some should be gestating lambs, so perhaps hormones are at work as well.

On Diving Deep & Finding Buried Treasure

Yesterday I took a deep breath and dove deep. Into the big freezer in our garage here at Struan Farm, that is.

John purchased it a year or so ago so we'd have space to freeze and store roasted tomatoes, homemade soups and ice creams, surplus fruits like blackcurrants, blueberries and damsons, along with other bounty from the garden and orchard. There's quite a stockpile of the different nuts used to make our "world famous in Piopio" farmstay muesli, which is purchased in quantity wholesale or harvested from our own trees. And I tend to buy meat when it's on special.  Yes I know "stockpile" has become a dirty work and point of criticism during COVID-19 after fights over toilet paper, but there are those of us who've always been inclined to be prepared, virus or not.  I am of that ilk.

Due to recent sessions of lockdown baking the freezer looked to be reaching capacity. It was time for a bit of reorg, also to see what might be lurking at the bottom. John has been agitating for me to cook a huge pork roast that was in hiding down there somewhere, below the containers of berries and damsons and bags of nuts. There's also surplus powdered lamb's milk and colostrum waiting for next year's pets. Many treasures.

The good news is that I brought the pork roast up to the surface, along with two lamb forequarters and some beef cheeks. Enough to get us through the rest of Level 3 with other stuff in hand, hopefully. And I re-stacked everything, creating heaps more room for apple feijoa crumbles and shortcakes. Off to pre-heat the oven right now!