But that’s not all. Oh no, that is not all! The farm is up and running and dragging the kitchen along with it and I have not even begin on the gardens.
How many words do you like to read in a blog. Especially a farm lifestyle blog. Because that is what this is! A lifestyle blog. On a sustainable farm. My lifestyle and for the foreseeable future we are back on the farm lifestyle.
Good morning and Happy Friday to everyone over on this side of the pond with me. Happy Saturday to the other side. Today we have farming, gardening, field management, making wild plum brandy and much more.
I know there are a bunch of rules about blogging, that are really just assumptions, based on stats but I still ignore most of the rules, they go on about the length a blog post should be and the number of photos but at thekitchensgarden (the farm blog) I gather enough stuff every day for five posts! I could wax lyrical.
But I am scorching tomatoes (for tomat conserva) and am in and out of the kitchen and I know you are busy, too.
And you get it all in short form. And you also get the chance to ask me questions in the Lounge of Comments! Here at the kitchensgarden.com every post is about yesterday. So I do not stack up posts like most bloggers. I just tell you what I see. Today.
The Fields
We have cut the two thistle fields. This is a two year plan. The thistle plants were high and at the end of flowering which is when they are the most weakened. Propagation (flowering and seed making) wears a plant out. So my theory is to cut them down at this point and bale them up seeds and all then stack those bales up in the field. (Green but not so green we can’t pick up the bales!!) So there are no cuttings being spread around. I hope they heat up. And if they catch on fire they are way out in a field.
Even if they don’t heat up – they will at least be bound up without a chance to spread.
But I don’t know. These thistles (that are spread via rhizomes underground plus seeds) are very hard to get rid of.
I live in a blend of science and hope.
The Kitchen
I picked wild plums from down the back.
6 pounds of plums and 3 1/2 cups of raw sugar. Mashed together. This will sit to ferment for two weeks. Then we strain and add a bottle of brandy. I have not washed the so the plums keep the wild yeast on their skins. (That whitish bloom). What could go wrong?
Do you remember my wild yeast wine?
And yes. Much of that wild yeast wine is still in the basement. Too horrible to drink!! But I cannot bear to throw it out – maybe I will try it again tonight!
I am also making tomat conserva for a special dinner in a few weeks – I will tell you a little more about this tomorrow.
The Pond
Do you see all the new fish in the pond. They are very tiny. I have seen only one of the big ones. But the pool is deep. The catfish may still be down there. I am working on removing as much of this slimy pond weed as possible though surprisingly it is keeping the water nice and clean. I can see right down to the rocks in many places.
Mr Flowers
Mr Flowers is camped outside my bedroom window calling out this morning. And yes! He is alive and well also.
And growing his new late summer tail. I wish I could get him another mate but John hates the peacocks too.
BooBoo and I walked the whole property yesterday evening – the big fields have a beautiful ground cover.
The tomato plants down the back are fully picked and mostly weeded – today I am going to peek over the walls into the mad kings garden. But I suspect there are potatoes in there. Maybe. We will see.
Today I will work on the South gardens. I have sown greens and more zucchini (you never know we may have time) – I am going through the seed box today to see if I can find any other fall garden seeds.
There is a lot of cleaning up to do in the barn. I have not even begun in there yet.
Plus I want to write today – for my Substack post this weekend.
Have a great day!
Pop into the Lounge of Comments. Tell me what you want me to write about.
Love Celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
35 responses to “Making Wild Plum Brandy”
just love all the photos and especially ones with sound! I wish John loved the peacocks. And miss TonTon’s photo.
John likes the cows and Wai – not much else – But at least he looks after them when I am travelling. Now I am back they get the loving!
I like your farmy but, get rid of EVERY thistle~ YES every thistle. I hate them, yes HATE them. When we built our house here 23 yrs ago, the owner of this 13 acre (supposed to be 13 lots) subdivision never cut/mowed a thing. I’m 5’2 and the contract says grass no more than 18″ tall!!! And it was loaded with thistles and in the fall thistles taller than me 5’3 ~would bloom and all the seeds blowing from the west into all of our landscaping. And we have spent thousands. In the spring all landscaping was loaded with thistles coming up and we were handpulling them out ~ then burned them in the fire pile. No help ~ Jerry bought thistle killer concentrate. No help. Paid a farmer to spray this area. We have spent so much time and money trying to keep this place clean. For several years I myself mowed this entire subdivision less 3 other yards!! 9 hours ~ never one thanks, never a dime for 9 hrs of mowing gas. then new neighbors got tractor mowers and helped with mowing but I still mow over half. yesterday my hired man cut a bunch out of thistles out behind the blue spruces ~ so I hate them!!!
I love seeing BooBoo here and right by Wai no less!!! Bet he loved that long walk with you!! Shoulda put a chain on Wai and taken him with you!!! Mr Peacock looking good!!! Makes no difference whether you a post or blog ~ just as long all the farmy animals are in it!!! That makes my day!! But all those ducks never came back. I’m sad about that. Love ya Celi and BooBoo!!!!! Have a good weekend ~ you dont have to write us!!!
Carol
You and I – we hate those thistles!! No point spraying them – or digging them out – or mowing them. We just have to find a way to mitigate them so they don’t take over quite so much of the cows grass.
You mow a lot of grass!! That is heaps.
Have a great long weekend!
I love to read your posts, and I like lots of words. But I recognise that I may be in the minority… I think of your posts as lots of small stories about the farm all gathered together. Who could tire of those?
It will be interesting to see whether others like lots of words – but you are right – the farm posts end up being lots of little stories in one. That is an excellent way to think about it – I like that. Have a great weekend!
I remember as a child being taught that thistles were horrid weeds that should never be allowed to grow. Now as an adult I understand pollinators and the role thistles play- but they do tend to take over don’t they. Are yours of a variety that they could be useful as teas/medicinal? Not that you want to take on another project- just trying to find some possible good such as selling off a crop to folks who use wild plants in those ways…
CA said it perfectly- lots of small stories making up a post. I love that format!
It’s a lovely idea but the fields are for the cows not to raise tea. However that being said I am sure the pollinators love our fields.
Just keep doing what you’ve always done with the words and photos and don’t pay attention to the “rules” for blogging. I think they way you do the blog is perfect. Don’t fix what ain’t broke.
Those small fish don’t look like catfish, so they must be the other ones. Baby catfish have the characteristic barbels of the larger ones. They look quite big already!
Good luck with the wild plum brandy – the wild yeast on elderflowers works well and I always leave the bloom on sloes, when adding them to gin 😉
You are a bad influence on me when it comes to experimenting with making my own grog!
Ha ha – I think you were dabbling before I came along 😉
Dabbling and tippling!! 😂🙂
I left quite a lengthy comment about the pond but not seeing it. Maybe it’s just invisible to me so hope you received it! 🤷🏻♀️
I will check and see if it went into another folder. Thank you!
Ok, I’m wondering if it ever showed up anywhere..maybe it was too long?
Not sure where it went. I could not find it. But you have written long messages about ponds before which were very helpful.
Oh that’s funny because I never saw my previous pond comments posted either and is the reason I sent additional pond lore. So then you already know about the importance of shade from aquatic plants! Good! That’s the reason I wouldn’t remove every bit of that pond slime if you don’t have any floating vegetation from lily pads or hyacinth, etc. And I know you don’t like goats but i agree with Kate.. they are excellent thistle mowers. Saves on gas! Lol!
Yes! I won’t (nor could I) take all the pond weed out and I have planted around the pond for shade too. But I am
so pleased to see how balanced the pond is this summer!
Oh good! Yes, it takes awhile to balance a pond out that most mimics a natural environment. So many microscopic creatures that come in to play with that. I’m not sure if you can find them there but trapdoor snails are a great addition to a pond too..they love algae and don’t multiply like crazy like some pond snails. Plus they’re kind of fun little guys to have around! Sincerely, The Pond Princess.. 🙂
I would love the trapdoor snails. Thank you for the tip. But they are delivered by mail – we really are out of the way. And they don’t like it too hot in their envelope. Any ideas?
They are delivered by mail? Oh dear..I’m afraid their survival rate wouldn’t be too high going that way. Maybe the next time you are in a more urban area you could find a nursery that stocks pond supplies and buy them there to bring home? I know, that may be easier said than done but they really are a great addition to a pond. I had some really nice ones that were a few years old and one night the raccoons came and fished them out along with my fish. My attitude towards raccoons changed a bit after that! Grrr!
I can imagine! Those raccoons are so sweet looking! 😂 my research on the snails tells me they might not survive. And they are expensive. I cannot guarantee a temp that is conducive to integrity. I am not even sure I can get my chicks in! The temps are all over the place. Crossing fingers!
Yes, you may have to wait until your temps are a little cooler although I did see a couple of companies that guarantee live shipments. The snails themselves are only about $3.00 to $4.00 each so it must be the shipping that is expensive..I didn’t see what that was to your area. I would probably just try and find a nursery or pond store that sells them maybe in the Chicago area or closer and just buy them there if you can. They really are cute little creatures. 🙂
Thanks for the updates and I love your style, I’m not a rule follower either
We are in good company here!
“Just stay as sweet as you are, don’t let a thing ever change you!”Wonderful and informative blog and Mr Flowers looking so handsome.
Keep the words and stories as you have been, no need to change. They are perfect just the way they are. The algorithms don’t know the farmy
I’ve always loved your blog Celi! Such a treat to read daily, or whenever you can post! Got a big chuckle over the wine in the basement. Sometimes the wine, or beer we make just doesn’t work out the way we hope! Keep us informed as to whether you get zucchini again in the fall. We have lots going in our fall garden now. Very exciting!
I have never had a ton of luck with zuchinni here. I think John got a few while I was away but not many. Sowing this late in the summer is a prayer but you never know!
Why not ‘give it a go,’ right? I had one bumper year for zucchine once in 11 years and 10 very, very scarce years! 😦 It seems it’s either the squash bugs or the stem borers that wreck havoc!
I like everything, especially the words. There are many lovely pictures on the internet, but your words are uniquely and distinctly yours, and they are why I value and enjoy your posts. I have only ever heard of one solution for thistles, and that was goats in the West, and camels in the East. Browsers will gnaw them down for you (in the same way that you can use them to clear blackberry thickets) at least long enough for the grass to grow up and discourage them. Please do remember to show us the outcome of that plum concoction!
After three weeks of no activity, I am trying to catch up on all my blog reading. So I am very behind and reading everything in the wrong order. When I started blogging almost 10 years ago, I had dozens that I read. Sadly many of those folks don’t blog anymore, and I can’t bear to read blogs with ads popping up all over the place. So now I only have a handful (including your own) that I read daily. Fingers crossed that your brandied plums turn out. And good luck with the zucchini, I had surmised it was too late…maybe not. Does not daylight length have an influence as well?
Are you reading them backwards? I will never have ads. Blogs with ads are just not the same. They are written by a different kind of blogger. And you are right in that so many of our old blogging friends are gone now. I am so glad you are feeling a bit better. You were sick for quite a while!
I am reading them backwards, which is fun. I’m just about caught up now so I can see what you are doing in the current time. I am interested if you actually get zucchini. Our cooler fall weather has started with grey skies. I am afraid I might have my last harvest in the next week. The plants are looking very sad.