Lehman’s Country Life

Scenes like this may be rare before too long.

Good arable farmland is disappearing. All you have to do is look at the suburban sprawl that has gobbled up all the farmland around every major city in America to know that this is true. But, it’s not just an American problem. It’s a worldwide problem.

- Current food reserves are the lowest they have been in 40-years
- The amount of cropland per person has fallen from 1.1 acres (in 1960) to less than 6/10 of an acre today.
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As promised, here are several of our favorite responses to last month’s query, “What are YOU Growing?” …

I am a 66 year old disabled woman. I have loved gardening all my life. Every place I lived I was able to find a way to garden. I am now unable to work and I am still determined to garden. I live in an apartment in a large Federal style house. The owners have generously allowed me to do my gardening in their yard. I have been here three years and each year I have extended my gardens. I have a huge vegetable garden and two herb beds and three flowerbeds. I do all of the work from a lawn chair.
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If April showers bring May flowers, then what do May flowers bring? Weddings!Every little girl dreams of a storybook summer wedding with beautiful flowers and “The” dress. As we get older, some of us realize that to make our dream a reality we have to downsize. Flowers and bouquets can be one of the most expensive things in a wedding. Cut the price and add some of your own individuality by making your own bouquets.

Roses are associated with romance, and therefore they are always associated with weddings. Many brides have begun to steer away from the “traditional” rose bouquet for more modern or unusual looking flowers, but a simple rose bouquet can still fit into many themes and styles. The introduction of hybrid roses has made it possible to have roses available year round and in many, many different colors. To make this simple bouquet you will need: long stemmed roses, snips, string, water, vase, wide ribbon, and green foliage.
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There are many foods that can be prepared all at one time then show back up on your family’s menu as totally different dishes.

My first thoughts are always what is in season from our large family garden and what is on special at the market. Before I know it, a menu is forming. I make some notes to take with me for the shopping trip. Your list of purchases may include things such as eggs and produce; we are blessed to have those here on the farm. The final menu would be determined on how some of the meats looked and such. Always make a quick look through the pantry to be sure you have all the ingredients needed – you do not want to get in the middle of making potato salad to realize you are out of mustard.
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Are you bugged by pests in your garden? Hopping mad because the rabbits ate your lettuce crop for lunch? Deerly regretting planting raspberry bushes because the…you know where I am going with this, right. Sorry, I just love a good pun. Or a pun, at any rate.

But if, like me, you live in a rural area because you enjoy nature, you are faced with the age-old struggle of man vs. beast. Or in my case, woman vs. bunny. And if, like me, you prefer not to use poisons and pesticides in your yard and garden, let me offer a few suggestions. Some are tried and true and some, well, are just tried. You be the judge. And let me know how they work for you!
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The flowerbeds are bright with colors that paint a pallet of brilliance for us to enjoy as we rush hither, thither and beyond.  Just for a moment, stop and absorb the beauty around and may it nourish your soul.

As the colors may revive our spirits, the vegetables that are planted will soon be ready to nourish our bodies.  Be sure to check out the web site at the University of Georgia to see the National Center for Home Food Preservation (www.ugs.edu/nchfp ).  They have many tested recipes and answers to commonly asked questions.  If you have a gauge style pressure canner, check with your local Extension Office to see if they will be doing any classes or testing calibration this season.  Canners need to be checked on a yearly bases to assure their accuracy as you are doing home canning.

How’s your food budget doing, during these difficult times?  Growing a few things might be a way to stretch your food dollars and encourage children to learn in the process.  Patio and container gardens can easily provide lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, and even zucchini or cucumbers if you desire.  These gardens are easy to grow and provide great learning opportunities for children.
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Did you know a typical family of four can reduce its amount of organic waste by an average of 85% with home composting?

When you read about composting, one of the first facts you’ll read is how one-third of all the trash we throw away in the United States is food waste, and 97 percent of these food scraps end up in landfills. Most people think that food waste in land fills isn’t a problem. It’s food, right? And food breaks down and certainly must break down faster than any other material in the landfill… right? Yes, but at an alarmingly slow rate and not without environmental consequences.
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One of the most appealing aspects of growing your own food is that you can enjoy a higher quality diet because you don’t have to rely on having your vittles transported hundreds or even thousands of miles to your table. Varieties that boast better flavor and nutrition than what you might find in the market but which are passed over in the commercial world simply because they are too tender or delicate to “ship well” can be yours. What’s more, you can enjoy these foods at a lower cost – and with a little planning ahead, for nothing!

Anyone who has ever grown their own lettuce has probably neglected one or two plants, and as the season gets on they start to grow in a peculiar way: upwards, instead of outwards. This is known as “bolting.” Salad eaters know that the lettuce harvested in this condition will be tougher and more bitter tasting, and so the plants are generally yanked and tossed onto the compost heap. But if they are allowed to go through their full cycle, the tall stalk they produce will soon be covered in attractive little flowers. If pollinated, these blooms will contract and then dramatically expand (like dandelions) to form a delicate sphere of feathery threads, soon cast to the wind. This is the reason why the plant has developed its stalk, to give these floating messengers the best chance of wide dispersal. Each carries a cargo of a single lettuce seed, to start a new leafy generation. With a little careful husbandry, these seeds will be yours to plant, nurture and consume.
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Even though it makes sense that your tomato vines should be at their largest and lushest on the longest day of the year –June 21^st— to get the very most out of summer’s life-giving sunshine, they probably won’t get that enormous until July or maybe even August. Their growth depends on photoperiod (how much light they get every day), climate (how warm and how cold – the smaller the difference, the better), how much they’re watered, and how much they’re fed.

As regards nutrition, around every two weeks I give my tomato vines a light fertilizing with liquid fish emulsion. This is a thick slurry of just what you might think, namely old rotten fish mush from the commercial fishing trade’s copious waste; it comes in a concentrated form in a gallon jug. You mix this with a unit quantity of water (usually 1 tablespoon per gallon) and apply it with a watering can, or just out of a bucket. I mix it a little bit lighter than indicated on the jug’s instructions, and give it to the plants as a substitute for the second watering.

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daffodil wood carving and carving tools

I am sure many of you have been enjoying the spring flowers.  I know I have!  In Kidron, Ohio the lilacs are in bloom and we are still seeing the last of the beautiful daffodils.  The delicate daffodils and flowers in the photo above though are made from wood, believe it or not.  The photo does not convey the paper thin realism that I got to see in person.  I was quite impressed!  Rod Hardy shared with us his woodcarving skills during a demo on Sat. May 2 in the Buggy Barn at Lehman’s and brought a whole assortment of floral and wildlife carvings for us to enjoy.   Included in the photos above are some of the woodcarving tools that Lehman’s carries and that Rod uses to create these beautiful pieces.   You can see he also has some beautiful  bird wood carvings.  I especially enjoyed a tiny hummingbird eating nector from a flower Rod carved.

Floral and Wildlife Wood Carving Demo

I am helping Lehman’s schedule area artists and crafters to line up  interesting demos for the whole year.  We certainly want to invite Rod back along with a wide assortment of other talented artists and crafters.  We know from experience that visitors to Lehman’s are a creative, hands on kind of person so it is our pleasure to share this with you!  One of the perks of doing this is then we get to hear about what you do with the ‘work of your hands’!  That is so refreshing in todays busy world.  Thank you!

Floral and Wildlife Wood Carving by Rod Hardy

To see the schedule for upcoming demos please visit the Events tab at the top of this page.  To read more about the Ohio Arts and Crafts Guild demonstrators visit the OACG web site here.

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