Geek.Farm.Life

Comment by Shell

July 23, 2006 @ 9:31 am

Hi Misti and Andrew!
I just wanted to stop and say I love the way you podcast- I have to be honest - I wait (impatiently I might add) for your new one each week. Its like sitting between you two while you tell me what is going on there.
I enjoyed the talk about the Bee Keeping- my Dad has about 13 hives at moment. He has gotten stung 5 times in 9 yrs of keeping them - just so you know.
I love to hear about the farm, animals, and such.
How is the sweater going Misty? And your spinning?
Oh question- what type of sheep do you have? I don’t remember if you said.
Have a great week!
Shell

Comment by Teri

July 23, 2006 @ 2:33 pm

Hi Misty and Andrew!

Yes there are people listening! I love hearing both of you talk about the garden and the farm. I look forward to each new week. Today when you were talking about blueberries it reminded me of how when I was younger we used to pick blueberries off the side of the road. My grandma lived in Kalkasa Michigan and they would grow wild along the side of the road. We always had blueberry pails in the car for picking them on the way back from town. I looked up to see if there were any blueberry farms in my area in Kansas and found this web page http://www.pickyourown.org/ where you can find them in your own area. So now I may have to go do that! Can’t wait to hear next weeks podcast.

Teri

Comment by John G

July 23, 2006 @ 4:21 pm

Blueberries require a fairly acid soil, like about 4.5 pH, and you have to maintain that pH, which requires a lot of additive maintenance. We go to Bray’s farms down by Crane. I’ve been trying to grow my own, but have pretty much given up on it. We put our blueberries on sheet trays over a layer of waxed paper, then stick them in the deep freeze. The next day they go into freezer bags. Perfect for all uses. Having them spread out and freezing them quickly is the keep to not having to make jam or sugar preparations. Polaner might be the name of the jam?

When I make kefir, I get that bubbling stuff, too. It is just the solids coagulating by the action of “good” bacteria. It has a tangy taste and is closely related to yoghurt.

Skype is great, but with phone calls so cheap, I prefer to be able to walk around when I talk, so the cordless phone is great. However, if you want to record the call, Skype is a good way to go.

There is a great shop in Broadripple (Indy) that works on and sells violins. Other than that, Bloomington has several fiddle shops. So if you come down here, we can meet up. The IU Music School attacts a lot of instrument makers.

Thanks for the show!

Comment by John G

July 23, 2006 @ 9:37 pm

Shucks, there ought to be an edit link so one could correct mistakes! Delete 489, if you can.

We are pickling peppers today and tomorrow. I think we’ll have about 16 weeks of pepper production, and this is the first time we are doing serious canning. We brine first, for crispness, then pickle. Opened the last jar from last year about 2 months ago and are really jonesin’.

Comment by misty

July 24, 2006 @ 8:42 am

Wow what a lot of comments!

Shell, your comment made my day. Imagine people waiting with baited breath for our podcast! LOL! The sweater is finished, except for weaving in the ends. I have not spun anything in a couple months — I’ve started a scarf for myself with the Alpaca that Andrew brought me from Alberta in the winter.

Also thanks for the info on the bees — 5 times in 9 years is not bad at all.

We have Corriedale sheep.

Teri, thanks for the stories about picking blueberries by the side of the road! They would probably just get mown down by the road crews these days, don’t you think? I know there are a lot of blueberries grown in northern Indiana and Michigan. We even have a blueberry festival in Plymouth, Indiana every year. But it happens in late August, long after blueberry season is done, and there are hardly any blueberries to be found at the festival. We were disappointed!

John, I have heard that about acidity and blueberries. I’ve also heard that if blueberries don’t like your soil, gooseberries will. Too bad neither of us likes gooseberries at all!

As far as violin repair, it honestly doesn’t need it very often. It might if I actually played it! I have had lessons sporadically, but haven’t found the motivation to keep going. I got it out this weekend with the thought of putting it on eBay, but every time I see the violin and handle it, I convince myself to keep it.

Comment by andrew

July 25, 2006 @ 9:05 am

Dang look at all those comments. Hehe.

Hi Shell! I’m glad you enjoy the show!

What awesome site, thanks Teri. We’ll have to mention that in the podcast next week.

JohnG, this certainly isn’t bubbles like Kefir. I’ll try to get the pictures online today, you’ll see. It’s “interesting”, hehehe. See there was no “good” bacteria added to the milk, this was all natural, or what ever was floating through the kitchen at the time.

Amazing hearing about the peppers too, 16 weeks holly cow.

Comment by Def

July 25, 2006 @ 2:28 pm

Excellent Podcasting guys! I think I just found a new favorite place to get down to earth information on stuff I like. You put a lot of effort into your site and it shows. I’ll be back.

Comment by Walter Jeffries

July 28, 2006 @ 10:07 am

Misty, you mentioned about the amphibian fungus over on my Sugar Mtn Farm blog. Thank for the interesting link. The fungus isn’t the issue in this case. Rather it is the fish eating the tadpoles and little frogs. We have large comets and goldfish in the swimming pool. The are the top of the food chain. I had put the tadpoles into the pool in part with the idea that they would be food for the fish. The fish also eat any bugs that make the mistake of going in the water.

Comment by Tom in Queens

July 28, 2006 @ 11:41 am

Hi Misty and Andrew,
I’m Liza in NYC’s colleague and I’ve been listening to your podcasts too. I was doing some mind-numbing computer stuff last weekend and plugged into your archive of podcasts to catch up on what you’re doing.

The reason I was so excited to hear about Geek Farm Life was because my partner and I are trying to learn
some practical skills like farming and gardening. We’re also trying to shorten the distance between us and our food. To that end, we’ve joined a CSA and are helping friends start up a CSA (Rattlesnake Mountain Community Farm in Wassaic, NY), and we’re helping out another friend who runs a raw milk dairy in Cornwall, CT.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience. Now, excuse me while I look for local sources of pick your own blueberries…

Tom

Comment by misty

July 28, 2006 @ 3:14 pm

Walter, I’m relieved the fungus isn’t the issue in your area. I heard a report about it on NPR and it was so heartbreaking to me that I nearly cried. It’s horrible because there is no way to cure it without killing ALL the fungi in a given area. That would be really disruptive to the food chain. Supposedly amphibians have gone through mass-extinctions and bounced back before, but it’s still awful. In your case, it’s the natural way of things I guess. The fish need food too. :)

Tom, it’s wonderful to hear from you! I’m glad you are taking steps to get closer to your food. We really firmly believe that the more you know about it, the more discerning of a consumer you will be. Good luck on finding a local place to pick blueberries, and I’m glad we could entertain you during your boring computer work!

Comment by Amber in olympia,wa

January 16, 2008 @ 1:36 pm

Hi, I am at this point in your archived podcasts and I came for the pictures of your pig food! I haven’t seen any links yet but maybe they are in a later posting? Thanks for podcasting, I’m really enjoying your show.