We finally ordered our garden seeds!

Yesterday Kenny and I found the time to sit together and make the final decision on what seeds to order for this year's garden.

We knew from the start that we would order from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds at RareSeeds.com.  It's important to us to raise heirloom varieties.  We have several reasons for this, including propagating rare varieties as well as being able to save the seeds from our produce for future gardens.

We are planning a large garden to provide fresh food as well as extra for preserving.  My parents will benefit from the bounty, as well.

Our local Tractor Supply store has announced that they'll host a Farmer's Market this season at no cost.  How exciting!  We ordered ample seeds for our own use as well as to sell at the market.  Here's the list!

Tomatoes
Amish Paste ~ Chosen for canning and sauces.  We liked this variety because it hails from Wisconsin.
Ferris Wheel ~ This variety was released in 1907 out of LaCrosse, WI, so should do well for us.
Mortgage Lifter ~ It would be wonderful if the name held true for us, would it not?
Dr. Wyche's Yellow ~ Kenny likes yellow tomatoes and this one is supposed to be popular at markets.
Nature's Riddle ~ This is a marvelously ugly tomato!

Melons
Pride of Wisconsin ~ Chosen because we had confidence it would do well in our climate and it is very rare.
Minnesota Midget ~ The reviews were great on this, it comes from a similar climate and I just thought they'd be cute to grow.

Greens
Red Wing Lettuce Mix ~ This mix has beautiful color.
Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach ~ I love spinach fresh or cooked and this one is supposed to be somewhat mild.

Peppers
Purple Beauty ~ These look marvelous!
Chinese 5 Color ~ Purple, Cream, Yellow, Orange, Red and Screaming Hot.
Jupiter ~ We wanted a disease-resistant bell that would do well at market.
Lipstick ~ The name of this one was so odd that we had to read about it.  The information seems promising, so we'll give it a try.

Beans
Cherokee Trail of Tears ~ So named because the seeds were carried on the Trail by the Cherokee.
Blue Lake Bush ~ Long heralded in my family as a great grower!
Henderson's Black Valentine ~ Ready in 53 days and great for snap beans or soup beans.
Old Homestead ~ This is a Kentucky Wonder, which is another with a strong tradition in my family.
Purple Podded Pole ~ The pods look beautiful and grow to be 6" long.

Carrots
Cosmic Purple ~ The words "excitement at farmers' markets" drew us in to read the excellent reviews.
Little Finger ~ This baby carrot is supposed to grow well and it's sweet.
Jaune Obtuse du Doubs ~ A true yellow carrot that is ready early.  I can't wait to try this one myself!

Peas
Tall Telephone ~ Introduced in 1881 and fascinating reviews!

Corn
Country Gentleman ~ We wanted to grow a traditional shoepeg corn and this one is sweet, to boot.
Rainbow Sweet Inca ~ The beautiful colors earned the "Rainbow" part of it's name.  I'm looking forward to home-ground corn meal.
Wade's Giant Indian Flint ~ The photo below (from the Baker Creek web site) explains why this one was chosen.

Chicken order placed!

Things have been hectic at our place for the last few weeks, preventing me from blogging regularly.  I've really missed it!

Today we placed our first order for chicks.  We're very excited to raise heritage breeds from Sand Hill Preservation Center in Iowa.

We ordered just 50 birds to start and they will be surprises.  We requested 25 Assorted Heavy Chickens as well as 25 of the Super Assorted Chicks.

Hopefully this will give us an idea of what breeds we like and which birds will do well here.

Do you raise chickens?  If so, do you have any tips for us?  Please leave a comment!

I'm still here ...

... and feeling rather sheepish about not blogging daily since I'm the one who started the February Challenge.

I've been writing for one of our family businesses and helping my husband set up his new blog.  I've also provided technical assistance for our daughter's regular blog and her photography blog.

In other news, we surpassed 32 degrees today and the snow is getting that mooshy, wet feeling as it melts.  The depth of the snow has decreased as its weight presses down upon itself.  All signs are pointing toward Spring!

In the mornings, I hear birds singing that haven't visited us for some time.  Tiny songbirds are rejoining the chorus that has been dominated by crows and blue jays.

This has been a long, cold winter and we are all ready to move on to the challenges of Spring.  There is much to do around our little place!

Finally ... real snow!

I have lived in Wisconsin for 28 years.  Many people automatically assume we have frigid temperatures and deep blankets of snow every winter.

Not so!  In fact, I can only recall one memorable winter since moving here in 1982.  I don't remember just which year it was, but I do remember that the streets of our small town were mere tunnels with snow well above the roofs of our cars.  I remember that the boys at one house on Church Street had taken to skiing off their roof into the drifts.  I imagine now that their mother couldn't have appreciated their bravery very much.  At the time, I thought it sounded like an adventuresome thing to do.

We have just experienced our first blizzard in years.  We already had 4 inches of snow on the ground and another 16 inches have joined it, with more in the forecast for tomorrow.  The high winds that came at the end of the snow made for white-out conditions.  It's all been followed by temperatures dipping as low as -29 degrees.  We are so thankful that our pipes have not frozen!

Our road out to Dad and Mom's house was well drifted in.  We have been partially plowed out now, so we can get out in case of an emergency.  After the next storm passes, we'll get it properly cleared.

With no ability to work outside other than to split wood, our thoughts are turning to plans for our little homestead.

We've been looking at heirloom seeds for our garden beds.  We also need to seriously consider which breeds of chickens we want, how many and from which place we should order them.

Dairy goats, too, are on our minds.  A friend in Texas may have some available to us, but the drive will make the purchase financially difficult.

What plans are you making as winter has set in?