East Grove Farms

Saturday, we took a short road trip over to Salem, Iowa to check out an elderberry farm.

The delightful young man who showed us around the place is Kurt Garretson. After traveling a bit and working on an organic farm, Kurt came home 3 years ago to work on and eventually take over the family farm. He introduced us to his proud parents, Joel and Marlene, as well as a few cousins who were getting things ready for a wedding in a couple of weeks.

East Grove Farms is the oldest continuously owned and farmed family farm in Iowa. Kurt's great-great-great grandparents (Hope I have the correct # of greats there!) settled there in 1837. Wow!

Only a few of the 900 acres are currently in elderberry production, but they have ambitious plans to put many more acres in and to transition to an all organic farm in the years to come.

These are some of the elderberry cuttings that Kurt has potted to take to farmer's markets, but he says he never pots or even roots the cuttings that he plants on his ground. He just cuts them and puts them back in the ground, usually in the same week in February.

He showed us two ways that he has tried planting the rows. This row was covered with cardboard and wood chips. 

This row was covered with plastic, then holes were cut in the plastic where the elderberry cuttings placed.

Here's a close up view of that. Kurt says the elderberries do much better with the plastic than the cardboard and eventually the plastic degrades.

 He also showed us the equipment he uses to cover the rows and plant with. This is they plastic roll spreader. They till and cover the rows in the fall.

Then in February, they cut the previous year's canes down and use those cuttings to plant the new rows.

The machine uses this tine to punch a hole in the plastic. Then a  it fills the whole with water.

Two people sit on the back and stick the cuttings in the holes as they ride along. 

Grampa Tom asked all kinds of questions about elderberry varieties, fertilizers, what kind of ground is best, etc. Kurt was very knowledgeable and I think Grampa Tom feels confident he can do this so we are hoping to put in a few rows next year.

Then Kurt showed us the old family home that they are turning into a winery. This was Kurt's great-great  grandmother's home. He showed us the upstairs which is extremely rough. I probably should have gotten some pictures to show just how much work they have done, but I'll just tell you, they've worked some miracles here!

This is the kitchen.

The wine tasting room.

And the party room. His cousin is planning to get married on the front porch of this home in a couple of weeks. Isn't it a beautiful place for a wedding? They will be renting it out for events soon. 

If you'd like to know more about elderberries or you are interesting in having an event at the farm, contact Kurt at: http://www.eastgrovefarms.com/East_Grove_Farms/Welcome_Home_Page.html

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Stinging Nettles

It's amazing, I seem to have found a plant that is notorious for causing allergic reactions that I am not allergic to!

Last year, I had an opportunity to go to the local wild foods foraging club that meets in the Keokuk, Hamilton area. (It's called Weed 'Em and if you want to look them up. They are on Face Book.) I had heard about stinging nettles before. They have a long history of being used as a high protein food source and for allergies and arthritis. I was excited about using them and found a patch in the wild a few days later. I took a sack out and was carefully harvesting the top leaves like I had been shown, but suddenly I realized my bare arms had brushed up against them with no reaction! Disappointed that I hadn't found the right thing, I dumped them out and gave up.

Yesterday, I visited my friend Juanita (who is a  member of Weed 'Em and Reap). She had found some stinging nettles and transplanted a few into her yard last fall, so I looked at them again. Yes, that's exactly what I had found. So I dug a few up. Once again brushed against my bare arms. No sting! I can't say that I didn't itch at all, but then again, I itch when I pick tomatoes or cucumbers or green beans or anything that involves touching a lot of leaves.

I stand amazed! Psalm 139:14  I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made! 

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Check Out the Master Suite in This Home

This week's floor plan has an awesome kitchen and an even awsomer (it is too a word!) master suite! Check it out at http://gramasuesfloorplans.blogspot.com/2013/04/birth-to-grave-romance.html

You know, someday, someone is going to build one of my houses :) Can't wait!


God Bless You All!

~ Grama Sue

And We Have Fence!

 Go Grampa Tom! My hero!

Unfortunately there are still some very determined chickens.

Trespassers will be culled soon!

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Got old birds? A pressure cooker will tenderize them in no time!

Reclaiming Lost Ground

Several years ago, I had some nice flower and herb gardens by the road and in front of the trailer. After Grampa Tom got laid off, the front yard became a pasture for the sheep and the flower garden out by the road suffered great neglect because I wound up working away from home after the first year.

We haven't used the front yard for pasture in a couple of years now and we've decided I'm not going to go back to work full-time, so I'm out to reclaim my lost gardens. Not only that, I'm planning to create a bunch more!

Here's the before picture of my roadside garden. If you look close, you can see the remnants of my old garden. There's a few daffodils, grape hyacinth, a few of the 50 tulip bulbs I planted that survived the chickens eating them and the day lilies I planted around the trees. Last year we planted a few rose of sharons. I put some flags next to them so Grampa Whitson wouldn't mow them off.

This garden extended beyond the brush pile from the tree we had cut down this winter. I'll have to wait until Grampa Tom burns that to work down there, but I should get to it this year.

If I were real smart, I'd just kill everything that is planted here and start over. But there are still some things that I have planted there and I'm just too attached to them to let them go, so I'm digging around them and removing the sod that has filled in the vacuum. I think God is like that with us too. He created us, but the enemy came in and overwhelmed us. When we finally get back under His care, He rips out those things that He didn't plant, but He's careful to leave in us what He created in the first place.

Now if only Grampa Tom would get the fence up that should keep most of the chickens in the pasture. He's can find more things to do instead of building fence. Kinda like me and housework ;)

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

This is my favorite garden tiller. Grampa Tom likes the ones with more power, but I'm low tech.

Magnolia Blooms and Americauna Egg

Finally getting some color here! The magnolia tree is in full blossom :) Course, that means were in for a good storm. It always happens. We to enjoy it for a day or two and then the wind blows all the blossoms off :(

We also had an Americauna pullet egg today!

 Grampa Tom will be glad to see that. He took off this afternoon to deliver eggs to Ducks in Nauvoo and the Hy-Vee on Agency in Burlington. Hasn't made it back yet. He said he was going to stop to help Dave at the Painted Corners in Lomax. Who knows when he'll get home.

I gotta get those eggs washed!


God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue 

Rhubarb!

My rhubarb made it! 

I started this from seed over at my old farmer's house. Dug it up in November last and brought it home. Had no idea if it would make it so I'm super excited. Not only that, but the chickens don't like it! I told Grampa Tom we need to concentrate on growing rhubarb onions and french tarragon cause the chickens don't like them. Grampa Tom doesn't like rhubarb either. But I do. It's actually a requirement to marry into the Whitson family. None of them like rhubarb, but all the outlaws do ;)

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue