The Hop pot is ready

Here's the container I am going to grow my hops in. I mixed up some soil and put these bamboo things in for it to vine on. I am still not sure what variety I'll be growing. Freshops is going to start selling rhizomes tomorrow, so I'll see then.

It was nice to get my hands dirty.

Goodbye Beef

When we moved to Montana last fall, we bought a quarter of a beef from Land of Grass, a local producer of grass-fed beef and lamb. I've just put the last of it in the crock pot for some chili. What a sad day. I do have one package of soup bones left but this was the last of the actually meat.

Our quarter of beef served us very well. We had a number of steaks, stews, beef soups (including a South American one with olives that was amazing), stir-frys, and about a billion hamburgers.

If you've ever thought about buying meat by the whole, side, or quarter animal, I'd highly recommend it. I'm still considering buying a deep freezer for out here and doing it again, maybe with a half hog. It gives you an incredible sense of being stocked up and helps plan meals because you have something to plan around.

It was also nice to buy from someone right down the road. We would frequently drive by the Land of Grass pastures on the way to Conrad. The cows always looked so at peace. We thought that must be why they meat tastes so good.

A setback

We went to the county extension office today. They are the ones that run the community garden program. I put in my application and talked to the lady that manages it. She told me it would most likely be next year before a spot would open up. So that seriously curtails my vegetable growing potential this year.

Our next stop was to the county solid waste division, where I bought a compost bin for $17. The 'bin' turned out to be a roll of thick, perforated plastic. It comes with plastic bolts and you sort of fashion it into a round bin. I did so and it's pretty big and might be a little ridiculous on an apartment balcony. I'll see if I can't modify it somehow.

Plans

These are subject to change I suppose but here is what I have on tap for the coming months:

• Hops. I am going to order rhizomes in a few weeks. I bought a really large planter at Costco and I think it will more than adequately accommodate the roots. I am going to run twine up to the second floor to let them vine. I am thinking I will use Willamette, though when I last grew them I had the most success with Cascade. I am assuming Cascade will be hard to come by though.
• Herbs. Going in window boxes on our balcony will be herbs. Sweet basil, cilantro, chives, marjoram...not sure what else.
• Garden plot. I am hoping to get a 20x20 (or possibly 10x20) plot at one of several nearby community gardens run by the county. A community garden near Adam has a community chicken coop. I'm jealous of that. If I can get it I'll grow tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, beans, and some kind of salad green.
• Hunting. I am hoping to go hunting this year. Not sure when, where, with whom, or for what quarry. I don't know anyone here who hunts. I am thinking rabbits would good. A deer would be good too. I'd like to make sausages and venison stew.
• Meat. I am hoping to branch out a little this year. I guess we've already started by buying goat meat from time to time. I'd also like to experiment a little with offal, especially liver.
• Fishing. This is a tricky one. Our waterways seem fairly untrustable. And I'm not the throw-it-back type. Last fall my father-in-law offered to take me out for a deer and now I feel kind of like an idiot for not taking him up on it.
  
• Husbandry. I'm not sure how this can happen. I'm not interested in getting a gerbil. :) I think some farmers might take a fee in exchange for pasturing an animal for you. If so, I'd like to find a bottle baby lamb and pasture is somewhere nearby where it would be with other sheep and we could visit it. Then we can take it to slaughter at the end of the year, maybe for Christmas lamb.

The Modern, Urban Cottager

My Modern Cottager blog is laying fallow right now but in the interim I present you with its cousin -- Urban Cottager.

So our dream of a family farm is probably a little ways off but I am keeping busy in the meantime. Call it skills aquisition if you will. I'm intending this blog to mostly chronicle my little projects and learnings and fun that I feel are helping to prepare me for my future as a cottager.

Two years ago I started the blog Modern Cottager and mostly discussed beer making and cheese making. Last year we lived in Montana and I had my first experience raising animals -- for a few months we kept two meat goats.

This year I intend to start learning the ins and outs of herb and vegetable gardening. I am going to do some herbs and some hops on our small balcony and I am trying to get a 20'x20' plot at a community garden down the street.

I'm sure there will also be more homebrewing and cheesemaking this year as well. Probably no goat-keeping though -- we are in a townhouse.