Autumn on the Farm

It's beginning to feel very autumnal here and I couldn't be happier! On Monday, Gudrun and I set off to pick apples, thinking we'd be back half an hour later with a basket-full, but ended up spending the entire afternoon filling crates. Initially we thought the apples would be just enough for us to eat, but seeing as there were so many, I insisted that I would sort out the nice ones for the shop.

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Autumn on the farm means getting ready for winter, which entails addressing the animals' needs, preparing the soil, bringing in the last crops and making sure there's enough wood to heat the house.

During the winter time, the sheep are taken in from the meadows to seek shelter in the barn, currently used as storage space. This needs to be cleared out, repainted and stocked with straw to receive its new occupants. Milking usually stops at the end of September but the ewes are still giving around 30 liters of milk per day and Thomas is expecting to carry on milking until the first week of October. Gudrun will be away on holiday meaning I can make cheese out of the last milk by myself if I feel confident enough, which I think I do!

Food wise, Thomas has spent the last couple of days sorting out and boiling the potatoes that can not be sold because of their size or appearance to make feed for the pigs. Throughout the colder months, they will also get a mixture of wheat, rye, peas, barley and beans (all grown on the farm), all organic waste from the kitchen and shop that can not be composted, clover-grass silages, hay, and straw. The sheep and Konrad, the pony, will also enjoy eating the hay that is piled up high in the attic.

To prepare it for winter, Thomas has already grubbed the soil to root weeds and straw stems up. He may need to grub again if the weeds grow back before he moves on to the next step, which is to plough. He began ploughing today because the weather conditions were good enough to do so. After that, usually at the beginning of October, he will sow the rye. Next comes spelt and only at the end of October will he sow the wheat, and leave it to sit in the soil during the winter.

A few weeks ago was the pumpkin harvest, not only sold in the farm shop but also cooked and pureed to bake pumpkin bread with, which is my job this afternoon. Below is a recipe for pumpkin bread if you want to try something new!

You will need

1 cup pumpkin puree (which you can make yourself or buy)

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup brown sugar (I used coconut sugar)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teapoon nutmeg

A pinch of ground cloves

Combine the pumpkin, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add the sugar and mix well. Combine all the dry ingredients and spices. Add the wet ingredients, mix well and bake for about 45 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean) at 180°C in a greased or lined loaf pan.

You can also make muffins out of this batter, those will only take 20 minutes.

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Of course the farmers also have to arm themselves against the cold, which is why Thomas spent most of last week chopping wood and stapling it in the cellar ready for winter. We now make fires in the kitchen and in the living room and keep them burning all day so we can enjoy the warmth while we watch a film in the evening, which is what we are about to do now!

Sascha xx