Lilac Valley Farm

01/03/2017

The last couple of years have been very difficult because of the insufferable droughts - in fact, I ran the well dry in the beginning of July just trying to keep my plants alive. So this year I've decided to take a break from large-scale vegetable production, which means I won't be attending every farmer's market on Saturday mornings. This will also free up my weekends to do things with the family, which will be a nice change.

This photo is my herb garden, the one area of my farm I was able to keep alive during the relentless heat.

03/10/2016

My first gift certificate! I'm donating it to my daughter's "class basket" for the PTO silent auction. I hope it helps to get a good offer on their basket! :)

09/22/2015

It's looking like the farmer's market is pretty much over for me for the year. The drought has done a number on my produce, and family obligations have kept me away more than I'd anticipated. Ah well, c'est la vie, eh? I'm still happy to provide moisturizer to anyone who would like to purchase some - just send me a message and we'll meet up! Thanks to everyone who stopped by my booth for another fabulous year, as short as it was. I'll hopefully be at some winter markets since I can bring crafts there, and I'll be offering more of my body products and some beautiful holiday wreaths. Hope to see you there!

06/25/2015

A pic from the first market! We're there every Saturday from 10am to 1pm. :)

Leslie of Lilac Valley Farm.

06/19/2015

Our first cuke! I think this is the earliest we've ever had a ripe one. Unfortunately there's only one so I won't have any at the market this Saturday, but it's a promising sign!

05/26/2015

Trying a new technique for growing tomatoes this year. The bucket has a bunch of holes drilled in it so that the plants get a more controlled amount of water (with compost in it). We'll see! The other pic is just some of the plants waiting to go in the ground. I wish it weren't so darned hot!!

02/18/2015

The chickens are the ones most eager for spring, I have no doubts. The poor things!

01/29/2015

A big "hello and welcome" to my new friends! My page snuck past the 200 mark all of a sudden - thank you!! I hope you like it here at Lilac Valley. :)

01/19/2015

It's so hard to wait for spring! Soon we'll be planting veggies, raising baby chicks, and going to the Milford Farmer's Market on Saturdays. In the meantime, I'm planning my crops for the 2015 season and waiting very impatiently for April!

10/16/2014

Well it was another great year at Lilac Valley - the best one we've had so far. The farmers markets have now ended, we've pulled up the trellises, and are wrapping things up for the winter. Thank you to everyone who came out to support us in Milford or who came to the farm to cuddle chickens! Now comes the fun part of planning for next season!

05/14/2014

Pictures of the babies! They're so adorable I can barely stand it. =D

03/28/2014

I've decided to dedicate part of one of my little fields to growing milkweed; I'll also plant it along the edges, along the driveway, and scattered in amongst the flowers and veggie plants. I'm so saddened by what's happening to the monarch butterflies that I want to do whatever little part I can to help them.

03/12/2014

I got my seedling order in! This year I'm doing several new veggies as well as three (or more) plantings of lettuce, so hopefully I'll have a steady supply of leafy goodness all summer. I can't wait until the snow is all gone and I can start digging around in the muck, especially after such a long, cold winter. Just a few more weeks! :)

11/22/2013

Ok, I admit it. I have a problem. I love chickens! I love babies, I love grown-ups - I love them all. So I ordered some more for next year! My Pet Chicken just put out their list out for the 2014 season, and some varieties are sold out already. So I placed a small order for a few blue hens - I couldn't help it! Already looking forward to April! :)

10/24/2013

Well, it's the end of the season here at Lilac Valley since the frosts have finally come. This weekend I'll rip up the tomato plants, pull up the trellises, straw the strawberries, plant the garlic, and hang up all the tools. Such a sad time of year, but I'm already planning for next season. It's so hard to wait out the winter until the ground is ready for planting. Wish I had a greenhouse - alas. Some year. Anyway, thanks for a great season and next year I'll be much better at updating the page! :)

Oh, I'm probably going to a few of the winter markets in Milford NH to sell my organic moisturizer and maybe a few other body products. I'll be sure to post the dates.

09/29/2013

Hatching egg question: I had to take the rest of the eggs away from Cuddles because she and the babies attacked or "helped" a newly hatching baby out of the shell and killed it. I've had the others under a heat lamp, trying my best to keep the heat around 99 degrees. I've also had a humidifier going almost all the time trying to keep the shells from becoming too hard, but the room is large and I doubt the humidity was high enough. After 5 days of nothing, I thought all the eggs were dead and I was going to throw them away when one of them started cheeping this morning.

So what do I do now? I don't have an incubator, obviously. Is the egg too hard? Should I be doing anything? It hasn't broken through the shell but it's making noise... is this a problem? I moved them to the bathroom, which is smaller so it should be able to keep the humidity up a little, and Dennis had a long shower this morning to try to help. :) I've never hatched eggs like this before - I've left them with the hens but I was horrified at what they did to the last one. Not sure if/when I should intervene. I wish I could give it back to Cuddles but I'm afraid she'll attack it again! Anyone have any suggestions?

09/25/2013

More chickens! This little hen, Cuddles, was determined to be a mother. She tried in April but something got all her eggs right before they were due to hatch. But this time she pulled it off - at first she was only on three eggs, but the others helped her out and piled a bunch more under her. We have 5 hatched so far!

08/20/2013

This is Coco, the little baby that has stolen my heart. She's the calmest, sweetest little chick we've ever had. She loves to be held and cuddled, so of course I've claimed her as my own and only let others hold her on special occasions, like posing for this picture. Despite all the kicks to the heart I've had with my chickens over the last year, they keep worming their way in.

08/20/2013

Here's a nice shot of Nana Roo, our glorious rooster. He is one giant bird. But as far as personalities go, he's the best rooster you could possibly want.

08/20/2013

I've neglected my page for far too long! So much has happened around here - the babies are growing every day, Nugget's little family is doing great, the veggies are pouring in, the farmer's markets are fantastic - busy busy summer! I'll post more regularly from now on. In the meantime, I've revamped my web page and while it's still a work in progress, it's not nearly as horrible as it was!

www.lilacvalleyfarmnh.com

07/25/2013

After watching Nugget and the babies in that tiny nesting box, I thought it might be best to follow Sharron's advice and move the whole lot of them. I put momma, babies (there are three - I'd only seen one!) and eggs in a large carrier and put them in the infirmary in Matthew's room. They have a private suite now, and it's on ground level. I feel much better about it, and after growling at me for a bit, I think Nugget does too. Her nest box was pretty dirty, and there was a half-hatched egg in there who didn't make it. :( But now the rest of them are just upstairs so I can keep a close watch on them! Thank you Sharron for your excellent advice!

07/24/2013

Chicken advice needed! Nugget is hatching her brood about a week earlier than I expected. My question is this - what do I do with the chicks while the rest of the clutch is hatching? They're in a raised bed - should I do anything? Should I move the whole family? If I don't intervene, the babies won't be able to get down... right? I thought I'd have another week to figure this out!

06/16/2013

Got some lovely squash plants going. They were just uncovered today so hopefully they'll give us some nice big squash by the fall!

06/15/2013

Just had the best farmer's market ever! I was so excited when I set up that I forgot to take a picture of my table. Will do so next week! :)

06/06/2013

Just had a visit from the "Animal Welfare Approved" auditor, which has the highest animal welfare standards in the country. I'm trying to get my girls approved, since they're so pampered anyway. He said that the flock looks wonderful and "I see absolutely no problems here." Yay! Looking great for acceptance and being able to use their logo on our eggs! Just have to wait for an official letter, and we're good to go! =D

05/17/2013

Picked up some lettuce seedlings today! Very tempted to make a little salad tonight - yum! Nothing like lettuce fresh out of the ground. Delicious!

05/11/2013

Dennis took the kids out to do some errands, so I had a couple of hours to myself to do some planting planting planting! I got a bunch of baby lettuces planted, and some radishes (late, I know), corn, and I almost finished the carrots before it started to rain. Nonetheless I persevered, and I got soaked to the skin because I was too lazy to go get my raincoat. But I got the carrots done too! Now to get the kids to help me plant the potatoes tomorrow on Slave Day -- err, I mean, Mother's Day! :)

05/09/2013

Mounds for "three sisters" planting of corn, beans and squash. Doesn't look like much right now, but give it a couple of months! :)

05/04/2013

Exciting day - hubby is tilling all the little fields today! I have a bunch of strawberries and asparagus from Itzy Bitzy Farm to get into the ground. And tomorrow I go to pick up my first batch of lettuce plants. The busy season is starting!!

04/18/2013

Taking the girls out for some true free-ranging. They've pretty much scavenged all the greenery in their area, so I let them out for an hour or so to pick at the baby clover. They were so happy!

04/15/2013

Here's Cuddles, diligently sitting on her little pile of eggs. She's such a good mommy already!

04/09/2013

So there's no question any more. At first I wasn't sure, but now there's no doubt. We have a broody hen! It's one of the buff orpingtons, Cuddles. She was sitting on three eggs, and she hasn't gotten off them in two or three days now. She puffs up and growls when you get too close - so cute. So we put three more eggs under her, gave her more nesting material, her own food and water, and now we'll wait to see what happens. Should be interesting!

04/04/2013

I've pretty much finalized my crop list for 2013. This year I'll be growing:

* corn
* beets
* carrots (orange, white, purple, and yellow)
* brussels sprouts
* cucumber
* kale
* swiss chard
* zucchini
* potatoes (red and white)
* scallions
* acorn squash
* summer squash
* tomatoes - 8 different kinds, including Matts cherry :)
* tomatillos
* beans, yellow and green
* rutabaga
* radishes
* lettuce
* spinach

I'll also be doing some herbs and some medicinal flowers this year. And, of course, I'll have my organic moisturizer to offer, too! And some other body products as well, I hope. Busy year... so very, very busy! :)

04/01/2013

Picked yesterday, can you believe it? Several of them were part of Easter dinner. :)

03/15/2013

On Tuesday afternoon, we went out to the coop to find poor little Fiona lying on her side, unable to get up. She was so cold... we brought her in, wrapped her in a towel and made her comfortable. She picked up a little bit, but she wasn't able to walk much at all. She stayed in my son's room, surrounded by treats, love and cuddles, until she passed early yesterday morning. We're so very sad to lose her - she was a wonderful, gentle soul. The worst thing is that her sister, Jasmine, still calls for her. I wish I could explain to her what happened, but alas. Her loss is yet another kick in the heart for everyone. We will miss her terribly.