Creativebug Our friend Hilary Williams is not only a talented screen print artist, and Creativebug instructor, she’s also a farmer. Since many of us are beginning to thaw out after a long, unforgiving winter, we thought it would be a great time to ask her what life is like on her Santa Rosa, CA farm AND! what seeds she’s planting for summer.
“I think that spring has officially become by favorite time of year! Everything is coming to life again and greening up from the winter brown. I get to eat a whole new crop of veggies such as turnips, beets, radishes, chard, arugula, and salad greens, with many delicacies like fava beans just around the corner.
It is also the season of looking forward to the summer goodies, getting starts and soil beds ready for those. The fruit trees that are keys to my fall harvest and canning adventures, are all producing their blooms and once again looking lovely against the landscape.”
Tip: To find out which summer crops will grow in your area (in both containers, and straight in the ground), we recommend checking out these (free!) seed catalogs available from:
“The chickens have doubled their production over the last month prompting many frittatas, egg salad sandwiches and lemon curd indulgences. Another true sign of spring is babies! Two weeks ago my goat Lola gave birth to the cutest little kid who we named Frenchy! He is absolutely adorable and I literally have a petting zoo in my own yard.
On top of all that baby goat cuteness I also now get fresh raw milk every morning. I have come to greatly prefer fresh goats milk over other dairy. It is so sweet and when fresh has none of that “goaty” flavor. On top of that I also get to make fresh goat cheese. I feel like I am in heaven every time I sit down to eat! My favorite spring meal right now is a mixed lettuce salad with roasted beets and fresh goats cheese, yum!”
Tip: To make your own cheese, Hilary suggested the recipe found here.
“Today I got to spend a few hours in the yard planting some new strawberry plants, herb seeds and weeding out my fava beans, snap peas and potatoes. It feels so great to get back outdoors and working in the yard after a cold and muddy winter. Bring on the sun!”
We’d love to know, what are YOU planting in your garden this year?