Fall descends on Juniper Hill Farm

The last few nights have brought the first real frost to our gardens here at the farm. The carrots are dug and packed in damp sawdust in the basement, only the brussel sprouts are left in the garden. Overall the growing season was a success, but the tomatoes were cut short by a return of the "blight" from last year. We'll try our tomatoes in a different garden next year.

With the wood stacked neatly into the cellar, we are now using the wood boiler to heat the house and the domestic hot water. The recent trend for many country families has been the outdoor wood boiler. While it keeps the wood, the mess and, of course the fire, out of the house, it also seems somewhat inefficient to my way of thinking. All the "lost" heat in an outdoor boiler goes into wide open space, while our indoor boiler "looses" its heat inside the house, right where we want it. We have an old Memco boiler, but its in good shape, and it works almost as well with or without power. I like to hear the quiet hum of the electric circulator, without the roar of the oil burner. We'll heat our 2200 sq. ft house on six cord of wood, with the domestic hot water as a "free" extra.



The latest building project here at the farm is the addition of our first greenhouse. It is built from 20 recycled window sashes from our church that may date back to the 1830's. The door and vent window are roadside finds that have been put to good use. We may try some winter greens if its not too late to get them started, otherwise the greenhouse will be ready for next spring. You may notice a few young turkeys walking past the greenhouse, we've had as many as 40 birds foraging for acorns in the back woods. Its nice to see a new wild food source here in Maine, although I expect the coyotes like them better than most people do.