2014 Summer CSA

2014 Summer CSA

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The Mother-Load

The Greenhill Collective earthen cob oven is almost all finished! The last layers of cob (clay, sand, water and straw) were added last night under overcast skies.

Over the weekend, Luke was able to extract 5 gallons of clay from the site of the mother load clay jackpot on the bottom of Lake Winnipesaukee at our family camp in Moultonborough. The clay surpasses all other clays we have managed to come across in quality and mixability (if that's a word haha) as we added it to the final layer of plaster-like mix that will be the exterior layer of the oven.
Its only a matter of time before we begin its first firing and from there let the pizza, bread and pie making begin!

In other news...big news that is... all of the solar panels have been installed to the new array adding up to 8 in total and man are they BIG!! With the array being finished its now up to the electricians to wire in the components that will be in the house including the inverter/charge controller, batteries and battery box. I am still shocked that we will have clean renewable electricity in the next short few days and can't even wait for it....
The first of a series of Greenhill Collective BYOPizza Toppings parties are about to be announced so stayed tuned for dates and time!!

I will keep up my blogging with this new app  I just got for my phone...hopefully it will allow me to post more.






Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Heating Up!

The weather has been incredible up on the hill and so have the deer fly swarms! With today bringing in continuous sunshine and slight breezes, the plants couldn't ask for better growing conditions. The next few days are forecasted to be in the high 80's to 90's with high humidity...ugh! But that doesn't stop us....
 
Construction on the Greenhill Earthen Oven has been rapidly progressing with Luke leading the charge and me lending a hand from time to time. So far he has managed to whip out the post and beam roof structure to keep our oven dry, as well as finish the stone and mortar well-head base that will be the foundation.

Here is a picture of him breaking up chunks of cement/urbanite bricks that we combined with sand to fill in the below ground portion that extends below the 4ft frost line.

Today we made a trip down to Corriveau Ruthier masonry supply and picked up our 25 fire bricks which will be the baking surface. The rest of the day was spent hunting around our property for a deposit of clay that we will mix with straw and some sand to form the cob exterior.

In the gardens things are beginning to really thrive. Weeding is a constant chore of course but its amazing and delicious fresh vegetables really are. We are hoping to attend our first farmers market of the year within the next 2 weeks, offering bread, certified organic vegetables (chards, radish, lettuce, herbs, basil) as well as Soothe Hand Luke's and Luke's Lips.

Our solar system is also under construction. The trench is dug and the ground posts frame of the panels have been finished. Now the panels need to be mounted to the frame. At that point the electricians will come in to rewire the house and install the inverter/charge controller. It will be a lot different around here with continuous power only adding to the potential that we have as a farming homestead.

Again all are welcome!
till next time
the greenhill collection