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Showing posts with label crops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crops. Show all posts
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
May Farm Updates
Its hard to believe that its been nearly a month since our last update, but oh what progress we've made around the farm. Nearly all the spring transplants are in as are the first and part of the second rounds of crop sowing. The earliest crops in the high tunnel are already phasing out and we are in the process of transitioning over to mid-season crops there.
Work on the new building continues, but at a slower pace now as Jill's dad is mostly stuck working alone since Sean's knee (though much improved) is still not up to climbing ladders and the gardens require most of Jill's attentions.
There are no words to express how thankful we are for all of Dad's efforts and for the huge help provided by Sean C during his time here this past week!
The gardens are progressing very nicely, due mostly to the efforts of our this year's crack farm crew. The crops are looking the most promising that they have in many seasons. We wouldn't mind a little break from the rain now though!
The fruit trees are also looking exceptionally productive this year. Even the ancient apricot tree that only bears every 10 years or so is loaded with young fruit as are most of the peach trees and the apples and pears as well.
With so many things changing and growing, there was still one outstanding element that was causing a little deep-seated discomfort...until this weekend, that is...
It may not look like much, but this is exactly what we've been waiting for, the appearance of the first, immature growth of our newly planting acre of asparagus crowns. So far it looks like we've got a pretty good preliminary survival/growth rate. Not very happy to see the standing water in parts of the patch, but hopefully the soil will drain fairly well since it was so recently worked. I was a little surprised at the immense feeling of relief that washed over me as I stood surveying the plot yesterday. Guess I was a little more worried about it than I realized.
Work on the new building continues, but at a slower pace now as Jill's dad is mostly stuck working alone since Sean's knee (though much improved) is still not up to climbing ladders and the gardens require most of Jill's attentions.
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| Looking great with 3/4 of the roofing and the east lean-to steel in place |
The gardens are progressing very nicely, due mostly to the efforts of our this year's crack farm crew. The crops are looking the most promising that they have in many seasons. We wouldn't mind a little break from the rain now though!
The fruit trees are also looking exceptionally productive this year. Even the ancient apricot tree that only bears every 10 years or so is loaded with young fruit as are most of the peach trees and the apples and pears as well.
With so many things changing and growing, there was still one outstanding element that was causing a little deep-seated discomfort...until this weekend, that is...
It may not look like much, but this is exactly what we've been waiting for, the appearance of the first, immature growth of our newly planting acre of asparagus crowns. So far it looks like we've got a pretty good preliminary survival/growth rate. Not very happy to see the standing water in parts of the patch, but hopefully the soil will drain fairly well since it was so recently worked. I was a little surprised at the immense feeling of relief that washed over me as I stood surveying the plot yesterday. Guess I was a little more worried about it than I realized.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Age of Asparagus
I have been rather neglectful of the blog recently, but things are really hopping around the farm, Sean included. Actually Sean is doing better and is slowly moving around the farm with a soft knee brace, a big improvement over the immobilizer.
The progress on the new building has continued, though on a much slower pace, as other spring chores have taken precedence. The biggest of these was the delivery of 6,500 asparagus crowns, which finally arrived after weeks of rain.
Unfortunately, the weather eliminated our ability to host a work-day for the big planting project so we were left to our own devices. This included borrowing a furrowing implement from our friends at Grinnell Heritage Farm (HUGE thanks to Andy & Melissa!), and then hand placing all 6,500 crowns.
And finally, tucking each crown into its new bed. Luckily for us, this was made ever so much easier by my inventive Dad and his ingenious row-covering device.
Yep, that would be a 3-point bale stabber bracketed to two seat planks from my Grandpa Henderson's old picnic table, pulled by Dad's JD 2020...worked like a dream! We started Sunday afternoon and finished today before noon. A feat only accomplished with some amazing help. Huge thanks to Dad, Mom, Kristin & Uncle Dean for all their hard work, creative thinking, patience & restorative meals!
So now all we have to do is wait two years, and then we hope to have asparagus is abundance!
The progress on the new building has continued, though on a much slower pace, as other spring chores have taken precedence. The biggest of these was the delivery of 6,500 asparagus crowns, which finally arrived after weeks of rain.
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| Two bundles of crowns, 30-50 crowns in each |
And finally, tucking each crown into its new bed. Luckily for us, this was made ever so much easier by my inventive Dad and his ingenious row-covering device.
Yep, that would be a 3-point bale stabber bracketed to two seat planks from my Grandpa Henderson's old picnic table, pulled by Dad's JD 2020...worked like a dream! We started Sunday afternoon and finished today before noon. A feat only accomplished with some amazing help. Huge thanks to Dad, Mom, Kristin & Uncle Dean for all their hard work, creative thinking, patience & restorative meals!
So now all we have to do is wait two years, and then we hope to have asparagus is abundance!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Spring Hiccups
Spring has come rushing in like a mad-thing throwing everything into a riot of bloom and activity. We have fruit trees budded and blooming to the point that its nearly obscene. The most exciting to date is the apricot trees, which only bear every 4-6 years.
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| An Apricot Promise |
The bees have been out in the trees in full force, despite the wind and cool temps. To add to the excitement, we added another 12 hives just this week, with an additional 5 to arrive in a few days. As I mentioned on the farm's Facebook page, there is something a little crazy about driving any distance with +/- 144,000 bees in your car. Luckily it was a fairly uneventful trip.
Given the great early-season working conditions, we were able to get the gardens prepped earlier than usual, (mostly due to the fearless new BCS). This was an unexpected plus, given that we are now cold and soggy with 100lbs of potatoes to plant and 6,500 asparagus crowns that have already been postponed twice. Ah spring, you heady tease!
The real topper for the craziness occurred last week as Sean was practicing his "death-defying-ladder-and-electric-saw-dancing trick", while working on the new building. The ladder provided the trick and down they both went. Luckily the saw didn't follow them down, but Sean was rewarded with a nasty banged-up knee and a fancy new piece of hardware (knee immobilizer). So now he is mostly relegated to household duties and hard surface work areas.
Despite the madness we are marching forward and mostly making progress. Thanks to the ever-supportive Blue Gate Parents, we planted nearly 300 row feet of shallots just before the rains started. And just today we hosted
Thursday, December 16, 2010
When the Snow Flies
Most of you know that we do quite a bit of season extension on our farm. We use low tunnels in our South Garden to extend our field harvest and also have the two high tunnels to get us into the back-side of the growing season. These are amazing tools, but they are not flawless. If the ambient air temperature isn't above freezing, then we can't harvest (especially leafy greens). Now in the tunnels, it doesn't take much sunlight to get the temps above 32° but heavily overcast days can still delay the harvest. One of the other tricky things about harvesting at this time of year is that even when the tunnels get warm enough to harvest, we still have to get the vegetables into the house without freezing.
We've learned a few coping techniques over the years. If you're just harvesting enough for supper, then you can tuck your harvesting bag into your coat and make a run for it, though tripping with a coat full of kohlrabi can result in some very some ribs.
When harvesting for larger numbers though, a little planning is required. Our best technique is to haul our big market coolers out to the high tunnel and allow them to warm up a bit before packing them with vegetables and dragging them to the house. Best of all, though is when there is a little snow on the ground, then we just load them up and ride 'em home! We'll try to get a pic of this crazy fun sometime yet this season ; )
We've learned a few coping techniques over the years. If you're just harvesting enough for supper, then you can tuck your harvesting bag into your coat and make a run for it, though tripping with a coat full of kohlrabi can result in some very some ribs.
When harvesting for larger numbers though, a little planning is required. Our best technique is to haul our big market coolers out to the high tunnel and allow them to warm up a bit before packing them with vegetables and dragging them to the house. Best of all, though is when there is a little snow on the ground, then we just load them up and ride 'em home! We'll try to get a pic of this crazy fun sometime yet this season ; )
Sunday, August 22, 2010
When Dragons Fly
It has been a while since my last post. Its not that nothing has been happening, but it has been rather a frustrating summer farm-wise and every time I sat down to write a post it came out as complaining. So here it is in (hopefully) non-complaining terms...RAIN! Too much rain, too often (ok, so maybe a little complaining).
May 5.5" (ave. 4.25")
June 13.6" (ave. 4.6")
July 10.85" (ave 4.1")
August to date: 7.9" (ave. 4.5")
Alone, none of these months seems too terribly alarming, but just these four months together total 37.65" of rain...a yardstick stood on end would be under water, along with a lot of other things! Also, note that the average annual rainfall here is 34.7". So in one-third of the year we have exceeded the annual average by several inches. This has translated to a variety of repercussions "on the ground."
Over the summer we lost at least 60% of our crops. The only two crops that have exceeded expectations have been the patty pan squash, which we have systematically buried the CSA in, and the okra.Were it not for the high tunnels which have been producing steadily, we would have been forced to close down the CSA mid-summer. This is the first of "counting our blessings"...we thank our lucky stars for those high tunnels, and the patty pans and okra!
In addition to that, because the soil has been and stayed so wet, we've been unable to do any planting in the fields since May. No succession planting at all...scary! We do have an absolutely beautiful field-wide crop of foxtail growing and as soon as we figure out a market for that, we'll be rich!
But, our house wasn't flooded and our family members are safe and largely healthy. Our livestock wasn't caught in rising waters and our vehicles and equipment are on high ground. Compared to a lot of people in the state, we have been (and still are) lucky. Though it isn't always easy to remember on a moment-to-moment basis in a summer like this.
I've been taking monthly Meditation sessions this summer and my instructor had suggested that maybe it would be a good time to focus on "gratitude". Since the things that were causing me so much stress were completely out of my control. Ok, that shouldn't be too difficult, I tend to be a pretty optimistic person. Hmmm, as in so many things, the theory and the practice are two entirely different realms!
And then last night just as the sun was settling toward the western horizon, the dragonflies arrived. We live in the country, near a number of ponds so there are always dragonflies around in the summer, but this was something different entirely. There were thousands of them, apparently all the same variety, swarming across the yard. We could see them hunting smaller flying insects, like mad-bomber-flying-aces. Occasionally we could hear the sudden rustle of translucent wings, but otherwise the only sound was the cadence of the cicadas. It went on for more than an hour, a mad ballet and aerial dogfight in the heavy, sponge-damp air of an August evening. Ah, this is gratitude...
May 5.5" (ave. 4.25")
June 13.6" (ave. 4.6")
July 10.85" (ave 4.1")
August to date: 7.9" (ave. 4.5")
Alone, none of these months seems too terribly alarming, but just these four months together total 37.65" of rain...a yardstick stood on end would be under water, along with a lot of other things! Also, note that the average annual rainfall here is 34.7". So in one-third of the year we have exceeded the annual average by several inches. This has translated to a variety of repercussions "on the ground."
Over the summer we lost at least 60% of our crops. The only two crops that have exceeded expectations have been the patty pan squash, which we have systematically buried the CSA in, and the okra.Were it not for the high tunnels which have been producing steadily, we would have been forced to close down the CSA mid-summer. This is the first of "counting our blessings"...we thank our lucky stars for those high tunnels, and the patty pans and okra!
In addition to that, because the soil has been and stayed so wet, we've been unable to do any planting in the fields since May. No succession planting at all...scary! We do have an absolutely beautiful field-wide crop of foxtail growing and as soon as we figure out a market for that, we'll be rich!
But, our house wasn't flooded and our family members are safe and largely healthy. Our livestock wasn't caught in rising waters and our vehicles and equipment are on high ground. Compared to a lot of people in the state, we have been (and still are) lucky. Though it isn't always easy to remember on a moment-to-moment basis in a summer like this.
I've been taking monthly Meditation sessions this summer and my instructor had suggested that maybe it would be a good time to focus on "gratitude". Since the things that were causing me so much stress were completely out of my control. Ok, that shouldn't be too difficult, I tend to be a pretty optimistic person. Hmmm, as in so many things, the theory and the practice are two entirely different realms!
And then last night just as the sun was settling toward the western horizon, the dragonflies arrived. We live in the country, near a number of ponds so there are always dragonflies around in the summer, but this was something different entirely. There were thousands of them, apparently all the same variety, swarming across the yard. We could see them hunting smaller flying insects, like mad-bomber-flying-aces. Occasionally we could hear the sudden rustle of translucent wings, but otherwise the only sound was the cadence of the cicadas. It went on for more than an hour, a mad ballet and aerial dogfight in the heavy, sponge-damp air of an August evening. Ah, this is gratitude...
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Vampire-free Zone!
As you can see from the above photo, BGF is now a vampire-free zone! No pale-faced, night stalking blood sucker could make it through our massive garlic moat!Well actually, its not technically a "moat" since its mostly hung from the rafters, but it sounded good. All kidding aside though, I had certainly not planned to harvest garlic this week as it is about 3 weeks too early, but our obnoxious weather pattern of late was putting the crop at risk. When we pulled a test batch to give the CSA earlier this week, we discovered that the garlic was actually sitting in water just below the surface. Not good!
So we took a break in the battle with the weeds and did some serious garlic harvesting, to the tune of more than 2400 heads. Whew! That is a lot of garlic, for us anyway. We did lose a number of heads to rot, and let me tell you there is nothing quite like the "heady" aroma of rotting garlic...blech! But it wasn't as bad as I first feared. So now all of it is bundled and 90% of it is hanging. I ran out of drying space in the packing shed, so now I'm working on annexing part of my parent's garage to finish out the last of it. Surely they would appreciate a little protection from vampires too?!?
Thursday, June 24, 2010
If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em!
Rain. Rain. Rain! We've had lots of it this month...more than enough for 3 months put together. So far, in June we've poured 12.75" out of our rain gauge and there's still another week left...yikes! Even though we sit at the top of a hill there is still water standing in the gardens and let me tell you, vegetables don't like wet feet! Crops are failing; spinach, salad, cabbages, broccoli, edamame, peas. A number of crops are holding their own, but even those are so buried in weeds that its a little hard to tell. The high tunnel crops look great, but they just aren't ready quite yet.
At market, we can squeak by with a thin produce offering, because we have other products but CSA is always our greatest concern and this weekend I was fairly sure that we would have to cancel Tuesday's box delivery. The only thing I could find in the garden that was healthy and plentiful enough to go in 35 boxes was spring turnips...beautiful turnips true, but I can't just give people a box of turnips! So at market on Saturday I started telling any CSA members that stopped by the booth that we would likely cancel this week, that I would send out an email after inspecting the gardens again that afternoon.
Later that day as I walked through the beds with the mud sucking at my boots I admired the 100's of feet of summer squashes covered with their beautiful, glowing yellow blooms. Blooms...blossoms...squash blossoms...SQUASH BLOSSOMS! That's it! We have squash blossoms, though we've never harvested them as such, a number of farms do and they are considered quite the delicacy! And daylilly buds, we have those too! Plus a beautiful crop of basil ready in the high tunnel, I think we can do this. But what will we do for greens? We always have greens in the boxes and there isn't enough chard in the tunnel for 35 boxes and nothing else is ready. Nothing except all the damn weeds that are taking over everything! Then a thought struck...We've been custom harvesting edible weeds for a market customer for the past year...could we do it for the whole CSA? Why not? Braising Greens for everyone!
In addition to the chard, we collected purslane, lambsquarters, amaranth, sour dock, sorrel, violet leaves and dandelion. All quite tasty and very nutritious greens and many of which you will see featured in the multitude of herbicide commercials running on TV right now. And I can sympathize with the people who use those chemicals right now, as those weeds and many less palatable ones are taking over the gardens.
So it took a little longer, as foraging/weeding/harvesting is a little more time-consuming than harvesting a cultivated crop, but harvest we did and the boxes came out looking ok. They contained: Basil
Many members asked how things were going and if there was anything they could do to help. "Just enjoy your produce and embrace the adventure." We told them, what else is there to say when you are delivering carefully harvested, cleaned and bagged weeds and flowers?
Then later that evening we received this message from a member:
"We greatly relished Tuesday's Clan of the Cave Bear/Euell Gibbons retrospective forage food box...It was a very creative, retrospective supper." -David
Clan of the Cave Bear/Euell Gibbons retrospective forage food box! I LOVE IT!
That's the best thing I've heard all week! Hopefully we won't have to resort to quite this level of foraging in the future, but from now on whenever we harvest "wild greens" that's what we're going to call them.
Its still a hard season, but with such wonderful members and customers who are willing to embrace the adventure of supporting a small, local farm, it sure makes it easier.
Thanks guys!
At market, we can squeak by with a thin produce offering, because we have other products but CSA is always our greatest concern and this weekend I was fairly sure that we would have to cancel Tuesday's box delivery. The only thing I could find in the garden that was healthy and plentiful enough to go in 35 boxes was spring turnips...beautiful turnips true, but I can't just give people a box of turnips! So at market on Saturday I started telling any CSA members that stopped by the booth that we would likely cancel this week, that I would send out an email after inspecting the gardens again that afternoon.
Later that day as I walked through the beds with the mud sucking at my boots I admired the 100's of feet of summer squashes covered with their beautiful, glowing yellow blooms. Blooms...blossoms...squash blossoms...SQUASH BLOSSOMS! That's it! We have squash blossoms, though we've never harvested them as such, a number of farms do and they are considered quite the delicacy! And daylilly buds, we have those too! Plus a beautiful crop of basil ready in the high tunnel, I think we can do this. But what will we do for greens? We always have greens in the boxes and there isn't enough chard in the tunnel for 35 boxes and nothing else is ready. Nothing except all the damn weeds that are taking over everything! Then a thought struck...We've been custom harvesting edible weeds for a market customer for the past year...could we do it for the whole CSA? Why not? Braising Greens for everyone!
In addition to the chard, we collected purslane, lambsquarters, amaranth, sour dock, sorrel, violet leaves and dandelion. All quite tasty and very nutritious greens and many of which you will see featured in the multitude of herbicide commercials running on TV right now. And I can sympathize with the people who use those chemicals right now, as those weeds and many less palatable ones are taking over the gardens.
So it took a little longer, as foraging/weeding/harvesting is a little more time-consuming than harvesting a cultivated crop, but harvest we did and the boxes came out looking ok. They contained: Basil
Many members asked how things were going and if there was anything they could do to help. "Just enjoy your produce and embrace the adventure." We told them, what else is there to say when you are delivering carefully harvested, cleaned and bagged weeds and flowers?
Then later that evening we received this message from a member:
"We greatly relished Tuesday's Clan of the Cave Bear/Euell Gibbons retrospective forage food box...It was a very creative, retrospective supper." -David
Clan of the Cave Bear/Euell Gibbons retrospective forage food box! I LOVE IT!
That's the best thing I've heard all week! Hopefully we won't have to resort to quite this level of foraging in the future, but from now on whenever we harvest "wild greens" that's what we're going to call them.
Its still a hard season, but with such wonderful members and customers who are willing to embrace the adventure of supporting a small, local farm, it sure makes it easier.
Thanks guys!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Lavender Harvest
The first lavender harvest of the year and the best one to date. Looking forward to tins of lavender sugar and possibly some lavender syrup.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Spring Doin's
You know, if I could bear to blog without including pictures, I might be more timely in my updates. I often think... "oh, I should blog about that" and then never get around to taking a picture of whatever the subject might be, and thus it never makes it to the blog and I go weeks without updating. (nice excuse, huh?)
Here's what we've been up to recently:
It has been a busy couple of weeks since my last post. We recently returned from our encore performance of "Potatopalooza" in the gardens. I was starting to think we might never get through them all. We planted about 1,000 row feet of seed potatoes, all by hand. I know other farms do more, and more power to them! This is enough for me.
The big high tunnel is coming along and should be in good shape for the opening farmers market on May 1. This tunnel contains chard, choi, salad greens, radishes, spinach and arugula.
Just a week ago I was in a mild panic thinking that the crops wouldn't be ready in time. But as usual, I was just being angst-y. Today I harvested these, and in two weeks they will be perfect on the market table.
We've also been laying out and prepping beds for planting. Just yesterday, the first seeds went into the fields. We are by no means ahead of schedule, but as of yesterday, we are caught up and on schedule.
Other recent things worth mentioning:
Here's what we've been up to recently:
I wish there was some way to include scents on the computer. Because right now the farm smells like this...
(seriously, the fragrance wafting on the wind is simply amazing!)
(seriously, the fragrance wafting on the wind is simply amazing!)It has been a busy couple of weeks since my last post. We recently returned from our encore performance of "Potatopalooza" in the gardens. I was starting to think we might never get through them all. We planted about 1,000 row feet of seed potatoes, all by hand. I know other farms do more, and more power to them! This is enough for me.
The big high tunnel is coming along and should be in good shape for the opening farmers market on May 1. This tunnel contains chard, choi, salad greens, radishes, spinach and arugula.
Just a week ago I was in a mild panic thinking that the crops wouldn't be ready in time. But as usual, I was just being angst-y. Today I harvested these, and in two weeks they will be perfect on the market table.
We've also been laying out and prepping beds for planting. Just yesterday, the first seeds went into the fields. We are by no means ahead of schedule, but as of yesterday, we are caught up and on schedule.
Other recent things worth mentioning:
- The Fruit Tree Grafting class at Seed Savers was marvelous! We'll see how well we put the new knowledge to work.
- We are getting more than 10 dozen eggs a day. There is a limit to how many eggs two people can eat.
- The Blue and Luci show continues to be good entertainment. They are quite the pair, I wish I had video to share as photos don't due them justice. Luckily the "interest in the chickens" seems to have waned, hopefully permanently.
- We've have some wonderful folks come out and volunteer their time to do a "working visit" to the farm. Big thanks to Maggie, Terri, Linda, Dawn, Michelle and Danelle for their time and willingness to "work and learn".
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Winter News
18" of snow in 36 hours was kind of fun, until the 50 mph winds started in with the subzero temperatures, then it quickly became less fun. It took us a couple of days after the blizzard to get out to the high tunnels. As soon as I got the first door open, I felt my heart sink...it was the smell of rotting vegetables. Damn! We've never had significant problems with crops freezing in the tunnels, and certainly never this early in the season, but here it is. Everything suffered at least some damage and many of the crops were a total loss...again, damn! Some of those crops will likely recover, like the kale, spinach and some of the salad greens, possibly the broccoli (much to Sean's dismay). But the cabbage, radishes, peas, beets and choi are just gone...sigh.
Ah well, another lesson learned another layer of experience added. It would have been so much more convenient to learn this lesson AFTER the winter market this coming Saturday, but nature isn't too much interested in our schedules. Thank goodness for our other farm-made products!
There was one bright note this week, our friend Cathy writes for blogforiowa.com and she recently wrote a post listing 12 Great Places to Shop Across Iowa, and included BGF as one of those places! We are honored to appear alongside many of our favorites as well including, Prairieland Herbs, Picket Fence Creamery, Seed Savers and Frisian Farms. You can see the full list here: www.blogforiowa.com
Ah well, another lesson learned another layer of experience added. It would have been so much more convenient to learn this lesson AFTER the winter market this coming Saturday, but nature isn't too much interested in our schedules. Thank goodness for our other farm-made products!
There was one bright note this week, our friend Cathy writes for blogforiowa.com and she recently wrote a post listing 12 Great Places to Shop Across Iowa, and included BGF as one of those places! We are honored to appear alongside many of our favorites as well including, Prairieland Herbs, Picket Fence Creamery, Seed Savers and Frisian Farms. You can see the full list here: www.blogforiowa.com
Monday, December 7, 2009
A Preview
Well so much for doing a better job of keeping the blog up-to-date.
As I sit at the computer today I can look out the window at a beautiful snowy wonderland. We got about 4" of fluffy snow last night, and suddenly its winter on the farm. This is only an appetizer though as we are predicted to get up to 12" in the next couple of days.
Hard to believe a week ago we were harvesting radishes, salad and other greens outside. This likely marks the formal end of the outdoor gardening season for us, and I sure am happy that we have the high tunnels, as we still have one CSA delivery and one farmers market to go.
I will try to get pics of the high tunnels posted in the next day or so. The crops in there are still lush and beautiful.
As I sit at the computer today I can look out the window at a beautiful snowy wonderland. We got about 4" of fluffy snow last night, and suddenly its winter on the farm. This is only an appetizer though as we are predicted to get up to 12" in the next couple of days.
Hard to believe a week ago we were harvesting radishes, salad and other greens outside. This likely marks the formal end of the outdoor gardening season for us, and I sure am happy that we have the high tunnels, as we still have one CSA delivery and one farmers market to go.
I will try to get pics of the high tunnels posted in the next day or so. The crops in there are still lush and beautiful.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
High Tunnel Progress
I've been very remiss in keeping the blog up to date recently, so here are a few pictures to track the progress in the high tunnels in the past month or so:
The end of the summer crops (September) in HT1:
zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.
HT1 with winter crops on November 4th:
beets, kohlrabi, pac choi, radishes and kale
Summer crops in HT2 on Oct 15th:
peppers, basil, tomatoes, cucumbers, chard & eggplant
HT2 on Oct 16th (the 16th was a big day!)
HT2 on November 4th:
chard, broccoli raab, broccoli, spinach, Chinese cabbage, peas, salad greens and carrots.
The end of the summer crops (September) in HT1:zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.
HT1 with winter crops on November 4th:beets, kohlrabi, pac choi, radishes and kale
Summer crops in HT2 on Oct 15th:peppers, basil, tomatoes, cucumbers, chard & eggplant
HT2 on Oct 16th (the 16th was a big day!)
HT2 on November 4th:chard, broccoli raab, broccoli, spinach, Chinese cabbage, peas, salad greens and carrots.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Holy Basil!
No, not the actual holy basil, just the exclamation that I uttered when I first saw the leaves like in the photo below.
We have been trying to get all the mid-season crops cleared from the high tunnels. But before the chance was past, I wanted to get photo evidence of the amazing results in our basil crop. We grew two varieties of basil in the tunnel, the Genovese was as expected, nicely sized and productive, but the real treat was the Lettuce Leaf Basil. The seed was sourced from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
The field-grown plants were similar to the Genovese, nice, but not particularly special. But those in the tunnel were amazing. Basil leaves the size of my hand... and nice flavor to boot! I think this goes on the annual high tunnel crop list as a "must have"!
We have been trying to get all the mid-season crops cleared from the high tunnels. But before the chance was past, I wanted to get photo evidence of the amazing results in our basil crop. We grew two varieties of basil in the tunnel, the Genovese was as expected, nicely sized and productive, but the real treat was the Lettuce Leaf Basil. The seed was sourced from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
The field-grown plants were similar to the Genovese, nice, but not particularly special. But those in the tunnel were amazing. Basil leaves the size of my hand... and nice flavor to boot! I think this goes on the annual high tunnel crop list as a "must have"!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Peach Perfume
Recently, the still-warm evening breeze has carried a distinctive perfume, the heady aroma of ripening peaches. It was an amazing scent to be sure and the sign of things to come.
Yesterday afternoon the time arrived, peach harvesting time. The tree, a native Iowa white peach, is still relatively young, around 15 years old, so it wasn't a huge harvest, but around 120 pounds. So now, resting in large black crates, are somewhat small, white peaches aging to their final ripeness. Sometime this week I will skin, slice and freeze these peaches to be made throughout the upcoming season in to our Ginger Peach Jam or Peach Butter. They aren't great fresh eating peaches, but in preserves they are perfect.
Its a good thing that we added a second big freezer this year, because next to the peach crates are a tall stack of pear crates, awaiting a similar fate. Its going to be a busy week!
A branch of nearly-ripe Iowa white peaches
Yesterday afternoon the time arrived, peach harvesting time. The tree, a native Iowa white peach, is still relatively young, around 15 years old, so it wasn't a huge harvest, but around 120 pounds. So now, resting in large black crates, are somewhat small, white peaches aging to their final ripeness. Sometime this week I will skin, slice and freeze these peaches to be made throughout the upcoming season in to our Ginger Peach Jam or Peach Butter. They aren't great fresh eating peaches, but in preserves they are perfect.
Its a good thing that we added a second big freezer this year, because next to the peach crates are a tall stack of pear crates, awaiting a similar fate. Its going to be a busy week!
A branch of nearly-ripe Iowa white peachesSunday, September 13, 2009
Today's Harvest
The harvest from our high tunnels today:Eggplant (final harvest): Calliope & Orient Express
Sweet Peppers: Ace (red), Golden Marconi (long yellow), Islander (purple) & Sunray (yellow)
Heirloom Tomatoes: Big Zebra, Dr. Wychee, Mule Team, Paul Robeson, Redfield Beauty
Sunday, September 6, 2009
A whole month??
Today I checked in and realized it had been a full month since I last posted a blog entry, yikes! So we haven't been the most scintillating read recently, but it wasn't for lack of material, or even desire...simply a lack of time. Things have been a bit crazy here in the past month. All my seasonal help has gone back to school, so its pretty much me and the veggies out there, staring each other down...and in all honesty, the produce is winning!
This has been one crazy growing season...first too wet, then too cool, then hot for a week and back to cool. I actually had to install a bunch irrigation lines this past week, because there isn't enough soil moisture to germinate the fall crops. Most of the earlier crops are finishing up for the season, all except the beans. We are still picking beans from our first sowing...there were never beautiful plants, stunted from the lack of warmth, but they have just produced like crazy...thank you beans!
The high tunnels have been worth their weight in gold this season. They were the only places that got enough heat and water at all the right times (thanks to irrigation) so the crops in there have really been outstanding. We have just started turning the first of those crops over to cold weather crops. One bed of eggplant was evaculated after they failed to thrive under the onslaught of a flea beetle invasion and last week the cucumber trellis finally failed under the hundreds of pounds of insanely productive vines. Winter carrots have already germinated in the former eggplant location and winter peas and cabbage are going into the cuke beds later this week.
The quick score sheet for the season would read:
Winning Teams:
high tunnel peppers, cukes, zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, chard & basil
bush and pole beans
Losing Teams:
garlic
field cabbages
beets
I promise to post some high tunnel and harvest pics later this week, and will try to be better at my weekly postings. Its at least a little easier now that its too dark to work outside after 8pm!
This has been one crazy growing season...first too wet, then too cool, then hot for a week and back to cool. I actually had to install a bunch irrigation lines this past week, because there isn't enough soil moisture to germinate the fall crops. Most of the earlier crops are finishing up for the season, all except the beans. We are still picking beans from our first sowing...there were never beautiful plants, stunted from the lack of warmth, but they have just produced like crazy...thank you beans!
The high tunnels have been worth their weight in gold this season. They were the only places that got enough heat and water at all the right times (thanks to irrigation) so the crops in there have really been outstanding. We have just started turning the first of those crops over to cold weather crops. One bed of eggplant was evaculated after they failed to thrive under the onslaught of a flea beetle invasion and last week the cucumber trellis finally failed under the hundreds of pounds of insanely productive vines. Winter carrots have already germinated in the former eggplant location and winter peas and cabbage are going into the cuke beds later this week.
The quick score sheet for the season would read:
Winning Teams:
high tunnel peppers, cukes, zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, chard & basil
bush and pole beans
Losing Teams:
garlic
field cabbages
beets
I promise to post some high tunnel and harvest pics later this week, and will try to be better at my weekly postings. Its at least a little easier now that its too dark to work outside after 8pm!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
"Don't Touch My Tomatoes...
...or I'll cut your little arms off!"
Yes, this phrase was spoken in a strong tone at Blue Gate Farm this week. It was not exactly what it might seem though. You see, the zucchini in the high tunnel are beautifully healthy and growing aggressively. Several of them have gotten so big that they are now crossing the aisle and encroaching on my Big Zebra and Paul Robeson heirloom tomatoes. Nothing nobody, messes with my Paul Robeson tomatoes and gets away unscathed, so my warning was a sincere one.
Today, immediately after this photo was taken, the zuccs received a little reminder of my sincerity. You could almost hear the sighs of relief from the tomatoes.
In related news, the high tunnel trials continue to go well. To date, with the current crops in the tunnels, we have harvested:
Basil: 2.5 lbs
Bell Peppers:8 lbs
Cucumbers: 2 lbs
Eggplant: 1.5 lbs
Swiss Chard: 99 lbs
Zucchini: 63 lbs
Still no tomatoes yet, but they are looking promising.
The field-grown crops aren't doing quite as well. All the rain from the past 2 months pounded every bit of air from the soil and the sun then baked it into something resembling adobe bricks. Doesn't seem to hamper the weed growth, but the crops are suffering for it.
Yes, this phrase was spoken in a strong tone at Blue Gate Farm this week. It was not exactly what it might seem though. You see, the zucchini in the high tunnel are beautifully healthy and growing aggressively. Several of them have gotten so big that they are now crossing the aisle and encroaching on my Big Zebra and Paul Robeson heirloom tomatoes. Nothing nobody, messes with my Paul Robeson tomatoes and gets away unscathed, so my warning was a sincere one.
Today, immediately after this photo was taken, the zuccs received a little reminder of my sincerity. You could almost hear the sighs of relief from the tomatoes.
In related news, the high tunnel trials continue to go well. To date, with the current crops in the tunnels, we have harvested:
Basil: 2.5 lbs
Bell Peppers:8 lbs
Cucumbers: 2 lbs
Eggplant: 1.5 lbs
Swiss Chard: 99 lbs
Zucchini: 63 lbs
Still no tomatoes yet, but they are looking promising.
The field-grown crops aren't doing quite as well. All the rain from the past 2 months pounded every bit of air from the soil and the sun then baked it into something resembling adobe bricks. Doesn't seem to hamper the weed growth, but the crops are suffering for it.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Update from the Mud Zone
While I try to resist it, there have been a few recent flashbacks to last year's flooding. The storms, the heavy rains, the wind, the weather radio going off in the middle of the night. Still though, I'm not complaining, truly things are no where near last year's mess. While we have had to replant a few crops, the bulk of them are doing well. Plus we still have not just one, but two high tunnels standing and full of crops (and promise.)
As I've mentioned before, we are participating in a season extension field trial with PFI to look at the profitability of high tunnels as compared to crops grown in the field. To that end we have the following currently planted:
High Tunnel #1 (26' x 48'):
Zucchini (Eight Ball & Sebring)
Tomatoes (Big Zebra & Paul Robeson)
Peppers (Ace, Golden Marconi & Wenk's Yellow Hots)
Eggplant (Listada De Gandia & Orient Express)
High Tunnel #2 (42' x 48'):
Peppers (Islander, Sunray & Mini Bells)
Basil (Genovese & Italian Large Leaf)
Tomatoes (Dr. Wychee, Juliet, Mule Team & Redfield Beauty)
Cucumbers (Diva & Suyo Long)
Swiss Chard (Bright Lights)
Eggplant (Ping Tung Long & Rosa Bianca)
In addition to minding our cultivated crops, we are also ready for the next wave of wild harvesting. The elderflowers are just coming into maturity and the mulberries and black raspberries are just starting to ripen. So many weeds to pull, crops to harvest and jams to make!
And now that the official start of summer is here, the temperatures are finally starting to feel like it. Late this past week, we made our first batch of herbal sun tea. Lemon balm and mountain mint...now that's refreshing!
As I've mentioned before, we are participating in a season extension field trial with PFI to look at the profitability of high tunnels as compared to crops grown in the field. To that end we have the following currently planted:
High Tunnel #1 (26' x 48'):
Zucchini (Eight Ball & Sebring)
Tomatoes (Big Zebra & Paul Robeson)
Peppers (Ace, Golden Marconi & Wenk's Yellow Hots)
Eggplant (Listada De Gandia & Orient Express)
High Tunnel #2 (42' x 48'):
Peppers (Islander, Sunray & Mini Bells)
Basil (Genovese & Italian Large Leaf)
Tomatoes (Dr. Wychee, Juliet, Mule Team & Redfield Beauty)
Cucumbers (Diva & Suyo Long)
Swiss Chard (Bright Lights)
Eggplant (Ping Tung Long & Rosa Bianca)
In addition to minding our cultivated crops, we are also ready for the next wave of wild harvesting. The elderflowers are just coming into maturity and the mulberries and black raspberries are just starting to ripen. So many weeds to pull, crops to harvest and jams to make!
And now that the official start of summer is here, the temperatures are finally starting to feel like it. Late this past week, we made our first batch of herbal sun tea. Lemon balm and mountain mint...now that's refreshing!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
At the End of the Day...
Warm, dry spring days tend to be busy here on the farm. This shot was taken at the end of just such a day when The Tall Farmer was just plain worn out...
We have done a few things other than nap, new bees have been installed and most of the seedlings have been transplanted up to their pots and are ready to go out the the high tunnel for 'hardening off'. Half of the shelving is up in the smaller high tunnel, ready to receive the seedlings. Much weeding has been done in both tunnels, though there is still much to do. And so farm we are pretty much on schedule with our garden seed sowing. The peas started poking up through the soil in the past couple of days and the asparagus is now growing with purpose. Probably the most exciting new development this week was the nearly magical appearance of our first eggs! Right on schedule (at 26 weeks old) the first of our hens have started laying eggs. We're only getting around a half dozen right now (from 75 birds) but its a good sign that we should start seeing more in the near future.
I know that those of you who know us well probably read the phrase "nearly magical appearance" and thought we had found the first mushrooms of the season, but alas no...just hasn't been warm enough yet. The forcast for the upcoming week is looking good though, so I am predicting that the Morel season will start in southern Iowa within the next 7 days. You can look forward to a full "fungus" report coming soon.
The least exciting event of the past week was the untimely demise of our car (which had more than 150,000 miles on it). Now we are left with "le petite" cargo van for our weekly errands, or one of my parents' cars which they are very generous to lend us. So we find ourselves in the market for a new-to-us car, something with five doors (to facilitate CSA deliveries), good gas mileage and a reliable countanence. This was not a line item on the proposed 2009 Blue Gate Farm budget, so we will see what happens. Until then, if you see a large, white cargo van winding through the gravel roads of Marion County, its just us.
He was sacked out cold (I did check to make sure he was breathing before running for the camera) and slept soundly there for nearly an hour. Blue watched over him and protected him from any opportunistic vultures who might have flown over.
We have done a few things other than nap, new bees have been installed and most of the seedlings have been transplanted up to their pots and are ready to go out the the high tunnel for 'hardening off'. Half of the shelving is up in the smaller high tunnel, ready to receive the seedlings. Much weeding has been done in both tunnels, though there is still much to do. And so farm we are pretty much on schedule with our garden seed sowing. The peas started poking up through the soil in the past couple of days and the asparagus is now growing with purpose. Probably the most exciting new development this week was the nearly magical appearance of our first eggs! Right on schedule (at 26 weeks old) the first of our hens have started laying eggs. We're only getting around a half dozen right now (from 75 birds) but its a good sign that we should start seeing more in the near future.
I know that those of you who know us well probably read the phrase "nearly magical appearance" and thought we had found the first mushrooms of the season, but alas no...just hasn't been warm enough yet. The forcast for the upcoming week is looking good though, so I am predicting that the Morel season will start in southern Iowa within the next 7 days. You can look forward to a full "fungus" report coming soon.
The least exciting event of the past week was the untimely demise of our car (which had more than 150,000 miles on it). Now we are left with "le petite" cargo van for our weekly errands, or one of my parents' cars which they are very generous to lend us. So we find ourselves in the market for a new-to-us car, something with five doors (to facilitate CSA deliveries), good gas mileage and a reliable countanence. This was not a line item on the proposed 2009 Blue Gate Farm budget, so we will see what happens. Until then, if you see a large, white cargo van winding through the gravel roads of Marion County, its just us.
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