CSA Night #4

Tonight was our 4th CSA night! Tonight's basket included:
a bag of peas (snow and sugarsnap--all edible podded)
a cabbage
2 green bell peppers
some baby pac choi
2 heads of broccoli
a bag of leaf lettuce
some jalapeno peppers
the first yellow cherry tomatoes (many more to come!)

I better jot down what was in the baskets from a week and 2 weeks ago, since I didn't do that yet!
July 9 basket contained:
bag of shell peas
odd cauliflower :-)
a green Carmen pepper
leaf lettuce
green onions
Easter Egg radishes

July 2 basket contained:
beet greens
green onions
Easter Egg radishes
sugarsnap peas
leaf lettuce
sage


Each week the variety in the baskets is growing! You can see why in these pictures--the garden is growing beautifully! It's amazing to look back on pictures from just a few weeks ago and compare them with the plants now. In the first picture you can see the broccoli, with the cabbage and then leeks to the right. The tomatoes and peppers are behind. The second picture shows the pepper and tomato patches better. Be sure to click on the photos--they look much better in full size, plus they are much clearer.

Some things have not cooperated like they should--the cauliflower went a bit crazy and then immediately flowered (there will be a fall planting; hopefully that will work better), the chinese cabbage also flowered before reaching any usable size, and the okra is just not doing well. This week will be when many of the second crops and fall crops are planted--more green onions (some are already started), cauliflower, more beans (the first are flowering now--there should be green beans next week), cabbage, lettuce, rutabaga, kohlrabi... and the list goes on!

But for the few things that have not gone well, we have much more that is going GREAT! The cherry tomatoes are just starting, and with some warmer weather we can expect many many tomatoes of all sizes! The pepper plants are LOADED--I counted 9 bell peppers on one plant! The will start to turn red or yellow or orange with a little warmer weather. In the meantime we can start to enjoy the green ones! The eggplants are also proving to be abundant. Next week I believe we should have eggplant in the basket as well. The onions, leeks, celery, and melons are all well on their way to harvest! I've added a few pictures to make your tastebuds water--some nice bell peppers and a baby Ping Tung eggplant.

And finally, I need to share a couple photos of my fertilization program:

Meet Mr. T and Sir (as in T-Bone and Sirloin). These happy little fellows are currently residing in the first section of the garden, which is not planted. Each year 1/3 of the garden is seeded to a cover crop, which is then turned into the soil in the fall to build up the fertility. Section 1 was seeded to rye grass and clover, but as you can see, there is a lot of ragweed that has sprung up. (This may have something to do with the fact that my son didn't know I had seeded this area when he was disking up some space for me and used this area for turning the tractor around... not that I'm complaining or anything... I'm just saying.) The calves have clipped down all the grass and are now slowly working on the ragweed. As they clear (and fertilize) part of section 1, they will be moved into a fresh area of section 1 to continue their clearing and fertilizing. It is all very scientific. :-) Happy cows=better soil! They will be moved off section 1 later this summer, leaving us plenty of time for the manure to break down before tilling it into the soil.

In this last picture Elias is MOOOing. He seems rather at home in the pen with the calves, doesn't he?!

First CSA night!

Today marked the first CSA distribution for 2009. Everyone received 2 bunches of green onions, a bunch of Easter Egg radishes, a huge bag of leaf lettuce, and about a half gallon of sugar snap peas. This is just the beginning!

Enjoy!

A Blooming Gardener! :-)

Our youngest daughter celebrated her sixth birthday in May. She had been helping with various gardening things--from planting seeds in flats to putting out transplants. All this time she had commented that she wanted her own garden. So, for her birthday Daddy suggested that we give Emily her own garden--complete with Emily-sized tools, garden gloves, watering can, seeds, and garden fence. I think she wasn't so sure that she liked this non-princess gift from her well-meaning parents, but the excitement has grown with each step of getting her own little garden underway. First came setting out the fence in a newly-tilled portion of the garden, then marking rows and planting seeds. Mommy has had to help with weeding, but Emily is doing pretty well with that now that the plants have a headstart. The interest grew more with the addition of petunias (leftover from Mommy's windowboxes). So, here are some pictures of Emily's Own Garden. Emily took all the pictures except the first one.

Beautiful Blossoms and Early Crops

I was just up in the garden and am sharing some of the sights that are to be seen. These are some cheery cherry tomato blossoms, and LOOK! A baby Golden Nugget yellow cherry tomato!

The peppers will not be left out of the act! They are producing blossoms right and left!

The tomatillos are going to be abundant. The plants have literally hundreds of blossoms!




Ahhhhhh! This is a sight to make any Minnesota taste buds jump for joy! Sugar Snaps! Ready to eat!

Then when you peek in the greenhouse, here are all the little melon plants ready to set out.

This is the BEST time of year!

We have had a bunch of really beautiful sunny days lately, and even a beautiful rainy day with a soft rain that watered and soaked the earth well. Alycia and I were able to spend part of the day out in the garden--finished transplanting the cauliflower and then seeded kohlrabi, rutabagas, chinese cabbage, pac choi, and swiss chard. It was so nice out that I hated to come in, but at some point it just gets too dark to see those little seeds. :-)

After seeing how quickly all those evil little weeds are sprouting up after our rain, I received a timely email tonight from a favorite blogger and farmer tonight--Herrick Kimball, creator of the Whizbang Chicken Plucker. Ok, so the email was a group mailing, but I swore it was meant just for me. I don't know how he did it, but Herrick knew about my dreaming of a wheelhoe... yes, a wheelhoe. If you haven't seen on of these contraptions, check out Herrick's version; it's a beauty!:

Herrick has designed his own model and included the directions on his webpage. One has the option of ordering all the metal parts from him ($99 intro price) and proceed to put the rest together by one's own means, or he even shows how (if a person is familiar with metalworking and has the appropriate tools) to make the entire thing. I have an old high-wheel hoe/cultivator that I have used on occasion, and it definitely could be improved upon. The old metal wheel is bent and rubs on the frame, catching occasionally. But even with those issues, I can imagine the possibilities of using a low-wheel Glaser-style wheelhoe. I've been dreaming about having one of my own for a couple years, but they are gosh darn expensive!!! Now, with Herrick's assistance, I just may be able to have one. Wait til I tell the hubby what I have planned for his spare time! He already succeeded in making one of Herrick's Whizbang Chicken Pluckers, so this should be easy-cheesy! If you want to see it for yourself, check out Herrick's "Anyone Can Build A Planet Whizbang Wheelhoe."

Well, the weather this weekend is forecast to be perfect for more time spent out in the garden! Yay!

Enjoying the sun!

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. I spent the entire afternoon and most of the evening in the garden. I even had helpers--DH Mike finished up the tomato cages, Alycia watered and then planted broccoli, Greg watered and spread compost, and Mikey played with the skidsteer (well, he did accomplish something while doing that--he moved a bunch of old bales of hay so that they are nearer where I need them for mulching). All is all it was VERY productive.

Now I can say that all the tomatoes and peppers are planted. The majority of the broccoli is planted also, with the cauliflower quietly waiting its turn. The greenhouse is almost empty--it's a great feeling. :-) I'm hoping that tomorrow or Tuesday I can get all the melons planted in soil blocks, then they will go out in about 2-3 weeks.

It has been very dry here. We got a sprinkle of rain yesterday morning, but not even enough to make any puddles. Tomorrow is supposed to be 80 and windy, then rain is predicted for Tuesday. Maybe I can get some more seeds in before the rain...

Getting going... ever so slowly

Like I said, April is the month that everything seems like it needs to be done at once. Well, April is done and gone, and here we are in mid-May. I still don't have all that I want planted in the garden yet. I have plenty of plants to set out, but have been taking a conservative approach because I fear the occasional late frost. The outlook for the next 10 days has our lows in the upper 40's, though, so I should be safe now. I was also set back a few days with a horrible sinus infection (from which I'm still recovering) that had me laid out flat. That was pure torture!

Today Kris and Penny came over for our weekly "garden day"--we planted the onions, leeks, and strawberries. Now that we have the deer fence up, I have grand hopes of a beautiful strawberry patch full of wonderful strawberriness next spring! I also bought some fall-bearing raspberry plants and was given a lot of summer raspberries from a friend. They will be going in either tomorrow or Thursday, depending on the weather. Of course, they will need to be watered regularly... "hey Honey, so how much do you think it will cost to put that line in..."

The next two weeks I have grand plans for planting, but also need to take into account that our oldest is graduating from high school next Friday. Next week is a flurry of senior brunches, banquets, ceremonies, etc. etc. So I better get out there this week!

Have a great May and enjoy those early harvests!