Spring is coming - 12 weeks before last Frost

This week we will actually start sowing some of our cold weather crops inside to get them started for replanting outside.

You should be sowing the following:

• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower 
• Leeks
• Head Lettuce
• Onion
• Parsley

We will be growing our starts in the cellar for the next few weeks as it has some of the heat from our home.  Once we actually see sprouts, we will turn on the grow lights. 

BROCCOLI SOWING AND PLANTING TIPS

• Start broccoli from seed.
• Seed is viable for 3 years.
• Start seeds in individual pots
• Sow seed ¼ to ½ (6-8 mm) inch deep in the seed-starting mix.
• Keep the mix moist but not wet.
• Seeds should germinate in 5 to 10 days at an optimal temperature of 77°F or thereabouts.
• Transplant seedlings into the garden when they 4 to 6 inches tall with 2- to 4-leaves.
• Grow broccoli in full sun for best yield, but broccoli will tolerate partial shade.
• Add 3- to 4- inches of compost and well-aged manure into planting bed, before transplanting; broccoli needs friable, moisture-holding soil.
• Avoid planting where cabbage family crops have grown recently.
• Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart; plants spaced 10 to 12 inches ) apart will yield smaller heads.
• Space rows 36 inches  apart.
• Protect seedlings from the cold for 2 to 3 weeks after planting covering them with a cloche or plastic tunnel or cold frame.
• Fertilize with an organic fertilizer such as fish emulsion at half strength.

Spring is coming!! 14 Weeks before the last Frost.

I posted our CSA information late last year and will be reposting next week....and we hope that you will become one of our CSA families....but even if you don't...

I think everyone wants to garden...either a little or a LOT!  One of the things about doing large scale gardening is to PLAN!  And pretty far in advance too.  I thought I would share a weekly post on what I am (and you can be) doing to get ready for the official beginning of gardening season (the last Frost date.)   Here in central Ohio (zone 5b) our average last frost date is April 30.

This week and next are fun weeks in that you should be looking trough all your seed catalogs, websites and dreaming of warmer weather.  Decide the seeds / plants you want to plant and get them ordered.  Or know that your local hardware stores and nurseries will have seeds and plants starting around the April beginning of May.

Below is a chart if you are wanting to grow enough to can for you family for the whole year.  Or maybe you just plant a few pots on your patio.  Either way...DIRT THERAPY is Great!

Crops	Harvest Needed (lbs)	Row Length (ft)	Plants Needed
Artichoke	12	24	6
Asparagus	8	27	18
Basil	2	5	5
Lima Beans (bush)	12	48	144
Lima Beans (pole)	12	24	18
Snap Beans (bush)	60	50	150
Snap Beans (pole)	60	40	80
Soy Beans	60	120	144
Beets	14	10	60
Bok Choy	12	10	15
Broccoli	32	32	22
Brussel Sprouts	24	32	22
Cabbage	60	40	27
Carrots	40	40	48
Cauliflower	36	36	24
Celery	16	27	41
Cilantro	1	2	3
Collards	8	8	8
Corn	100	125	94
Cucumbers	32	27	14
Dill	1	2	2
Eggplant	16	16	10
Fennel	4	5	5
Garlic	4	16	32
Jerusalem Artichoke	6	4	3
Kale	4	4	4
Kohlrabi	6	8	16
Leek	4	9	27
Lettuce	24	48	42
Melons	24	22	7
Mustard	4	8	16
Okra	4	4	3
Onions	32	32	96
Parsley	1	4	6
Parsnip	12	12	36
Peas	12	30	90
Peppers	12	20	15
Potatoes	100	100	100
Pumpkins	40	40	12
Radish	8	20	60
Rhubarb	16	16	48
Rutabaga	6	5	10
Spinach	12	30	30
Summer Squash	40	27	14
Winter Squash	24	24	9
Strawberry	52	38	23
Sweet Potatoes	12	12	11
Swiss Chard	12	15	18
Tomatoes	96	96	39
Cherry Tomatoes	68	46	35
Turnips	20	27	54
Watermelons	48	24	5

Tilling the Spring Garden #TBT 5/1/15

Here I am looking at my poor garden all dying and finished and waiting on winter....however here are the promising pictures from spring!  I am so blessed to have my big Boy who LOVES machinery and likes to do things like till up my garden!

You can see the big Tom Turkey in the background 

watching what is going on..his name is Stuffing

Turning the tiller is hard work!

Sadly, we did not do the CSA this year. Our garden ended up not doing very well due to the excessive spring rains and cool temperatures.  The tomatoes all drowned, and the later ones we put in just started turning red as the leave started changing. I missed doing my CSA and having a bigger reason to garden.  I'm hopeful that next year will be better!

A Day in the life...CSA Day (Picture Intensive!!)

One of the items on the 101 list was to do a "Day in the Life" blog post.  

It was requested that I do a CSA delivery day.  I didn't feel like it was a "typical" day as I am off the farm and in town, but then when I thought about it, yes, twice a week this is a typical day.

On Tuesdays and Fridays, I pack up the "little dump truck" with all the farm goodies for my wonderful friends/customers that have are subscribers to various items off the farm.

After the morning milking (no pictures of that....until I get a staff photographer, not enough hands to milk AND take pictures!), we load up the car and head the 25 miles south to the city to meet with my wonderful ladies.

This day, Boy went with me because he was going home with one of his best buds (whose mom is one of our friends/customer, too) for a sleepover and fun at one of the local water parks.

After the pickup, I also had food to take to my Reyn BFF, as her father-in-love had just passed away and I only know one way to comfort...food.  This ended up being a whole 'nother "Rea" fiasco because later I discovered that I had left the food at the wrong house, and the residents were sure that the chocolate chip cookies I left must have been poison.....sigh. 

And what timing!  My car turned over a milestone while I was out! 

(And yes, I am aware that there are TWO check engine lights, and that I am out of gas!) 

After all the deliveries, over to Sam's to pick up coffee (something I am not able to grow on the farm) 

And fuel, because everyone gets nervous when I am out driving on fumes. 

And briefly looking at a new "milk mobile" because of the check engine lights..

Then finally a stop at the grocery to pick up prescriptions and my vice, Diet Citrus Drop (something else I can't grow on the farm -grin) 

Then back to the farm by 3 pm.  

Unload the car.

Milk jars to be sterilized.

Brief nap to take.

Then chore time....chores were a bit longer tonight as my Boy was off having a blast!

This is our only named chicken, Omlet.  She lets us pick her up and pet her.

More about her soon!

Taking care of my "flock" of turkeys.  OK, it's only 2:  a male (Stuffing) and female (Cranberry). 

Omlet is their 'pet chicken' too.

Taking care of the "girl dogs" Kristl and Iona.

Taking care of the 'herd' of rabbits.  Currently 38.

And the Twins!  They are getting so big!!

Miracle (left) and Franci (right)

Mama Cow, Hershey, out on her pasture line.

And Yellow Cat waiting patiently for his dinner.

Calling the hens for their dinner (sorry the video is choppy)

After all the Critters are fed and watered, it's time to go in and feed the people.  After fixing dinner, eating, and doing dishes, it's time to go do some work in the gardens.  

Danny Dog is my farm dog and comes along for all the chores....plus, he LOVES raw beans so he keeps me company with the hopes of getting a few (and usually does!)

This is the brassica patch in the front and behind that is the bean patch.

The Roma tomatoes are finally starting to change to red!!

Then as the sun gets ready to go down, it looks as though a storm is rolling in...

and I was able to get some amazing pictures of the sun rays!

And off to the house to finally get some sleep before it starts up again tomorrow morning!

Tilling....

Busy, busy day today. We tilled up 3 new garden areas. This is a big thing since two of them have been covered with a stick burn pile taller than me since...well the whole time we've lived here and likely at least 5 years before that!

The gardens are expanded this year because we have our new CSA starting the first week of June. We had the main garden tilled for awhile with early season things, but this spring has been so wet that we couldn't get out into it. All the planting should be in before the forecasted rain on Tuesday, God willing. 

We also worked on fencing around the new gardens. We love our truly free ranging chickens except in the garden!! They love tomatoes almost as much as we do. There is still more fencing to do and then we can plant those gardens. No sense planting while the chickens can still come in and "unplant" everything.

I took a turn at tilling even though my big strong teenager is usually the one doing all the "muscley" things around here.

Vegetable List...

If you enjoy reading lists, stay tuned.  If not, feel free to skip my "ocd"ness....

Brassicas

• Early Cabbage
• Early White Vienna Kohlrabi
• Romanesco Broccoli
• Snowball Cauliflower
• Regular Broccoli

Tomatoes

• Farmer's Monster (Red, Large)
• Delicious (Red, Clustered)
• Tigerella (Slriped)
• Mortgage Lifter (Red, Larger)
• Hillbilly (Red/Yellow Stripe, Large)
• San Marzano (Red, Paste)
• Early Girl (Red)
• Burpees Gold Jubilee(Gold, Large)
• Yellow Pear Bite Size
• Sweet Cherry 100
• *Tomatillos

Summer Squash

• Black (Green) Zucchini
• Golden Zucchini
• Yellow Crookneck
• Zyphyr Squash
• PattyPan

Winter Squash

• Waltham Butternut
• Spaghetti Squash
• Acorn Squash
• Connecticut Field Pumpkin
• Pumpkin Pie Pumpkin

Cucumbers

• Straight 8 Salad 
• Homemade Pickles
• Muncher

Corn

• Early Sunglow (yellow)
• Bi-licious (bi color)
• Early and Often (yellow)
• Peaches & Cream (bi color)
• Silver Queen (white)
• Strawberry Popcorn (red, popping)
• Ornamental Indian

Peas

• Sugar Snap (snow peas)
• Wando
• Early Alaska
• Cascadia

Beans

• Fordhook Lima
• Burpee Stringless (Green)
• TenderPick (Green) 
• Topcrop (Green)
• Gold Rush Wax (yellow)
• Mellow Yellow (Yellow)
• Royal Burgundy (purple, turns green when cooked)
• Gourmet Mix (Green, Yellow and Purple)

Greens

• Buttercrunch Lettuce
• Gourmet Lettuce Blend
• Bloomsdale Spinach
• Tyee Spinach
• Kale

Roots

• Nantes Carrots
• Tendersweet Carrots
• Purple Haze Carrots
• German Giant Radish
• Early Scarlet Radish
• Watermelon Radish
• Detroit Beets
• Cylindra Beets
• Hollow Crown Parsnips
• Purple Top Rutabaga
• Turnips

Peppers

• California Wonder (Green Bell)
• Yellow Monster
• Fooled You Jalapenos (Taste of Jalapeno, not the heat)
• Colored Mix (Bells, Orange, Red, Purple)
• Long Thin Cayenne

Onion

• Candy Red Onions
• Shallots
• Kappa Hybrid Cooking Onions
• Bunching Onions / Scallions
• Leeks

Other

• Okra
• Luffa Gourds
• Birdhouse Gourds

Herbs

• Cilantro / Coriander
• Parsley
• Basil
• Dill
• Thyme
• Rosemary

Flowers

• Sunflowers
• Marigolds
• Petunias
• Daisies
• Snapdragons

Potatoes

• Russets
• Red
• Purple Majesty
• Sweet Potatoes
• Jerusalem Artichokes

So now that you have made it to the end of the list....what am I forgetting??

I LOVE Sunshine!

Everything just seems to go better with Vitamin D, don't you think?

This morning, Man and I went through all the seed catalogs (they send enough catalogs that we each had one to go page by page through) and decided what "new and exciting" things to try this year.  The Boy joined in and decided on things HE needed to add to the list.  Plus, we came up with some neat ideas for the blog soon to be implimented.  (Good News-hopefully more consistant posting.)

I'm really excited because I have some "real foodie" people interested in joining the CSA this year.  I love to garden, but if it's just for me...I tend to peter out later in the summer.  If I am growing for more than just our family, there is pressure there....and as I've always told my cousin, I don't run on a reward system, more of a guilt system :)

So after spending ....mumble...mumble...at the local nursery (seeds were 25% off!) and even bigger MUMBLE..MUMBLE  at two different mail order places.  I think I have the majority of the garden set for the year.

We are adding to the orchard this year, and also adding a field of "soft fruits".  The saying goes that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago and the next best time is now.  I planted a Honey Crisp apple tree when we first moved it.  Man called it the "one stick wonder".  Well now it has a few branches but still is very sad looking.  Our other older apple trees did not do well last year....

Here are the trees we are adding this year:

Gala Apple
Red Delicious Apple
Another Honeycrisp Apple

Elberta Dwarf Peach Tree
Red Haven Dwarf Peach Tree

4 Pecan Trees

Also (non food)
3 Paper White Birches (my son is currently obsessed with these..I dunno why?)
3 Blue Spruce
10 Lombardy Poplar Shade Trees


As far as the 'Soft Fruit'

4 "Sand" Cherry Bushes
9 Black Raspberry Bushes (3 @ Cumberland, Black Hawk, and Logan)
12 Red Raspberry Bushes (6 @ Latham and Fallred)
3 Gold Raspberry Bushes (Fallgold)
3 Red Canadice Seedless Grapevines
200 Strawberry Plants (100 Everbearing [25@ Ozark Beauty, Ft.Laramie, Quinault, Ogallala] 100 June Bearing [25@Allstar, Honeoye, Sparkle, Surecrop])
1 Tayberry
6 Blueberry Bushes (2@ Northland, Berkeley, and Herbert)
2 Rhubarb Bushes


THEN...there are the Veggies!!  YAY!

OK...I'm not saying that I have a problem....however...I am up to 73 packets of seeds (not including flowers or herbs).  I will need to list them all out for the CSA, but for now...just behold the whole end of my kitchen table covered!!  (And this isn't including the 6 things I realized I still haven't bought...)  I can say I am doing better this year as I only have 9 varieties of tomatoes rather than 20.

Painting "Strawberries"

We are preparing for spring and the expansion of all the "soft fruits".  One of the big projects is the 200 strawberry plants coming.  In order to deter the birds I've read about painting rocks to look like strawberries and put them among the plants.  They peck at them before the fruit actually ripens and then are less likely to peck the real fruit when it finally ripens.  We shall see!

So after a trip to one of my happy places: Hobby Lobby, and armed with paint and rocks, we started painting.  Boy helped me get the red done.  I will have to post pictures when we get the rest of the colors on.  It is taking a bit of time as we wait in between layers and colors.  In the meantime, I am craving strawberry jam!

Purple Cabbage!

This is the first year that I have successfully grown cabbage!  WooHoo!

Both Green Cabbage and Purple Cabbage.

And boy is the purple cabbage....PURPLE

 

 

One of our new crockpot favorites is

 

Smokey Hobo Crockpot:

1 head of Cabbage

1 bag of mini carrots, or about 5 carrots cut into chunks

5 potatoes washed and cut into chunks

1 onion cut into chunks

1 ring of Kielbasa

1 cup water or stock

salt, pepper, spices to taste

 

Layer veggies, salting and peppering on every level.

Cut Kielbasa into 2 inch chunks and place on the top.

Add stock / water down one side of the crockpot.

 

Cook on low for 6 hours or high for about 3 hours.

(Or until the veggies are tender and the smell is making your family hungry!)

 

We eat it with a little ketchup on top after serving.

 

Serves about 6 (our our family twice!)

 

By the way, if you use purple cabbage...it will turn the broth and any potatoes that it is sitting against purple!!

More peaches....Peach Salsa

Today...ok, I guess technically...yesterday, I worked on peaches...I will be working on peaches again tomorrow...or I guess...today....anywho...this is what I did!


Peach Salsa
yield 8 pint jars or 16 8-oz jars
Adapted from Ball® Complete Book of Home Preservation

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar (5% acidity)
• 12 cups chopped, pitted peeled peaches **
• 3 cups chopped red onion
• 3 pablano peppers, finely chopped
• 1 cup loosely packed finely chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup honey
• 4 large cloves peeled garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp cumin

Prepare canner, jars, and lids. Prepare boiling water canner by filling with enough water to cover jars by 1-2 inches. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Wash jars and lids with hot, soapy water, and place in a bowl of hot water (NOT boiling) until you are ready to fill them.

Prepare ingredients as directed in ingredients list above.

In a large, tall stainless steel pot, combine vinegar and peaches. (TIP: To keep peaches from browning, add them to the pan as you chop and measure.) Add onion, peppers, honey, garlic, and cumin. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Add cilantro and reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding more hot salsa. Wipe rims clean with a damp, clean cloth. Center lid on jar, then screw band down until resistance is met then increase to fingertip-tight.

Lower jars into boiling water canner, making sure that jars are covered by 1-2 inches of water. Add more boiling water as necessary, and cover with lid. Once water has returning to a rolling boil, start timing and process 15 minutes for elevations up to 1,000 feet above sea level (increase 5 minutes for every additional 1,000 feet of elevation).

Once time is up, shut off heat, let sit in canner for 5 minutes, and transfer jars to a double thickness of towel placed 1-inch apart. Do not tip jars or wipe dry - water will evaporate.

Let sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours, away from drafts. Then check seals - the tops of the jars should dip in the middle, and not bounce back when you press down with your fingers. If jars are well-sealed, wipe them clean, label, and store in a cool, dark place. Consume with in 1 year. Jars that did not seal should be refrigerated and contents consumed. Eat within a week or so. 

Sadly, for my son....all "ping-ed" so no peach salsa for him tonight!

Also, sadly, for me...this is what happened to my favorite kitchen knife while cutting the onions...

And tonight's garden haul....

 

And all of this despite the fact that I fell off a 2 inch step by our cellar door, fell on my knees, smacked my ankle on said step, and sprained my ankle but good. Just call me "Grace".  (As my Daddy always does!)