Momentum

The brandywines are getting big, I can only imaging the deliciousness that awaits



Round two of yellow squash is ready to be picked, and if you look closely, round three is getting ready.




The Beans are beaning


The gigantic swiss chard stalks are starting to make mature seed. Its the luculus variety, white stalks, its not the prettiest out there but it is a good reliable producer. This one survived a winter, so hopefully its offspring inherited that tendency. I'll be replanting to verify, its nice to have chard early in the second year. Who knows in a couple years I might have a variant that tolerates the syracuse winter fairly reliably. Lord knows I'll have lots of seed, if anyone wants some I'm open to trade. I'm 100% sure no other member of the beet family has been flowering for at least a mile radius, so it ought to be true to type.



And finally fennel, ahh the wonderful plant that makes delicious fronds, bolts at the first sign of sun, but makes a big supply of flowers to attract all kinds of helpful bugs, is going to seed as well. No worries, the seed is useful too.



And lastly the hyssop is starting to flower, but the wind picked up, so I couldn't get a picture that wasn't blurry.

from the dept of weights and measures

I wasn't lying about the rain, 2.5" in 3 days.



Saturday thankfully it was sunny long enough to get at some of the potatoes. I got about 16 sq. ft. dug up. Behold the results.


Thats what 12 lbs of blurry potatoes looks like. Based on the picture you'd probably guess there are slightly more of the purple caribes than the yukon golds. You'd be right, especially when you consider that I pulled up 4 more yukon plants than caribes. The yukons were an abysmally poor producer. And given that I like the taste of caribes better, yukons are out of next year's plan. Originally I picked two varieties for earliness, in accordance with the plan in Jeavon's book. The bottom line is that I simply do not have time in the season to follow potatoes with something so long growing as corn. Next year it will be potatoes first and then something like beans, or maybe a second potato crop. Suggestions are welcome of course. I will say that having never tried the caribe I was pleasantly surprised by the fine texture and taste. The skin however, is frail I don't think I pulled a single one out of the ground without scratching or nicking the skin. I did however notice a couple yukons and caribes having what looks like the early stages of scab. A season or two away from spuds is in order. I may have to dig another bed to make a three year rotation in coming years...aw shucks

So what did I do with the spuds, well all of the small ones and some of the medium ones went into the briny deep of my stock pot for some NY salt potatoes. Well recieved at the picnic, though I was left with several of the larger caribes left floating in the salty, buttery, oh so healthy slurry. What to do? We had friends coming over for dinner so I figured a little recycling was in order. I cut up the potatoes into smaller pieces, (almost losing a finger in the process) pulled a couple small onions from the garden, cut a handfull of garlic chives, reused the aluminum foil that covered the salt potatoes to make a pouch for the melange, drizzled some of the butter over it with a little poultry seasoning, and threw it on the grill. Behold the attack of the 50 foot grilled potatoes. It was delicious even if I do say so myself.



By the way, since I haven't exactly been forthcoming with my totals I am at about 18 lbs of produce for the year, the inaccuracy due to an old scale which has been replaced now. I know it looks light, but please remember most of the things I have been pulling up were light, like lettuce, peas, broccoli, etc. There are ten more pounds of spuds in the ground, the onions ought to get me a few pounds, and the zucchini...well, I think we all know how that is going to end.

100 pounds from 100 square feet in upstate NY seems a bit high in retrospect, but I think its possible, maybe not this year, but with experience and improving soil, possible.

Its still raining

I haven't checked the gauge this morning, but I wouldn't be surprised if we have had 3 inches in the last 4-5 days.

So here are some pictures of such quality you have never seen on this site nor are likely to see again. In a rare moment the batteries on our digital camera were charged at a time that was good for taking pictures in the garden. This was all from about two weeks ago, enjoy.

The lavender opened up and the bees first started to show, in fact this was the first honey bee I had seen all season.


"Picotree" Cosmos. They only emerge a few at a time, but they look great in their prime.



Feverfew is a common element among "English" flower gardens, so I thought it appropriate to put some next to the lavender. The flowers are very long lasting, unlike chamomile which each bud goes to seed in what seems like hours.



Reaching deep into my emerald aisle roots, I planted a small patch of common flax near the pond which looks very nice. Its almost ready to pull out. I'm going to try retting it and seeing if I can get fiber out of it. Granted I know I will not get more than a foot or two, but if I can successfully do it I might devote a larger spot to it next year. I will post more throughout the process.


And lastly the sweet peas. This is half of the blossoms. I've had it with them, I've tried different spots, different planting times, different varieties, but for whatever reason I usually get 2-3 flowers each year and thats it. Its a shame, they are such a pretty flower, but space is at a premium so if you don't use it, you lose it.

Zucchini fueled uprising

The first of the zucchini, summer squash, whathaveyou has arrived. Weight: 1lb 10 oz. Taste: delicious. I saw some female flowers getting ready to open when I picked these beaut's so more is on the way (obviously).

And my tshirt from Pathtofreedom.com arrived. My wife, who usually smirks and shakes her head at my fist in the air, power to the people tendencies, admitted it is a nice looking shirt. Go to www.peddlerswagon.com and buy one...or six.

Dry for a while

and then it rained, which helped the nasturtiums to a great amount.

Of course there were others who benefitted
Lillies


an unidentified volunteer sunflower of short stature


And after the rain subsided, out came the bees! I had been really nervous this year, prior to about 4 days ago I had counted 6 honey bees, this weekend triple that. Which is good, because I have some female squash and cuke flowers getting ready.


And of course...tomatoes! the first brandywine starting to swell.



Here's a pleasant surprise, I planted bush beans not too long ago. My prior experience with legumes had been in pole beans and peas, which take a while before they start producing. This particular variety I got from fedco seed is called "provider" and I'm sure now it will. First sprouts emerged just under a month ago and its making beans already. No word yet on taste but of course I will update when I have one.


and that is a broccoli leaf in the corner, and while I did not get a picture of it before cutting, I managed to get one before eating it.

A tasty broccoli cheese and rice casserole that would have been perfect for a solar oven...time to build a solar oven.


The canna lilly could care less, it sits in all the water it needs.


And without much watering and weeding to do, I had the opportunity to enjoy this view for a little while.



Thats no camera trick, I really am THAT pale.

beetdown

After picking the majority of the beets which amounted to about 9 oz. I got brave and pulled a few carrots. Lest you all think I became a master gardener behold the dismal results.



The bigger ones are about 1/2" wide. I'm not familiar with the carrot growth habit, do they widen first and then grow deeper? Is there hope for the ones still in the ground? or is this as good as they get.

The Beets faired better:


They are nice and round, it doesn't look like anything got into them, I don't think I have enough to pickle them, so I think its soup for some and I'll just cook the rest fresh. They have a nice red and white striping, so maybe I can get some good high res shots when I cut into them.

Answers!

Thanks to Steve at balhoghblog I have the answer to the bug question, it is in fact a milkweed longhorn. I had never seen one before now because I never had any milkweed growing on the property...until this year, I planted butterfly milkweed, about 8 feet from where this picture was taken. Unfortunately this is not one of those bugs that would be considered beneficial to either its host or neighbors from what I understand. Grrrrr.

So it just goes to show you that increasing the diversity of your plantings will increase beneficials, but also attract a few shall we say....less than desirable bugs as well.

If you are interested in a really seedy picture of buglove by all means, follow the link. When you're done, go check out Steve's blog as well as groovygreen.com, of which he is a contributor.

carrots beets and onions....

Is anyone else thinking borscht? The carrots are ready to come out (even if a bit short) I've got what appear to be a few decent sized beets, and the onion tops are starting to lay down. If anyone has some recipes (the more simple the better while I know my way around a kitchen, I'm not exactly the Iron Chef,) and preferably vegetarian.

While you're at it I'll gladly entertain your favorite potato salad recipe's too. Its going to be new potato time and I have a picnic to go to on the 27th.

Thanks!

Theory and Practice: Gardening in 2nd Gear

Well it would appear that some of the longer season hot weather veggies (zone 1) I think I referred to them originally, are starting to produce.

Below are the Brandywine tomatoes (in front of the wire fence, behind it are the spuds) and in the bottom right, a borage plant that volunteered in the perfect spot.


The cherry tomato plant in a hanging basket is aiming for a big crop! So far 100% of the flowers have fruited.



And what would summer be without summer squash? This one has early and prolific right in the name, so I think I should probably start planning on gifts. The green variety has been producing plenty of male flowers, so any day now it ought to start getting down to business as well.


And I know this is a longshot give the sub par (even for this site) picture quality, but can anyone help me I.D. this bugger? It was not in the least bit shy, and had black spots on a red shell (and no not a ladybug)

Everything I know about: lettuce edition

Like others I was having writers block, then Alecto unplugged that dam.

What I don't know about gardening could fill volumes, what I do know could fill a few paragraphs. What I am learning is a different story all together.

Here's what I learned about lettuce:

Lettuce can be delicious or it can be bitter. My guess is, the change is because when it is young it is pumping up the sugars for energy to grow. When it gets what all plants need (sunlight and to varying degrees warmth) it says: HEY! time to make babies! So all the sugars that make the leaves so delicious go into growing a stem for flowers and ultimately seeds. The trick is to keep the plant thinking that conditions are not right for reproduction, that it still doesn't have enough solar panels to collect energy for seeds.

There are two kinds, head lettuce and leaf, they both like shade and cool temps. (most varieties at least) So assuming you have one of the common varieties lets talk shade and temp. Unless you are in some kind of climate controlled environment there is little you can do about temp. Except keep it in the shade, so that takes care of two things.

Complete shade doesnt work very well, but if you can put it behind something that will shelter it during the hottest hours of the day...perfect. If you're in the open you can do one of two things, use shade cloth, or double your productivity. How?

Use some kind of vining crop like peas, pole beans, or grow cucumbers or melons on the south or southwest face of your lettuce area. The vines will climb up and give you plenty of shade (but still let some sun through) Using legumes like peas is a great idea, because they, much like lettuce enjoy the colder months, and when both crops are exhausted you can follow up with a heavy nitrogen feeder in that spot during the hot months.

Next is spacing and size. The best lettuce is baby lettuce. We're talking about leaf lettuce at this point. If you are growing head lettuce, by all means follow the spacing instructions recommended, (or better yet, keep them close enough that their outer leaves just touch at maturity) So leaf lettuce, yes back to that... Spacing: plant 'em tight, In Jeavons "How to grow more vegetables...." He recommends 6 inches for leaf lettuce, I did that in one spot, and if the leaf lettuce plants are allowed to grow big, its a good spacing. I say don't let them get that big, plant them tighter and pick the leaves smaller, the outer ones grow first so grab them when they are suitable, between 2-2 1/2 inches, leave the core leaves in place, in a few days they will be the outer leaves. Alternately you could just snip the whole deal off and leave a leaf or two on the stump and it will renew. It depends on if you want a lot at a time, or a smaller steadier supply.

I had never grown greens before this spring, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I've grown several varieties each of which has varying degrees of tolerance to heat and light. But thats the nice thing about heirloom varieties, there is a wide range of available breeds. Dizzying to neophytes like myself. They have a fast turn around (especially if you are picking your leaves small). So remember the three S's Size Spacing and Shade.

So there it is, about 4 months worth of observation and information, and a whole lot of salad, some bitter, some sweet, but all educational.

Did I miss anything?

Theory and Practice: success(ion)

well, out came the bok choy, chinese cabbage, peas, lettuce, and radishes. The carrots, beets broccoli shouldn't be too far behind, and the onions are starting to swell nicely. In went green snap beans and corn. I know its a bit late, but this is going to be sweet corn, not dent, so I can likely get it finished before the end of the season.

Since it is way to late to start the popcorn, that will have to wait until next year. I'm gonna give the potatoes more time in the ground and fill the holes as I harvest those with more beans. Once I have a big enough area I will start the fall crops that should have gone into the above bed in the potato bed. Its amazing how fast the seasons go when you are planning and planting. Got some more seed today from SESE, I plan to start leeks and overwinter them under (hopefully) a hoop house.

By the way, I had a taste of the Kimchi and it is getting nice and sour, not as hot as I'd like, but then again I didn't pulverize the dried cayenne, I just sliced it up in strips.

Smuckers...Your Fired!

Our long weekend in four easy picture. First we had a picnic with friends, and what do you ask the vegetarian to bring? Salad of course, actually thats not completely honest, I offered to bring it, what you see is the last of the lettuce before it bolted, the last of the radishes, some baby pea pods and a few smallish onions that were not quite ready...oh and of course Nasturtium flowers which we have in abundance right now. So The lettuce and the peas came out and in went the beans and corn.



Then on the fifth we went strawberry picking and came home with about 15 pounds of berries.


and promptly butchered the 15 pounds of berries


In a recipe that says 8 cups I somehow ended up with nine jars of jam (which is not as foamy as the jar up front would have you believe.)


...twelve pints frozen for smoothies
...and three quarts mashed up for shortcake

Life is good.

What if?

Fatguy on a little bike found this link from John Jeavons. If anyone owns the "How to grow..." you will find a lot rehashed, but it is interesting to see that there is new information (even though my copy is a fairly recent edition) so it just goes to show you how relentless the people involved in Biointensive have been researching. Kudos. And this article is from 95, so I'd love to see what new developments have been unearthed. A couple of points I'd like to dig out and chew on for a moment.


There is a human cost to the outsourcing and industrializing of our food sources.

What I saw in King Corn frightened me, the farmers were dependent, they went to a fertilizer dealer who made the decision for them what to spray, they planted a GM crop designed for two things, pesticide resistance and the ability to grow in cramped quarters. They showed none of the independence and know how that we traditionally associate with farm life. Onestraw really puts a fine edge on things, specialists, while useful cannot survive on their own. What does it say about the state of a nation when its farmers have stopped looking at the larger picture and have become specialists at one thing. Perhaps the saddest point in the movie was how powerless some of the farmers felt to stop the trend.

As with any level of industrialization, automation leads to lost jobs. Before I get the label of a Luddite let me say that there are some fields for which mechanization is called for, whether it is for reasons of heath or safety (mental or physical). But America is on the verge of outsourcing and automating itself out of existence. In an era of high unemployment and higher underemployment, in a time of high dissatisfaction with the jobs we do, should we not try to shift the focus of our labors back to becoming producers, back to a life where our toil creates a visible gain? What if we stopped chasing that carrot on a stick, forever a step in front of us, and stopped to realize there is plenty to sustain us if we stop and look around. In a world where we are all farmers to one extent or another we reclaim the dignity of our work. How much do we need to work for another if we remember what it is like to provide for ourselves? If we change the focus on our lives to seek the things that we truly need, we will rediscover what things truly make us happy. What if we stopped just working and started living as an artform.

In the age of information, of ideas, of the abstract, we will lose our balance unless we reconnect to the tangible, to the basics.

So now that we have had discussions here, here and here and shared our stories of why we changed, what made us look for a better life in the form of a simple life. And often we focus as a community on the change itself on using less today than yesterday, on growing more today than yesterday. Would anyone care to share how their life has been enriched by this change?