Hope Springs Eternal

I spent the evening sobbing. It was late and both the kids were asleep. When the projected winner was announced my wife and I were ecstatic. It didn't sink in until Eugene Robinson said that he could finally look into his children's eyes and say without hesitation that they can achieve anything they want. Eugene Robinson of course speaking as an African American. In case you hadn't figured it out yet, I along with my wife are white. Our children are not. By and large when we first introduced them to our families there was nothing but love and acceptance. But there was always an elephant in the room, the fear that only a few honest souls spoke that these children might never truly feel culturally integrated. Given to doubt as I am, the fear that our kids might fall into the more repugnant elements of either culture occasionally crosses my mind. After last night I wonder if I should stop worrying about how they will fit into the world and start teaching them to change the world.

And with the horrific news and doom and gloom that floods our airwaves every day I was beginning to wonder if I have the strength to maintain optimism and a solution oriented approach to life, I honestly wondered if I could go on with the same zeal I had when I started this journey.

I have my answer

Yes I can.

still going

I know Its been quite some time since I updated, in the meantime the beans are definitely flowering and I am showing a few beet leaves, still no hoophouse yet. And I have taken in another 3lbs 12 oz of tomatoes making my total almost 49 lbs, soooo close! oh wait, one last take of yellow squash gave me 1lb 6oz.

drumroll....

51lbs! whoohoo! (yes I know its not the 100 I was hoping for but I'm off to a good start)

heard any good news lately? I haven't. On the one hand its nice to know I was not part of some shared delusion, on the other hand, it looks like being right is going to be painful. I have to balance my participation in discussions and desire to stay informed, with the essential human need to not be completely swept up in a fear soaked paralysis. So if my posting here and commenting on your own sites is a tad sparse, I'm just trying to get a mental handle on everything, and I'm likely doing what has worked for me to get through times like this.

Stay Busy

not to kvetch

It would seem life is not without a sense of irony. I was sidelined for a couple days with some pretty fierce stomach pains, and after inconclusive tests the theory is ulcers. Ergo, no acidic foods for a week until it either goes away or we get to the bottom of what is really happening, and wouldn't you know, about 3 more brandywines are staring at me through the kitchen window, just begging to be plucked.

Coincidentally we may get a freeze this evening, so I need to build the tunnel fast. Hoop house is out this year, but I can get a tunnel in place, so wish me luck.

fast approaching fall

As much as I don't like to admit it, the weather is getting colder. And I have been scrambling to get things done before it becomes impractical given the weather. Thankfully some of those things include projects that move us forward, like making the platform section of the outdoor shower. The garden has shifted into low gear, it looks like we'll be getting about 3-4 yellow squash before the plant goes the way of the zucchini. I must say I am very happy with the production level of summer squash/zucchini this year. Two plants seems to be a good fit for us. It guarantees that we have squash as a minor ingredient every week, and a major every other week. Thats enough to make a significant contribution to the dinner rotation without people getting really sick of it. Tomatoes are coming now, brought in a 15oz beauty and I probably have 3 more this week. Thats almost 3 pounds of tomatoes from only 3 tomatoes so far. The total now stands at 45 not counting whats still on the vine. I WILL make 50! If I include everything overwintered up until next april 15th (on full year of gardening) I might make 70 but I doubt it.

I'm also happy to report that the first of the green bean "catch crop" is beginning to flower. It is taking a little longer than the mid summer plantings, but I think it will produce. I'm a bit worried about the leeks, beets and carrots, I don't see many sprouts right now, but as you know I'm prone to unnecessary worry. As it stands, one broccoli plant survived caterpillar assault so I will have to fill in the row with three more. I'm going to start my lettuce and spinach indoors this week, the nights are getting too chilly i think.

And here is the lone bottle gourd that pollinated. They are a night bloomer so that probably doesn't work well in their favor. At any rate it is quite heavy, and the fierce windstorm dislodged some of its tendrils, so with a little plastic meshing and some string I made it a hammock. Hang in there baby, you're only half as big as I need you to be.



By the way if anyone knows of any good types of onions that will grow well in the north I am looking for sets. I tried Stuttgarts last year but they did not do very well.

theories, plans, setback and TOMATOES!

Finally! A ripe tomato!


A bit green in the shoulders and a few cracks, but at 14 oz. its got a bit to spare. And yes this is a brandywine, I forgot that the particular strain of Brandywine OTV is orange. And delicious. It had substance but was not gritty. According to SESE's site, this strain is very heat tolerant, could that be a possible way of saying that to a certain extent it doesn't just tolerate heat, it depends on it? Given how cool this summer was by comparison might this be a reasonable explanation as to why I did not harvest the first tomato until sept? I'll be holding on to the seed to plant maybe a vine or two next year since the taste is flat out awesome, but perhaps I should search for varieties which do not include "heat tolerant" in their list of attributes.

And check out the amount of flesh in these. My beloved of course puts in her two cents about the absurdity of photographing a tomato.



Now I know I have mentioned our plan to put a fistfull of fruit trees in the front yard. After having the gas company come out and mark the no-dig spots, it would appear we will need to change the layout from what we had originally intended.

Those flags are the dotted line where our natural gas feed comes in from the street. Right up the strip of land we were going to use....grrrr.

And lastly, as anyone who is married or lives with their partner knows, good relationships mean being on the same page as your S.O. In my case that means clearing and construction or other large projects with my wife before I reach for a hammer or shovel. I want to keep gardening though the winter, I could be happy with just a single row cover tunnel over one bed, but I figured what the heck, lets shoot for the moon with a hoop house and see if she goes for it....She went for it! I think I can fit this over both the beds. Winter greens here I come! Despite the frigid winters I am not going to double layer the plastic unless someone says its absolutely necessary. I'll be using it to basically extend seasons and grow spinach, some lettuces, leeks and so forth during the coldest months, and experimenting with clover as a cover in the unused areas. Clover is a big N producer and grows well in our area/soil. Since I have been doing well with compost, I think a cover crop of clover during winter, plus compost at kill/ planting time should keep the soil in shape. I will test it to see if there are measurable differences.

back in the saddle

Wow where to begin...at the beginning I suppose. We went on vacation last week, spent several days at a place called Taughannock Falls near Ithaca NY. Its about an hour drive from our home in Syracuse. It was great to turn the volume down on life for a few days. But before leaving I scored another 6 oz cuke and 1lbs 5 oz of zucchini and summer squash, but I missed one that was ready and waiting on the vine (I think you know where this is going).

Anyway, off to Ithaca. I feel this needs a disclaimer, I have been there before and will say upfront that I love it there. There is a distinct crunchiness to the city. First of all they have the all vegetarian restaurant Moosewood (which was fantastic) and serves hot cocoa that is out of this world. Of course the food is great but check this out.


There is a fantastic place called "The Children's Garden" which is a community garden of sorts cared for (If I understand the posters correctly) kids. During our visit my wife claims I fell into some kind of altered mental state of ecstasy so my memory of it is sparse but here is what I remember from the pictures.

The main growing area. Personally I think there is too much walkway, but with the intended audience being kids I can understand the need.

This is made from bamboo, those are cucumbers climbing the pyramid. What a fantastic idea!


Of course they compost! are you kidding? They have 3 big bins of it.



Not 50 feet away is a created wetland swale. And just past that is the wildflower zone. Holy permaculture kiddies!



What monument to a sustainable future is complete without a strawbale house on the premises.


Who doesn't love sunflowers? Lemon Queens if I'm not mistaken.

Ithaca has great hiking, we walked trails to Taughannock and Buttermilk Falls, some really cool second hand clothing and book stores, and a really cool children's science museum. We joked that it must have been adoption day because most of the kids in that place didn't "match" mom and dad. It was actually pretty funny, at one point one of the workers was trying to find the parents of a child who had wandered off the beaten path, and they were befuddled without the usual clues. I say its funny because the search was short and not at all urgent, but the situation was hysterical in a very ironic sort of way. Or at least it was hysterical to be in a situation where our family arrangement was not in the minority and hijinks ensued. Other than that it was a nice quiet break from the world, a good recharge if you will. And even though I did not hit my reading mark (I brought/bought 2010:Oddessy Two, Shogun, Chapterhouse Dune, 2061: Oddessy Three, and Prelude to Foundation. I got through 2010 and most of Foundation), but it was great nonetheless.

After coming back we had a few days of staycation before returning to work. Unfortunately the cucumbers did not do well in my absence. I think they are done. On the bright side all of the beans are up , the peas are poking through, I've got itty bitty beet and carrot seedlings. A small green caterpillar type beastie appears to be ravaging the broccoli seedlings. I'm going to start some more tonight just in case they succumb to infestation. And finally at long last, the first of the brandywines is FINALLY turning pink!

And that zucchini that escaped scrutiny before I left...a 3.5 pound monster as long as my forearm. That makes my harvest total for the year at just a touch over 43 pounds.

Everything I know about: staggered planting

I got a question about planting to ensure continuous supplies of veggies, here is the lowdown on that topic.

First, to really be able to live off of your garden requires either lots of land (like the pioneers), lots of skill and sunshine (like PTF) or both. But for the rest of us I think a well planned garden might be able to produce good weekly yields from as little as about 100 square feet (what I'm working with).

There are two kinds of things that produce edibles and for the sake of clarity I'm going to use tomato terminology. Fruit and vegetable plants are either determinate or non-determinate.

Determinate plants give you all they've got at once, or you take all the plant has at once as in the case of head lettuce, cabbage etc. If you are going to be canning or doing any kind of preserving, these are your friend because most canning recipes call for using large quantities of fresh produce. Determinate varieties ensure that if you plant a large amount at one time you will harvest a very large amount at one time.

Non-determinate plants will stagger production, or allow you to harvest a few leaves, fruit or one plant at a time without worrying too much about the rest of the crop going bad, as I do with potatoes, onions, or leaf lettuce.

Then there is another type which doesn't quite fit what I would consider either, and the only one I can think of like that is broccoli, cut the main head and it will regrow more "side shoots" but they will not be as large as the initial offering.

The first thing that should be very evident is the planning required, a level of planning that keeps me awake at night. If you wanted to be absolutely scientific about it I'm sure there would be ways to ensure that even with small plots, you are taking in produce daily, but I have yet to achieve that. The other thing to consider is the days to maturity variable. I might be a cynic but I don't put much stock in those numbers except as a rough guideline to tell me roughly when they will be ready. Unless you have perfect soil, perfect sun exposure, and perfect weather I wouldn't bet the microfarm on those numbers.

What the numbers can help with is to provide a way to minimize wasted space in the garden, and by that I mean if you are trying to get a somewhat continuous harvest of green beans you could plant an early bush variety like "provider" at the same time as a slightly longer maturing bush variety. The alternative is to plant a second "provider" crop a week or two later. The disadvantage there is if you are planting closely, the later crop might not get the same sun access from the other group getting a head start, and second (perhaps the most irritating to me) there is a bare spot in the garden in the interim. Bare soil gets easily compacted by rainwater (a big problem for me lately) and it also is an invitation for weeds.

Non-determinate varieties deliver over a wider range of time and usually once they reach the days to maturity number they will produce until they die or have a serious disagreement with the weather. I've noticed non-determinate fruits and veggies usually grow on vines, which is nice because it means you can grow them upwards and save valuable horizontal space. The disadvantage of this is that with non-determinate varieties you usually only get a few fruits at a time, so if its something like green beans or peas, where you will be eating more than 2 or three per serving, plant a lot of vines.

There are of course charts and recommendations for time between plantings
of determinate varieties like corn, lettuce etc. but again, (and please don't think this is a cop out) I think its just better to pull out a calendar and a seed catalog, and mark your estimated planting times and harvest times based on the dtm#, take copious notes of when you planted and harvested, and then try again next year. And if you mark the estimated first frost date of the year on the calendar and count backwards to your harvest times, you might find you can squeeze in another crop of something else? Our ancestors did this their whole lives, they grew up doing it, so it came naturally. We just need to remember what is actually possible.

I referenced green beans a lot because so far I have had the most success with getting a large and somewhat steady supply of it. At least until now when 3 weeks of cold and wet has interrupted my plans. Live and learn.