Better late than never...

Alright, so we said we would be better at blogging...but once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator. In our defense, we have been so busy farming, updating our blog seemed to take a back seat. So, now that we've kept you waiting long enough, here's an update.

Almost the entire garden is full now- all expect the future location of the brussel sprouts (which have been growing in a seed tray for about 3 weeks and should be getting transplanted in the next few days) and the area next to our green bean towers. Which brings me to the many structures you can see throughout the garden- all placed to allow better air circulation and lead to a better overall crop. We have our green bean 'tee-pees' which the vined green beans, black beans and purple long beans will climb. To the left of those, we have all of our pepper plants staked. On the perimeter of the garden, you'll see 60 tomato plants which are staked and also tied. While we're on the subject...I'm not trying to brag, but it looks like the best tomato crop, yet. We have 6 varieties, all heirloom, one being a cherry, one an amish paste, some San Marzanos and some varieties that looked so good, we couldn't resist. Everything is growing so well that some plants already have tomatoes the size of softballs- we should be expecting them to ripen by the first week of July! Now that is something to brag about...

Anyway, back to our architecture- In between the peppers and tomatoes, and along side of the artichokes, we have our cucumber 'lean to's'. These will allow the cucumber vines to climb, on an angle, so all the plants have an opportunity to flourish. At the same time, the open space underneath the structures will eventually be a lettuce bed. Since lettuce bolts in the heat of the summer, the plants above will provide ample shade allowing the lettuce to mature in a slightly cooler environment.

Many of our vegetables have already been pulled and harvested. Our rocky top mixed greens are growing faster than we can pick and our arugula is at it's prime. We've been harvesting radishes for about 1 month now- we had 3 varieties, all a little different from the other but just as delicious. Our pak choi has come and gone, but we can look forward to a good crop in the fall. So, let's see if I can give a complete run down of the garden, clockwise from the left corner: artichokes, tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, eggplant, tomatillos, squash delicata, yellow squash, boston bibb lettuce, cherokee red lettuce, jericho romaine lettuce, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, chives, cilantro, radishes, mixed greens, rainbow swiss chard, mustard greens, rhubarb, green and red flame lettuce, more boston bibb lettuce, asparagus (sorry, not ready until next year), red and yellow onions, scallions, rainbow carrots, red and golden beets, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, shallots, potatoes, snow peas, watermelon, a little more lettuce, black beans, green beans, purple long beans, soy beans, dragon tongue beans, chinese yard long beans, sweet peppers, hungarian wax peppers, jalepeno peppers, rosemary, english and german thyme, basil, marjoram, dill, cumin, a grape vine along the front fence, and a pumpkin patch off to the side. So, I guess we have our work cut out for us...

I PROMISE I will update sooner this time, and if I don't...well, I guess you'll have to wait longer.

PS- If anyone wants to purchase anything or get a mailing update with our current vegetables for sale and prices, email me at imaheald@gmail.com and I'll add you to our mailing list!

April Showers...

See?!...Told you we'd be back. Lot's to share. First of all, our loyal, 'treasure locator' Sam, spotted a superb find on the side of the road the other day...6 old, wood windows! Joy! What the heck would we do with such a fantastic find?? Make a cold frame box, of course! So Josh, being quite resourceful, found all the materials needed around the property and barn- good for the environment and good for our pockets!After a little construction in the driveway, we moved it to it's permanent home- lining the back edge of the garden. After a long and hard deliberation, we decided on planting loose 'rocky top' and endive lettuce, broccoli raab, radishes, carrots and spinach. Having these plants inside the cold frame will allow for warmer temperatures through the beginning colder months of spring. This way, we are able to increase the length of our season even more.

Around the corner, in our raised beds, we decided to start 2 of our cold weather lettuce varieties (arugula and mesclun mix), pak choi, kale and another variety of radishes. In past years we have had a BIG problem with rabbits slipping through the fence. But this year, we came prepared...We fully lined the inside with poultry fencing and just to be sure no burrowing occurs, buried the fence 6 inches down. Sorry...this is a no rabbit zone...

Last year, being our first year experimenting with our expanded garden space, we weren't that concerned with aesthetics and as the season wore on, our $$ supply dwindled...So, starting anew this season, we are ready and willing to spend, spend, spend! (within our little, tiny budget, of course) Josh surrounded the entire garden with hemlock branches (last year we went about half-way around) from an old tree we took down. These will serve as our fence posts. Plus, taking NO chances, we also lined and buried this garden with poultry fencing, we're currently about half-way done this so far- but I guess I'm being optimistic about finishing that...update to come...

Inside we are in full swing. We have been planting since the first week of March and many of our plants are sprouting, growing and even needing to be transplanted into larger containers. Yippee!! A few weeks ago we planted our peppers and tomatoes, celery, watermelon, and a few herbs. Earlier in the week we planted some brassicas and lettuce varieties. Needless to say, we are well on our way to an awesome season.

spring is coming

We survived another long, tough winter, and we are just days away from the first day of spring. That means one thing...seed starting time! We've been busy getting ready to begin planting and get our season started. Josh is prepping the seed flats here for our onions, rhubarb, artichokes, wonderberries, strawberries, rosemary and papaya.

We are not messing around this year- we cleaned out Home Depot the other day, buying light fixtures and bulbs. Josh constructed a great set up (nicely displayed in our living room) allowing us to have 60 square feet of lit, growing space.
We are on a strict schedule over here, trying to keep all of our seed starting and planting preplanned. Next week we'll be planting our tomatoes and peppers and maybe some brassicas for good measure...guess you'll have to wait and see...
A quick shout out to Johnnys Seeds and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Johnnys Seeds supplied us with the SWEETEST new hoes for this season and some great seeds. We bought a stirrup hoe and a collinear hoe- we can hardly contain our excitement. Baker Creek, our favorite seed company, is setting us up for another great year- giving us the opportunity to grow untreated, non-GMO, heirloom seeds, some dating back to the early 1700's.

Until then, we'll try to keep you diligent followers updated! We are vowing to be better bloggers this year...so we'll see how well we keep our promise. Also, besides keeping you 'in the know', we'll be keeping a list of the plants and veggies we have available for sale at that time. So, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us! And, as always, all of our plants and seeds are completely organic and never treated with pesticides! To hold you over until then, since I know you are just as excited as us, here are some pictures of our garlic. Their first leaves have just popped up, breaking through the frozen ground.