Sat, Aug 27, 2011 · Filed under Market & Stand, Summer, Veggies
This is our second Saturday market with quite a solid harvest, both selection and quantity. Last week was fine, this week we’ve added the first of the fall spinach, also, an unexpected bushel of radish that sized up practically overnight, picked at the end of the day yesterday at the perfect maturity moment. For the record, we have: green onion (Ramrod), two kales (Red Russian, Nero di Toscana), green and yellow beans (Jade, Indy Gold), two carrots (Nelson, Touchon, mixed), radish (Rebel), cherry tomatoes (a mix of 7-8 varieties, hybrid and heirloom), Asian greens mix (mustards, mizuna, tatsoi, etc, our custom blend!), arugula, Swiss chard (Lucullus, a pale green heirloom), beet (Kestrel), salad mix (four varieties of lettuce), summer squash (Golden Dawn III, Baby Tiger and Raven zucchinis), cucumber (Fanfare and a few round heirloom Lemon), and spinach (Bloomsdale). For those who like lists!
Tags:
arugula,
Asian greens,
beans,
beet,
carrot,
cucumber,
green onion,
kale,
lettuce,
radish,
spinach,
summer squash,
Swiss chard,
tomato,
zucchini Possibly similar posts:
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Wed, Aug 24, 2011 · Filed under Fieldwork, Summer, Tools
Today, the last direct seeding of the season: spinach, radish, Asian greens mix, arugula, and a lettuce blend for baby leaf… Here, Tracy does the honors with the always-generous Earthway seeder, laying down thick lines of Rebel radish. But is it…too late? Well, who knows?! In good summer conditions, all of these crops can be ready to harvest in 40 days or so from seeding, but the sun is getting weaker now. Hopefully, this round will come up fast, catch the last of the reasonably strong light through September—there WILL be lots of sun!—then continue growing slowly until ready for the last couple of markets through the end of October. That is the…plan. Fresh young veggies at season’s end are a welcome treat! If it doesn’t work out, oh well (and we may get a chance to do a few days at the indoor market in November). In any case, we have the space and the seed, and pushing for the absolute latest planting date seems to me always worth the gamble. Seeing what happens is kinda…exciting!
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Thu, Feb 05, 2009 · Filed under Greenhouse, Winter
The greenhouse is still snowbound. I cleared away the east-side door to get in and check out what’s left to pack up for the new farm move, coming soon! Usually, I do a bit of greenhouse clean-up in the fall, and then around February, prep half the area for some early greens. This time around, I’ll take out the small stuff—there’s tools, the big industrial fan, a few plug sheets, and tons of plastic pots stored under the tables—lots of good gear! The tables will probably be left till March, after the melt-off, when we come for the greenhouse itself. Once the bubble is removed, this little winter oasis will merge into the rest of the field. The pleasantly golden-brown dead stuff is mainly arugula allowed to go wild…
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Sat, May 24, 2008 · Filed under Local food, Market & Stand, Spring, Veggies
Really fine weather for our second market day of the season: sunshine, warmth, a pleasant breeze…! A bit more variety than last week, with all-lettuce mesclun, spinach, arugula, Jerusalem artichoke, chives and rhubarb, but still not much quantity of anything. We were sold out by around 10 a.m. Hanging below the chokes bin is the “Certified Naturally Grown” sign. It’s a new certification this year, in addition to our “certified organic” status. Naturally Grown is a grassroots, farmer-to-farmer program, started in the USA, and entirely voluntary and at no charge, where farmers’ certify other farmers according to essentially the same production standards as the government-regulated organic program. Instead of a lot of paperwork and fees, it’s simple and straightforward, but of course the legal word “organic” can’t be used, so it’s…”naturally grown” instead. Since there are only a couple of other NG farms in Ontario, and none close by, the inspection for this tiny farm will be done by CSA members. I’m still maintaining regular organic certification, but for what we’re doing, selling local food direct to people, Naturally Grown makes most sense to me…
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Sun, May 04, 2008 · Filed under Greenhouse, Spring, Veggies
Moved the first wave of tender seedlings—100 tomatoes, plus eggplant and sweet peppers—to the greenhouse yesterday, with zero (32°F) predicted for the overnight. There’s just no more waiting, with all of the light space in the Milkhouse…taken. It’s a long way from the ambitious barely-heated greenhouse plan of February, but there’s row cover, and the new KeroWorld heater is ready for action (it’s the white box in the middle)… That’s how some plans go when you’re dealing with the WEATHER. Elsewhere in the hoophouse, I’ve let the early lettuce and mesclun blend with volunteer lettuce and arugula from last year’s early stuff going to seed. It’s unruly, tasty, and growing fast. I don’t know how much of it will make it to the farmers’ market: since there’s too much to do around here, I’m not aiming to go extra early this year (yesterday was the first market day), but one way or another, the greenhouse greens will get eaten!
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Wed, Apr 09, 2008 · Filed under Greenhouse, Spring, Veggies
With the warmer weather of the last few days, things are moving along a little quicker in the greenhouse. The patch of arugula transplanted so long ago is finally starting to fill in new, full-size, TASTY leaves. And the all-lettuce mesclun, direct seeded two weeks ago, has been appearing. Even though days in the greenhouse have been way warm for weeks, the frigid nights really slowed down growth. Warmer nights mean faster greenhouse action!
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