Tiny Farm Blog Organic micro-farming with two acres and some tools ~ a daily photo journal...

The days have warmed up now, mostly around 60-70°F (15-20°C), but the nights are unusually cold, dropping sometimes to freezing or a few degrees above. Frost burning off in the early morning sun is pretty when you don’t have anything in the field for it to kill, which I don’t… Let’s see: broccoli, cauliflower, radish, carrots, spinach, chard, beets, peas, parsnips, all-lettuce mesclun, tatsoi-mustard-arugula-bok choi mix… Nope, no worries there. (Funny thing, while pea plants are hardy, I believe the pods aren’t… I’ve never seen that in action, fall peas haven’t worked for me so far, and I don’t think there’ll be frost 40 days from now when this year’s first peas come in…). Meanwhile in the unheated greenhouse, although I’ve only fired up the kerosene heater once, just to be safe, row cover goes on all the tender stuff (toms, eggplant, peppers, and now, cukes, pumpkin, melons and squash, just about to poke up): on in the evening, off in the morning, better safe than toasted!

One broccoli (Early Dividend), one cauliflower (Early Dawn), but what’s that Violet Queen in the middle? The EDs are standbys, the VQ is new. It looks like broccoli, cooks like broccoli, tastes like broccoli, but it’s in the seed catalog as a purple cauliflower?! The VQ were transplanted really late, and I didn’t actually expect to see a harvest from them. But they showed up recently, and a couple of days ago, Bert, who buys lots of veggies here, saw them and decided to try a couple. “They’re broccoli,” he said. “Um, I believe they’re…cauliflower,” I said, while for the first time looking closely at ‘em. “Don’t argue with him, Bert, Mike knows what he’s talking about,” said Helen, his wife. Last night, we steamed some for dinner. BROCCOLI. Today, I harvested samples for a formal close look, but really, there’s broccoli and there’s cauliflower, it’s not hard. Broccoli. Next, a call to the seed house, where extremely knowledgeable head man Bill assures me that it is…CAULIFLOWER. It beads up more than some varieties, he says. So, I’m confused. It may not sound like a big deal, and it’s not at this time of year, but it does point up yet another aspect of market gardening: knowing what you grow. LOTS of talking about veggies goes on every market day, and I NEVER say things just for the sake of it. I name varieties, explain when I’m very familiar with a particular veggie, or when it’s new to me…honest conversation, although it’s “sales talk” as well. And people trust you to…know stuff. Anyhow, I just looked up Violet Queen online, and it’s indeed, apparently, cauliflower. I’d swear it’s broccoli, and I’m pretty positive that you would, too! Maybe I’ll grow more next year, for when I feel like sounding like a lunatic! :)

A pointy English cabbage (Early Jersey Wakefield) and a hybrid 55-day cauliflower (Early Dawn), side by side on the harvest wagon—not too common a sight! The main crop brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale,…) are easy to grow but harder to maintain when conditions get rough. Vicious flea beetle attacks on seedlings (and occasionally, when they really swarm, on mature plants) last from spring well into August. Floating row cover is a must. This in turn makes weeding difficult: either the weeds build up under the cover, or there’s a whole lot of uncovering and recovering to do. Then, the effects of regular drought can be brutal on big brassicas, and our spot irrigation doesn’t always keep up with their thirst. When more permanent drip irrigation is in place, the brasscia situation will get a lot better (next year!). Right now, every successful haul is a particular pleasure!

On this bright and shiny Sunday, we finally released the last of the season’s brassicas from under row cover. The flea beetles have almost vanished and the plants need all the light they can get if they’re gonna make it to harvest. It’s still a bit of a long shot for the broccoli and cauliflower, but the early and prolific Red Russian kale should do fine. For what it’s worth, the long range forecast calls for a warm September—I’m still starting to slip into frost watch mode!

Newly released from row cover, five new beds of brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale) get ready for Fall. Beyond, tomatoes (and beyond that, the farm across the road, they gather honey). In front, a vacated section that contained the season’s first planting of peas seeded way back in April, and is now awaiting a mid-August green manure cover crop of…oats! And still, no rain…

Conall, the all-new organic grower, waters in transplants. Today we set out three more beds of brassicas—so far, there’s cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bok choi—prepared beds for a dozen more crops, set up the irrigation pump for the season, cleaned out the winter storage area of the barn, turned the composting windrow….and more. Still, it’s the rush-to-get-it-in-get-it-done time of the year, and the days never seem long enough (although, they’re getting longer!!).

It’s getting crowded on the grow racks and under the four-light fixture tucked away behind (busier than one month ago). Going now, there’s tomato, pepper, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, bok choi, chives, parsley, plus more to be started in the next couple of days. Right now, around 2,500 seedlings in all. The plug trays on the top shelves are 200-cell. In a couple of weeks they’ll have to be potted up to larger quarters, and depending on what size I go to, will take up 5x to 10x more space. There are also a few 128s, and even in 72s, the earliest plantings need to be moved up. Already, the light is stretched. The shoplight fixtures are really only good for two trays apiece. I’d gambled on a much warmer April so I could use the unheated greenhouse. Now, I’ll have to spot heat with the propane construction heater, which is a bit of a pain since it has no thermostat—night work. To keep everything reasonably stocky, not stretched or stunted, there’s a lot of juggling coming up! It’s great!!