Spring
The beautiful weather has given us a head start. Let's hope Jack Frost doesn't pay us a visit.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Making Pots and buying Ground
I have been putting off making my pots to plant the seeds and this weekend I have to stop my procrastination. I make the pots from newspaper and it is a messy job. Good for the environment, but messy. I have some left over from last year so that should get me started.
I have decided to make my own potting soil this year. I usually buy it but you can't get it this time of year in big enough quantities. So I thought I would make it using my own recipe. If it works out I will share it with you. I am going to use some of the worm compost in the mix. Apparently 20% is the golden number. I always add some cinnamon too. It is an organic way to ward off dampening off.
I also have to order my greenhouse and look around for a stove. We are getting one for the basement. I will make all the preserves down there and I won't have to worry about making jam in 35 degree weather. The basement is always cooler and I won't have all that mess upstairs. It will be nice to have two kitchens. Next year we hope to renovate and build extra counter tops and a small store to sell all our goodies from.
All very exciting new things.
I have decided to make my own potting soil this year. I usually buy it but you can't get it this time of year in big enough quantities. So I thought I would make it using my own recipe. If it works out I will share it with you. I am going to use some of the worm compost in the mix. Apparently 20% is the golden number. I always add some cinnamon too. It is an organic way to ward off dampening off.
I also have to order my greenhouse and look around for a stove. We are getting one for the basement. I will make all the preserves down there and I won't have to worry about making jam in 35 degree weather. The basement is always cooler and I won't have all that mess upstairs. It will be nice to have two kitchens. Next year we hope to renovate and build extra counter tops and a small store to sell all our goodies from.
All very exciting new things.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Seeds to be Sown
My favourite time of the year is selecting seeds and planning this years garden. It is a time when all things are possible. The ultimate garden is in my imagination, where no bad weather, no bad bugs, or no bad bacteria live.
This year like the others we are mixing somethings old with somethings new.
New
edamame -these soybeans will likely not produce enough to sell the first year, but we are really excited about trying them out. The whole family loves them baked in the oven with a sprinkle of salt and olive oil.
hardy cherries- these are grown on a bush instead of a tree. They can get to be 7-8 feet tall when they reach maturity in 5 years. One plant can produce 20 kgs of cherries. These guys won't be ready to produce for two years but we are quite excited about them. They will do double duty by also providing us with a sound buffer between us and the road.
Back by Popular Demand
green and yellow beans- our bush beans were our biggest producers last year and resulted in some very yummy fresh eating, freezing for the winter and a huge batch of dilly beans. We hope that our crop this year does just as well.
carrots- the carrots last year were so sweet and tasty that despite having frozen an enormous amount they are now all gone. I am ordering rainbow carrots that come in several shades from almost white to deep orange. I have also ordered two other varieties that should make your mouth water.
ground cherries- these yellow fruit that come in husks are also know as the cape gooseberry. I have heard them described as having a pineapple flavour, but I have find they have a flavour all there own. I make jams and pies with them. I love them fresh as well. These are a very tasty berry. They are high in protein for a fruit and very low cal so they make a perfect snack.
garlic- we hope our garlic comes back this year it was very tasty and easy to grow. Planted some in the back field. We shall see if deer like garlic.
peas- our peas liked the cool damp weather last year. We had a very large crop. The kids love to eat them fresh off the vine. Now that is fresh food.
pumpkins- we are growing baby pams. We have tried pumpkins before, but they didn't turn out very well so this year we will try again. They will be more for pies then carving. I will have those available before thanksgiving.
gourds- we grew these last year. They were very cute. They are small ornamental ones that look good as a centerpiece for the table. They don't even look real.
tomatoes- we always have a great harvest of tomatoes. Cherry, beefstake, and romas, all love the soil here. We make spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and salsa. So sweet that you can eat them right off the vine. My favourite are the golden cherry tomatoes.
green peppers- trying these again. Last year they had a slow start and that meant only a few could be harvested. I hope we have a nice spring.
Herbs- we are bringing back parsley, dill and chamomile and trying sage and basil. Basil I try every year and every year it dies. No one ever said I wasn't stubborn. We also have oregano, thyme, lemon balm, mint, catnip and chives. Chives being some of the first things that pop up. We also sometimes let the chive flowers come out. They are tasty in a salad and pretty too.
I am sure I am forgetting something but if am I will add it later. Let me know if you don't see anything you would love to have grown. I don't always take requests but you never know. Also if you would be interested in any of the above as a plant for your own garden let me know.
Plants are sold in the spring when they are ready to be planted and sold at $2.00 each. They are grown using organic practices. Our plants always do well. If you can let me know if you have a specific request or large quantity that would be great. We sell them from our farm, but I am always in the city so I could probably drop them off too.
This year like the others we are mixing somethings old with somethings new.
New
edamame -these soybeans will likely not produce enough to sell the first year, but we are really excited about trying them out. The whole family loves them baked in the oven with a sprinkle of salt and olive oil.
hardy cherries- these are grown on a bush instead of a tree. They can get to be 7-8 feet tall when they reach maturity in 5 years. One plant can produce 20 kgs of cherries. These guys won't be ready to produce for two years but we are quite excited about them. They will do double duty by also providing us with a sound buffer between us and the road.
Back by Popular Demand
green and yellow beans- our bush beans were our biggest producers last year and resulted in some very yummy fresh eating, freezing for the winter and a huge batch of dilly beans. We hope that our crop this year does just as well.
carrots- the carrots last year were so sweet and tasty that despite having frozen an enormous amount they are now all gone. I am ordering rainbow carrots that come in several shades from almost white to deep orange. I have also ordered two other varieties that should make your mouth water.
ground cherries- these yellow fruit that come in husks are also know as the cape gooseberry. I have heard them described as having a pineapple flavour, but I have find they have a flavour all there own. I make jams and pies with them. I love them fresh as well. These are a very tasty berry. They are high in protein for a fruit and very low cal so they make a perfect snack.
garlic- we hope our garlic comes back this year it was very tasty and easy to grow. Planted some in the back field. We shall see if deer like garlic.
peas- our peas liked the cool damp weather last year. We had a very large crop. The kids love to eat them fresh off the vine. Now that is fresh food.
pumpkins- we are growing baby pams. We have tried pumpkins before, but they didn't turn out very well so this year we will try again. They will be more for pies then carving. I will have those available before thanksgiving.
gourds- we grew these last year. They were very cute. They are small ornamental ones that look good as a centerpiece for the table. They don't even look real.
tomatoes- we always have a great harvest of tomatoes. Cherry, beefstake, and romas, all love the soil here. We make spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and salsa. So sweet that you can eat them right off the vine. My favourite are the golden cherry tomatoes.
green peppers- trying these again. Last year they had a slow start and that meant only a few could be harvested. I hope we have a nice spring.
Herbs- we are bringing back parsley, dill and chamomile and trying sage and basil. Basil I try every year and every year it dies. No one ever said I wasn't stubborn. We also have oregano, thyme, lemon balm, mint, catnip and chives. Chives being some of the first things that pop up. We also sometimes let the chive flowers come out. They are tasty in a salad and pretty too.
I am sure I am forgetting something but if am I will add it later. Let me know if you don't see anything you would love to have grown. I don't always take requests but you never know. Also if you would be interested in any of the above as a plant for your own garden let me know.
Plants are sold in the spring when they are ready to be planted and sold at $2.00 each. They are grown using organic practices. Our plants always do well. If you can let me know if you have a specific request or large quantity that would be great. We sell them from our farm, but I am always in the city so I could probably drop them off too.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Get Your Worms Here
After a roll call that took the better part of the weekend, we have decided we have too many worms. The little buggers like to reproduce. Good for us as we have a record amount of vermicompost for our garden this spring and good for you as we need to get rid of some of them.
We will be selling the worms for $25.00 a pound and $15.00 dollars a half pound.
To make it easier for everyone to get into composting with worms Steve and I will turn a Tupperware tote into a worm bin, big enough to easily handle a pound of worms, we will add worm bedding (shredded newspaper), a pound of worms, an instruction booklet,and a spray bottle. All of this for the low price of $50.00. Then all you have to do is add food.
Anyone who is interested please contact us and we will get you started on making compost for your garden or houseplants.
We will be selling the worms for $25.00 a pound and $15.00 dollars a half pound.
To make it easier for everyone to get into composting with worms Steve and I will turn a Tupperware tote into a worm bin, big enough to easily handle a pound of worms, we will add worm bedding (shredded newspaper), a pound of worms, an instruction booklet,and a spray bottle. All of this for the low price of $50.00. Then all you have to do is add food.
Anyone who is interested please contact us and we will get you started on making compost for your garden or houseplants.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Our Worms have been Busy Little Creature
Our Worms have been very prolific this year. We bought half a pound when we moved in two years ago. Now we have three very large bins and could divide again if we wanted. They are healthy and giving us some really good worm compost. I used the compost and worm tea last year in the garden and I really believe it made a difference.
The worms take up very little of our time and have no smell. I have an extra sensitive nose and it is nice to have something that is a fertilizer that doesn't smell. We keep ours in the basement, but I could see keeping them in your kitchen if you had the room. It would smell a lot better than keeping a green bin on the counter.
Our worms have been so successful that we are going to start selling them. I am a 100% convert.
If you have any kind of a garden big or small and you compost, whether by city pick-up or on your own then this is for you.
It is a chance to turn something you don't want into something that could give you a bigger crop or a bigger flower. It really does make a difference. The best part of it all is once you are set up and your worms are healthy and happy then everything else is free.
I'll add more information next blog along with a list of prices. Also all the information you may or may not want to know about worms.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A Beginning of a New Season
In light of last season's struggles we are optimistically cautious about this season. Steve was away fro most of our growing and harvesting season. I made an executive decision to do the best I could with the time I had. We had a fairly decent drop despite the weather and time constraints. The ability to to transfer that harvest into selling was what we had to sacrifice. I did a lot of canning and even sold a few bottles. In the end I was happy with what we accomplished, but this year we hope to go further.
We have started to expand into our back field and our ground cherry production should be in full swing. They have becoming more popular. My ground cherry jam has received some rave reviews and I hope to sell more than a couple of bottles this year.
Please keep posted for what I am planting and how things are progressing. With the addition of our road side stand this year we hope to see everyone this summer.
We have started to expand into our back field and our ground cherry production should be in full swing. They have becoming more popular. My ground cherry jam has received some rave reviews and I hope to sell more than a couple of bottles this year.
Please keep posted for what I am planting and how things are progressing. With the addition of our road side stand this year we hope to see everyone this summer.
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