How do you get fresh heads of lettuce in September and October? You start them in July and August- which we've been doing. This time of year, we seed the mini-blocks on flats, then bring them down the basement until they germinate. Lettuce, being a cool weather crop, has a hard time germinating in the tropical weather of the greenhouse, so I do my best to bow to their preferences. Plants want to grow, my job as the gardener is to try to provide the conditions they like best, so they can do their best. :) Also, we started the last (for this year) planting of zucchini and cukes. I imagine they will start producing early September, when we will erect a quick low tunnel over them, hand pollinate the zucchinis, and hopefully have them until the regular market shuts down for the year. The after market veggie delivery program will have lots of greens and root crops, hopefully some winter squash as well. More on that later.
The other day, my daughter Faith came running, saying, Dad, you have to see these little baby birds. They are just like little spiders. So, of course, I had to take a look.
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| Hmmmm..... I guess a bit spidery, hey? :) |
They were some kind of sparrow, couldn't get a good identification of the parent who was chirping with concern in the tree nearby. So we went on our way, so it could get on with the job of raising the little insect eaters. I like sparrows, they are wonderful at helping keep garden pests in check.
I mentioned in an earlier post about "potato onions". We planted them last fall, as single sets; this spring, lo and behold, they divided, just like they were supposed to. I'm gonna build up my seed stock for a couple years. Hopefully I can bring some to market in the future.
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| One makes five. |
Now, an update on the geese. They are doing well, Goosie has figured out no one is heading for the oven just yet, so he is still a bit cantankerous, just not to the extent he was earlier. They are getting quite big. One is noticeably smaller, I don't know yet if it's a female or just blessed with small stature genes.
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| Goosie is on the left. |
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| Flower bed north of the driveway. |
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| Hazelnuts. The kids race the squirrels to get them first. :) |
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| Blacktail Mountain watermelons on the hugelbed. |
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| Garlic drying. |
It seems I am always struggling to get garlic. My father-in-law is a farmer in central Oregon, and being in a desert climate, he has no trouble growing garlic. When they need water, he irrigates them. When it's time to dry down, he stops watering, and that's it. UP here, it's a different story, getting rain, dewy mornings, etc. This year, we pulled them when they were segmented, but the tops were still green. It looks like it might be a success. Seed garlic for next year, some for Jan to use in her cooking, and maybe some for market. Gotta see how much she'll spare. I ain't about to argue with the cook. No good to argue anywho. :) Live in peace, like I tell the kids when they get in a spat about something.
I mentioned the after market veggie delivery program. I often hear customers lamenting when the short season up here is drawing to a close, and they can't get fresh vegs anymore. Last fall, we tried some limited direct marketing (mostly through email) with a few of the regular customers, and it was a success. So this year, we planted lots of crops specifically with after season sales in mind. Loads of winter carrots, dug from under the snow like this...............
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| Crispy sweet winter carrots, date stamp tells the story. :) |
as well as beets, squash, soon to be planted turnips, winter radishes, spuds, dry onions, and lots of greens- spinach, arugula, braising mix, kale, chard, etc. The roots can be stored underground, and greens harvested from low tunnels and walk-in tunnels quite late into the year. We send out an email usually weekly (or when the greens are over, bi-weekly for root crops), the email will have a listing of crops available with pricing, and where the drop spot will be. You can then order what you would like, we pick to order, and meet at the drop spot. If this is something you are interested in, stop by the Hancock Tori Wednesday or Saturday, and get us your email. Or email us at niemelasmarketgardens at gmail dot com. If you participated last fall, or have already been added this year, no need to do anything. :)
Well, gonna roll on here. I'll let Cordelia, one of the three goats currently milking here, say goodbye. She is kinda funny looking, especially with her "airplane ears", the result of a breeding between a floppy eared Nubian and a stiff eared French Alpine/Nigerian Dwarf. The ears kind of stick out, and are especially hilarious when she tilts her head. Not the prettiest goat maybe, but, as Momma used to tell us boys, "pretty is as pretty does", and Cordelia has a very amiable personality and is a wonderful mother. When my sons get old enough to worry about such things, the advice from Pappa is that it's better to marry a plain jane with a nice personality and compatible religious beliefs than a supermodel who is meaner than a junk yard dog. :) (Certainly not implying here that having a pretty face is synonymous with having a not nice personality, but you get my drift. ) Anywho, have a good day.
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| Cordelia says, "Good day!" |
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