Whew! 'Twas nice to see the sun today, even for a while. Haven't needed to irrigate the outside crops lately- this seems to be the wettest August I can remember in recent years. But the crops seem to be taking it in stride, except for the tomatoes, which are still waiting for summer. A few ripe ones here and there, but by and large, it's gonna be a while before they really get going. Got a trick up my sleeve, to try and get them ripening. More on that when I get it done.
We've been busy trying to keep on top of things here- it seems to always be a scramble about this time of year. But we've been continuing to plant lots of fall greens and such. Here's a picture of some new baby cutting lettuce, for our salad mix. It should start hitting the market tables in probably a week.
Here's a picture of lunch today- kale with bacon and onions, zucchini pancakes, zucchini oven fries, and beet thinnings with a yummy cilantro sauce drizzled over them. The sauce recipe is in the vegetarian cookbook sold by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. The name escapes me at the moment, and I'm too busy pecking away at the keyboard to go find the book. Nope, in case you're wondering, we're not vegetarians or vegans, but the cookbook focuses on veggies, which we love eating. So it's good. Anywho, lunch....
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| Yum! |
Talking about fall crops, all this rain sure got the winter carrots lookin' good......we plant lots of carrots usually mid-July in this area, then mulch them to prevent freezing before the snows come, then are able to dig fresh carrots all winter. Planted lots this year for our winter veggie deliveries.
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| Never mind the small patch of weeds in the aisle. :) |
There are beets in the middle, with some winter radishes as well, then more carrots toward the left of the picture. And some rutabagas south of the carrots. In other news, we struck gold here....well, not the usual kind, but Yukon Gold spuds, pictured below. The potatoes are really lovin' this weather- I don't think we'll be eating store pseudo-spuds this year, and I think we'll have some for winter sales as well.
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| Yukon Gold potatoes |
Here's a picture of one of the last zucchini plants we set out for the season. Started them about a month ago I think, then set them out in one of the (harvested) garlic beds, and off they grew! I think they will start producing early September. Am I crazy, starting them this late? Maybe so. :) But there are a few tricks to keep them producing late, and it seems after the zucchini season is over, someone or other's grandma or auntie or mama needs some to make a baking of zucchini bread, or something. I hate telling folks, no, the season is over. Sorry! Hopefully this year I can say, yup, how many you need? :)
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| Getting there..... |
The beets we are growing out for seed are looking good- I'll post pictures some other time. Here's a picture of one of the lettuce plants that we're growing out for seed. The lettuce I mentioned earlier this spring, Kweik, sure went to seed quickly. I looked at another seed catalog, and it was recommended for fall/winter production, so we're giving it another whirl this fall. When lettuce starts running to seed (bolting), it generally acquires a revolting bitterness- certainly no good for eating. But, obviously, to get seed, it needs to bolt, so here's what it looks like when it has bolted.
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| Kweik Lettuce going to seed, foreground. |
Here are some pictures of some of the herbs growing happily in the new herb garden location. No flooding up there on the hill, so they are lovin' it!
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| Lovage and elecampane |
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| Winter savory |
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| Calendula (the petals are used in homemade ointments and soaps). |
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| Lemon Balm |
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| Winter Thyme |
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| Marjoram |
Just noticed I need more color here, so I'll close with some color.
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| Flower garden north of the driveway. |
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| "Long flower garden" |
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| Fresh dug carrots. |
Oh, one last thing- we've started doing the new farmer's market at G&A Garden Center on Sharon Avenue in Houghton. The market is 1-6 on Fridays and 10-3 on Saturdays. We do the Friday afternoon market, and of course the Hancock Tori on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, starting at 9. To my regular Tori customers, if it works for you, it would be great for planning purposes to keep coming to the Tori, since doing it for the past couple years we have a good feel of how much of each item to bring to market. But please tell your friends on the south side of the bridge of this new option to get our veggies. Thanks!
Well, I'm gonna run along- y'all please take care now, and eat your veggies! :)
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