Been a while since I updated this. I ended up being out of town unexpectedly for about two weeks in the middle of May, and since returning home, we've been scrambling to get back into the saddle, as they say. Things are starting to roll here. I stepped out after supper and got a few pictures.
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| Can you beet these? |
These beets are some of a batch of beets we started in one of the beds in the seed starting greenhouse earlier this spring, then pulled up and replanted into the garden rows as bare root transplants. They seem to do well this way, even though the taproot gets broken when you lift them out. I wonder if since the long tap root has snapped off, and they have to form several roots, thereby feeding off several roots in the topsoil, rather than a main taproot going way down into the (not so fertile) subsoil, maybe that's why they do so well this way. Can't say for sure, only that it works, and that's what counts in my book. Although, they are rather disheartening to look at right after transplanting. Get all sad looking and wilted, and you'd think they croaked, but a couple weeks later, they are off and growing. Here's a picture of them in the sorry-looking state.
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| New transplants. With a bit of time, and ample water, they will do great! |
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| Lots of goodies. |
Here's a couple of shots of beautiful kale. Always a popular seller at market, it's easy to grow, likes cool weather, and is frost hardy, especially in the fall. Last fall, for our after season email marketing, we were literally picking it out of the snow, and it was much better due to the cold.
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| Scarlett kale. |
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| Starbor kale. |
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| Muir lettuce. "Lettuce help you with dinner", as our sign at market says. :) |
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| Oscarde lettuce |
The above red lettuce is a different one then the variety we had mostly last year. I like to try different varieties, and this one seems to be a keeper. It likes our soil, grows quickly, and is reputed to like cooler weather. The one we grew last year was called Rouxai; a bit smaller, but so uniform as to be almost boring. Oscarde is a beautiful red, but seems to evoke a frazzled hair day appearance. Like a country girl's pony-tail at the end of an afternoon of pitching hay bales. Farm pretty, but not overdone. :)
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| BHN something -or-other tomato. |
This is a new tomato we are trying out this year, a determinate type that is supposed to have good flavor, and do well in greenhouses, where they are growing. We will see whether it lives up to the seed catalog description.
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| Second batch of H-19 Little Leaf cucumbers. |
After it became apparent that summer should be here to stay, we moved greenhouse #1 over to another plot, and filled it up with peppers, heirloom tomatoes, basil, and these cute little cukes. They are doing much better than the first batch in greenhouse #2. Which makes sense, the weather is better suited to them, soil warmer, etc.
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| Onions, planted a bit late, but they should still do OK. Garlic in the left corner. |
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| New potatoes in the making. |
Janice's Finnish grandma, a delightful lady with whom I spent many an hour listening to her stories about the "old days", was also a great cook. She used to make creamed potatoes and peas. (Amongst many other toothsome delicacies.) Janice learned many of her tricks and tactics, and she uses many of the same recipes. One of the things I wait for every spring is the first new potatoes. When they get big enough, I'll do a little "grabbling", as they call it, and bring some in for creamed spuds and peas. Yum!
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| The herb gardens on the hill. |
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| Lemon balm by the pond, in the stone trial. |
Something of interest to me is rocks in agriculture. Perhaps it is because I don't have too many rocks in my soil, but I have a fondness for them. We use them for garden borders, to hold edges of plastic covers down, etc. I also tried laying a bunch of rocks down in a plot we worked up by the pond, then planted herbs in between the rocks, in the cracks and spaces. Seems the benefits are numerous- they trap the sun's heat in the day, releasing it at night. They also seem to act as a kind of mulch, if you will, helping to keep down weeds. I once did a google search on stones in agriculture, or something to that effect. Was some interesting stuff there. Again, maybe it's because I don't have lots of rocks around, that I see them as beneficial. If my soil was afflicted with them, and it seemed they bred more underground every spring, perhaps my attitude would be different. :)
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| Second spring, in the greenhouse. |
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| Lots more plants up-and-coming, for succession planting. |
Also, for those who missed it, and care to check it out, here are a couple links to some news bits about us getting our veggies into UP Health System-Portage. Yes, we are excited. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Omua1E7zFg
http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=1216038#.VYNfflL4JB9
Y'all take care now!
