Seed Orders (So Far)

For the last week or so, I've been looking through the seed catalogs & the other day I brought the seed packets out of cold storage to see what I need for this year. The companies I ordered from are Seed Savers, Baker Creek, Peaceful Valley & The Natural Gardening Co.
Here is a list of the new seeds I've ordered so far...

Potatoes
Yukon Gold
German Butterball
Sangre
Purple Viking

Peas
Green Arrow
Dwarf Gray Sugar
Amish Snap

Carrots
White Lunar Carrot
Parisian Carrot
Scarlet Nantes
Danvers

Florence Fennel
Slow Bolt Cilantro
Nasturtium-Jewel Peach Melba
Lacinato Kale
Cucumber-Homemade Pickles

Squash
Winter Dickenson
Summer Fordhook
Long Island Cheese
Hopi Pale Grey

Melon 
Collective Farm Woman
Hearts of Gold

Cabbage
Early Jersey Wakefield
Mammoth Red Rock

Snowball Turnip
Chinese Red Meat Radish (Beauty Heart)

I have other things on my list to buy this year too & many outdoor projects in mind. I've also been looking at making a seed starting table like this one at The Door Garden. This pic is from his blog of the table in progress...

Another idea I have been giving some thought is beekeeping. Making the top bar hives wouldn't be that difficult (for Steve :-) and I would like to do my part to help the bee population (honey would be a bonus).
And then there is the hoop house we'd like to get up in the spring. Winter greens for next year....yum.
We still have chard  & cilantro growing in the cold frame on the south side of the barn. This was taken on January 12th.

I planted the cilantro from the garden in Oct. when it re-sprouted.

Neither one looks pretty, but they are edible. :-)

Blue Jay...pesky, but pretty.

I am also going to take some cuttings from our Nanking Cherry bushes & lilacs to start new plants. Still looking into that. I'll have to find some older posts on Christer's blog about propagation.
Enough for now...time to get busy!

More Seeds Arrived

Here is a list of the last (maybe :-)) seeds I ordered this Spring. I wanted to try different kinds, to be adventurous. Here they are with the description from the Seeds Savers website.

Garlic Chives-Nice mild garlic-flavored flattened leaves. Beautiful, white, star-shaped flower clusters are a pleasant surprise in late August. Good ornamental value. Perennial in zones 4-8.

Summer Crookneck Squash- Semi-open bush plants produce extended heavy crops of smooth light yellow fruits with curved necks, bumps develop after edible stage. Best eaten when 5-6" long. Creamy white, sweet mild flesh has excellent flavor. Keep picked clean to enjoy all season. 55-60 days.

Long Island Cheese Squash-I've grown this before. Excellent for pies. East Coast heirloom long remembered as a great pie squash by people in the New York and New Jersey areas. Named for its resemblance to a wheel of cheese. Flattened fruits are buff-colored with deep orange flesh, 6-10 pounds and a good keeper. 90-100 days.


Radish, French Breakfast-Oblong and blunt, rose-scarlet with a white tip. White, crisp flesh, mildly pungent flavor, top quality. Sow in the spring or fall, pick when small. A garden standard since the 1880s. 30 days.

Turnip, Purple Top White-Widely used since before 1880. Uniform 6" smooth white globes are best for eating when 3-4" in diameter. Sweet mild fine-grained white flesh. Excellent quality, stores extremely well. 45-65 days.

Soybean, Envy-Great short-season variety. Developed by Professor Elwyn Meader at the Univ. of NH. Upright 24" plants produce an abundance of all-green beans, excellent quality. 75-85 days.



Soybean, Fiskeby-Swedish variety bred by Sven Holmberg that thrives in northern climates. Use fresh or dried, highly nutritious, up to 40% protein, high in calcium, iron, and vitamins (particularly A, B1, B12 and C). 75-80 days.


Cucumber, Poona Kheera-Originally from India, this very unusual cucumber matures into what looks like a large russet potato. Tender, crisp, and delicious, smooth-skinned fruits turn from white to golden yellow to russet brown and may be eaten at any stage, skin and all. Hardy, disease resistant vines produce early with good yields. 55 days.

Beet, Chioggia- First introduced to American gardeners in the lat 1840s from Italy. Uniquely beautiful flesh has alternating red and white concentric rings that resemble a bull's-eye. Very tender, nice for eating and pickling. Retains markings if baked whole and sliced just before serving. A spectacular variety. 50 days.

Carrot,Dragon-The finest, most refined purple carrot available. Sure to be the best selling carrot at specialty and farmers’ markets. The beautiful reddish-purple exterior provides an amazing contrast with the yellowish-orange interior when peeled or sliced. Sweet, almost spicy flavor. 90 days.



Flower, Ladybird Nasturtium (edible)-Beautiful, unique, eye-catching orange-yellow flowers with bright red central markings. Edible flowers, like all other nasturtiums. Extremely dwarf plants are ideal for container gardening and pots, where space is limited, but will also thrive in normal garden conditions. Hardy annual, 8–10" tall
Flower, Black Velvet Nasturtium (edible)-Intense velvety-black flower, another completely unique color within this genus. Dwarf 10–12" plants are ideal for containers. For a great contrast, try adding blossoms to your fresh spring salads. Hardy annual.

This afternoon, I plan to spend some time trying to decide what kind of weed contol to use between rows of veggies and also which kind of floating row cover to get. There are different weights & transparencies. Any ideas? What has worked for you?

We are headed down to see Kristin, Tim & Jaelyn Saturday. So excited to see them! Jaelyn is 2 months old now. Time is flying by!

Starting Those Seeds

Getting things done. I really am. I have been sewing, studying, getting our tax papers ready, and most important, starting seeds. We were debating whether or not to buy the heated mats for germination. Last year I used old heating pads & they did the trick. This year we are starting more seeds than last, so instead of spending big $$ on the heat mats, I bought another heating pad. First I tried asking for one on Freecycle, but no luck there. I have enough to start all the seeds now. So yesterday I started & I finished today. Here is the list of seeds...

Tomato

Brandywine

Wisconsin 55

Amish Paste

Cherry Roma

Large Red Cherry

Peppers

King of the North

Wisconsin Lakes

Joe's Long Cayenne

Red Habarnero

Cabbage

Mammouth Red Rock

Copenhagen Market

Brussels Sprout

Long Island Improved

Leeks

Prizetaker

Onions

Guardsman Salad Onion

Lettuce

Mascara, Mache, Gold Rush

Spinach

America

Indian Summer Hybrid

Monnopa

Eggplant

Florida High Bush

Jimaca

Parsnip

Harris Model

Parsley

Italian

Curly

Basil

Sweet Genovese

Borage

Sunberries

It's supposed to be 5 degrees tonight & the wind has been blowing hard since last night, but inside my seeds are all warm, waiting to germinate. It's a good feeling.

Yesterday's picture was of Cooties! Most everyone guessed right. I will have to think of something a little harder next time.

Pump n' Seal & Other Stuff

Yesterday the Pump & Seal came that I ordered.

I've been trying to decide whether to get a seal-a-meal type preserver. The thought of something else on the counter just didn't appeal to me. So after a little research Pump n' Seal won out. We needed something to help us keep stored food longer. I'll be trying it in the next week or so & let you know how well it works. It even comes with a video (which they show on their website) on how to use it.

Went to my first therapy session of the year yesterday. It was frustrating as usual but I am glad to be back into it. Seems as if I am still at the same place I was when I started, but I have hope for a change.

When I got home yesterday afternoon, I turned on the TV expecting to see no cable. Well, we still have some stations & some are gone. Very strange. Thought every station would be gone. We still have the digital box (which I need to return) so some signal is coming through. Maybe I'll wait & see if they miss it! I was kind of looking forward to no TV though. We alway have so much to do but end up some time during the evening watching TV. It seems a waste. It like a vacuum that sucks you in. Sitting there glassy eyed, staring at the screen. Books & making plans for the farm is so much more interesting.

Started some seeds from last years garden last week to see if they are viable and they are popping out now.

These are Dickenson pumkin seeds.

These are garlic seeds from the flowers of the cloves that came up last year.

These are radish seeds.

These are lettuce seeds.

This is a sweet potato I started. Want to try it for the garden this year.

I really need a taste of spring. I'm going to plant all these in starter mix & harvest the leaves of the radish & lettuce plants. I bought some wheat berries at the food coop last week that I'm going to start for wheat grass. If you take a shot of wheatgrass or just chew it, you won't need that cup of coffee in the morning.

I'm dreaming of spring...

Getting ready for Spring!

I started ordering seeds last fall as the garden was winding down. I got them out this weekend so I could see what I still need to order. The garden at the farm is big. I mean like football field size big. It probably isn't as wide but it is as long. Steve thinks I'm crazy but I want another garden that same size up the hill from it. Just enough room in between to mow hay. I would like to rotate crops on a larger scale & use cover crops to increase the nutrients in the soil.

Here is a video of the garden last spring right after planting.

(Sorry about the wind noise, turn down your speakers)

We'll see if we have time to till another garden this spring. We have a lot to do at the farm once it warms up. There are apple trees to prune, 25 one year old apple trees to graft, fence to put up between the Amish next door & us (to keep their cows, horses & sheep out of the garden) and 100 hazelnut bushes to plant while still working on the inside of the barn. The list goes on & on but it is the kind of work I like to do. Being outside in nature is so much more rewarding than sitting in an office all day.

I went ahead & ordered potatoes yesterday. I ordered twice the amount as last year since I know now that I can grow them. I grew Yukon Golds & Yellow Finn which I will grow again this year. I had a pretty good harvest but it could have been better if it wasn't for the potato bug infestation early on. Not being on the farm during the week makes it hard to keep up with that kind of thing. We just do the best we can. I added a new potato this year. It's the Rose Finn Apple. They say it's a good keeper & perfect for potato salad, steamed, boiled, grilled, roasted or fried. That about covers everything! I do want to try growing sweet potatoes this year too. Adding it to my list...

We are storing last summer's potatoes in the garage in a cooler. It works really well. The potatoes still look like when we put them in there and taste great too. The other night for supper we ate potatoes, beets & applesauce all from the farm . It is a great feeling of satisfaction to produce your own food. We know there are no chemicals, just pure food.

I still need to order raspberry bushes. We have some at the farm but they are out of control. Have to read up about growing them. Would like to get a good yield. More strawberries will be added this year too.

We have a section of the garden that's marked off now that isn't to be tilled. Eli has tilled it the last two years with his horses so we'll have to remind him not to do that section this spring. We have the blueberries, asparagus, strawberries, Jeruselum Artichokes, horseradish & some herbs planted there. I am anxious to see how many blueberries we get this year. Last year was the first year & we got a handful off of 24 bushes.

I splurged on something I have wanted for some time.

I know it isn't what most women want, but I will be able to preserve so much more food because of this. And that makes me happy! (talk to me next summer when I am sweating over the stove, canning away) This pressure cooker/canner doesn't have a rubber gasket so that will save money & it is made in Wisconsin. Yes, an American made product.

Baking Pumpkin

Last night I decided to bake another pumpkin. The pumpkins I grew are the same as Libby's uses for their filling. They are called Dickinson Select. My daughter's inlaws grow pumpkins for Libby's in Illinois, but I saved the seed I have from a pumpkin I received at the local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) last year. Ended up with 15 large pumpkins.

I gave away about half of them & have been baking & freezing the rest. These are not your average, everyday carving pumpkins. They have the thickest pulp. And big seeds.So, how do you bake a pumpkin? First cut off the top then slice down the sides into pieces. Scrape the stringy part & seeds off of the pulp. I use a grapefruit spoon to make it easier.
Place the chunks face down on a baking sheet & place in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for about an hour & a half (depends on the thickness of the pulp).

When done baking, flip the slices over to cool. Then take a spoon and scrape the pulp off off the skin. This is how much pulp is from that one pumpkin. This is two baking sheets worth.

Yes, that is almost 9 pounds of pumpkin pulp from one pumpkin! I do have a lot of pies to bake this year (eight all together) but there will still be a lot left. And what about all the other pumpkins we have? Here's what I do. I measure out either 2 or 4 cups into a freezer bag & flatten. You can store a lot of these bags this way. They are easy to thaw for your recipes for soup, cookies, pies, cakes, breads or whatever else you can think of to do with pumpkin. With pie being my favorite, soup is a close second. Just add pumpkin pie spice and milk (I use oat or hemp milk) and blend for a minute then heat.

Don't forget about the seeds. Rinse off most of the goo, toss with a little olive oil and sea salt, bake at 325 for 20 minutes & you have a great snack. The only things wasted are the skin (and the stem).