Sorry, No Jerry Lewis Telethon for Me

I have so much to do. I usually consider Labor Day as a real LABOR WEEKEND. A three day weeding, mowing, planting and hoping marathon. I am really behind with lot's of it!

This weekend I am hoping I can get some of my broccoli and cauliflower transplanted. It should have been done 3 weeks ago, but the plants weren't ready and with triple digit heat, I couldn't make myself do it. SO, we will go with plan B. Transplant them inside one of the hoop buildings instead of outside. I hope it works.

I already have 1,100 square feet of carrots started. They aren't as thick as I would like, however the weeds are really trying to make a go of it. MUST WEED if I want anything.

The peppers are coming out way early. They were a complete bust. Between getting them in probably too early, aphid problem and then record heat. I wrote most of them off and gave up. I kept watering them, but weeding went to the way side. I am going to rip them out along with the weeds and get ready for spinach. Probably not plant it, but get it ready to go.

I have 1400-1500 plants started in the basement to go out, but not until it cools off some. Maybe next week.

However, I do have some fall projects taking off. I have a late fall planting of tomatoes going well. I hope to be picking a few by Sept 20-25th.





A fall planting of zucchini is going nuts. I was hoping to start harvesting it by September 15th. I started picking on the 28th of August, 50 pounds first picking. Exactly 30 days after planting the seeds. I am amazed what a hoop house can help you do!






I am trying out some new varieties of Tumbling Tomatoes in hanging baskets for next year. This was a last minute thing. Last minute being early July. They will be ready late October. I should be able to keep them going until mid November without much problem.



I have two 40 foot beds of Radishes and Turnips. The radishes are getting close, but they are a little spicy.



The Okra is going crazy. I am picking about 20 pounds each picking. I pick it every 2 days or 3 days a week.




Winter squash is going well. We have lots to pick, but the vines are starting to die. It has been dry and hot. It doesn't seem to matter how much water we put out, they are just slowing down.

We harvested these two little cuties this week. They aren't quite ready, but they are close. The one on the left is a Sweet Dumpling and the one on the right is Delictia.



This was from a few weeks ago.



The velvet leaf has started back, I am giving up on it and just focused on water and harvest.

Sweet potatoes are doing well. We have been digging them for two weeks now and they are selling great. We started to dig the Georgia Jets. They can get really big and they crack a lot, if not careful.



We started some spinach and lettuce outside. They are growing, but grasshoppers love spinach. They leave the lettuce alone for the most part. I am going to have to replant the spinach, but I knew that might happen. I didn't get it covered in time, oops!

Still need to get out, Napa Cabbage, Green Cabbage, Red Cabbage, Green Kale, Red Kale, Spinach, Green onions, Bok Choy, Flat leaf Parsly, Cilantro, Romaine lettuce, 7 other types of lettuce, Swiss Chard, Tatsoi, Radishes, Turnips and maybe some Arugula.

Here is to a busy labor day.

Sorry, No Jerry Lewis Telethon for Me

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!

Come again in June, July and August! It always seems that we can never get the rain when we need it and when we get it, it is too much. If it wasn't for our high tunnels, I would have very little planted this year. It has been very wet or, back when it was dry, our schedules or my injury didn't allow much planting outside. So I thought I would share what is growing inside and out.



Inside: We have tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, zucchini, pickling cucumbers, slicing cucumbers, lettuce (4 types), spinach, beets, swiss chard, carrots, hanging baskets of tomatoes, and tomato, pepper, cucumber and squash transplants.



Outside: Hail damaged broccoli, potatoes, radishes, cauliflower, leeks, onions, spinach, beets, beans and carrots(if they came up!)

What needs to be planted: Green Beans; Okra; Lemon, Dragon's Eggs, Armenian, and Slicing Cucumbers; Bell Peppers; Hot Peppers; Purple Cauliflower; 10 types of Squash; a few more tomatoes; lettuce; and more beets.

When the weather straightens up, we will be very busy. The good news is that school is out next week and I will be allowed to dedicate more time to the garden.

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!

A Difference of a Week

It is always surprising, how quickly plants mature. Look at these two pictures of the same building, the first taken on April 14 and the second taken ten days later:

Under the hanging baskets are beets. They are a dual-purpose crop: you can eat the fresh beet greens in salad and eat the beet that is growing in the ground. These beets need about 4 more weeks; the greens we've already been eating.

The hanging baskets aren't looking to shabby, either. We didn't lose any plants in the transplanting, and these baskets will get to go to a new home starting next Saturday... the start of Clay Center's Farmers Market.

A Difference of a Week

Soil from Scratch

I've made a lot of things in my life and followed a lot of recipes, but this was the first time I made dirt. Well, technically it's potting soil and technically Jay made it and technically it's the third year that he followed this recipe, but, well, you get the picture.

Why make dirt? It's not for mud pies, I'll tell you that! We are planning to grow and offer for sale about 100 hanging baskets of cherry tomatoes. We also are selling hundred of tomato, pepper, and cucumber seedlings. That takes a lot of soil. And, I don't know if you've noticed, but bags of potting soil can get pretty expensive...well, expensive for dirt, anyway.

So, my always inquisitive husband searched and researched online and found a recipe for potting soil. Just like most cooking, it's a lot cheaper to make this from scratch than it is to buy it premade. It also lets us control the soil type a bit, adjusting the ingredients to increase the water absorption and decrease the watering frequency.

So how do you make dirt? I'm not sure how many of his secrets Jay wants posted here, but it looks something like this (photos by K):

Which then turns into this:

Soil from Scratch

Hanging Tomatoes

As with any business endeavor, it's important to find a niche and fulfill the needs of your customers. The same holds true for our gardening.

There are a lot of what I like to call "displaced farmers" in our community, couples who are retired from farming and have moved into town, to smaller "more manageable" properties. Many displaced farmers not only miss their crops and equipment, but they also miss that little garden patch in the backyard. They miss walking outside and picking the produce for supper. They miss watching a plant grow and succeed. And so they start a "city garden" or container garden or grow something, anything.

And that is why we sell hanging baskets of tomatoes. It's one thing to come to the Farmers Market and get fresh picked tomatoes. It's something else completely to grow your own in your back yard. Last year was our first year selling hanging baskets and potted tomatoes. Not only did they sell well, but they produced well, too. We loved hearing the weekly reports from our customers, telling how many tomatoes they got off their basket that week.




Each of our hanging baskets contains two cherry tomato plants, one producing red cherry tomatoes and the other producing yellow tomatoes.

We hardened the plants before selling, to make sure they were strong. We made the potting soil ourselves, to save money but also to make sure it would hold moisture. That way, if someone forgot to water their plant for a day or two, it would still survive. And we kept a few ourselves, to monitor the successes or failures.

The picture below was taken in December.

Yes, it was still producing cherry tomatoes through the winter. That same basket is also the high basket in the picture below. If that plant can produce from August to December hanging in our basement, imagine what one of the hanging baskets could do in the spring/summer?

Hanging Tomatoes