Lettuce: November 12 to December 15th

I transplanted this bed of greens on November 12th. I made a short video of the transplanting.



Well fast forward 33 days and here is how things are looking. I am really impressed with the growth. This is the latest I have transplanted stuff. I am going to be direct seeding some more salad mix this week. I hope it will germinate and be ready by the end of February/March.



Winter Density


Black Seeded Simpson


Red Sails


Red Oakleaf


Green Oakleaf


Tatsoi

Lettuce: November 12 to December 15th

First Winter Market in Manhattan, December 3rd

Our first winter market was on December 3rd. It was a successful day. We need to build this market. I took alot of stuff and brought home a bunch. Way over picked, but you never know.

Jay

First Winter Market in Manhattan, December 3rd

Hearty Butternut Soup

Thank you to Linda for this post!

With a few hundred pounds of squash in our basement, we have tried many variations of butternut soup, many of which got poured down the drain. The taste just wasn't there or the texture was icky, to use the girls' words. Today, I finally found a variation we all liked.

Hearty Butternut Soup

2-3 pounds butternut squash
2 small onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon majoram
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth

1. Prepare butternut squash ahead of time by baking for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool. Then, peel and dice into chunks.
2. In a large saucepan, saute onions, carrots, and garlic in butter until onions are translucent.
3. Add flour, majoram, salt and pepper. Stir on medium-high heat for one minute.
4. Add milk, stirring constantly.
5. Stir in cubed, peeled squash.
6. Stir in chicken broth. Reduce heat to simmer.
7. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Hearty Butternut Soup

Transplanting Lettuce

We finished up transplanting some lettuce and Tatsoi today. I have learned that transplanting lettuce is an easy way to grow lettuce.



Enjoy!

Jay

Transplanting Lettuce

Last Farmers Market

I almost never get a chance to take pictures of our market stand in the summer. We are usually sooo busy, we are just lucky to get the produce on the table. Opposite direction Another Market

Here are the tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. Enjoy!

Last Farmers Market

Salad Bar

Anyone want a salad?

The whole big building


Lettuce Bed


Black Seeded Simpson


Red Sails



Green Oakleaf


Red Oakleaf


Winter Density Romaine


Rouge D'Hiver


Jericho Romaine


Winterbor Kale


Red Russian Kale


Bed of Napa Cabbage, Bok Choy, Kale, Romaine



Napa Cabbage


Red Cabbage


Spinach

Salad Bar

Fall/Winter Season is here

The fall and winter growing season is here. We have had our first freeze. Usually we slide into a freeze, this year we jumped in with two feet! We had a low of 22-23 degrees. All the warm season stuff is gone outside. The turnips, radishes, leeks and carrots are just fine.

We were able to save the late tomatoes by running a heater on them for two nights. We did have some damage, but they are still looking good.

Here are some pictures of our high tunnels this time of year.

Big Tunnel with carrots, spinach, Kale, green onions, lettuce, bok choy, napa cabbage, arugula and swiss chard.



Another tunnel with Cabbage, Napa Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Chard and Bok Choy


Here is our other building with Spinach, turnips, and radishes



Finally, here is a poor picture of our Late tomatoes.



I hope we can keep them going until Thanksgiving.

Fall/Winter Season is here

Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon

If you are looking for a new way to prepare Butternut squash that the whole family will love, here is a real winner. We cooked the butternut in the microwave for 4-5 minutes, to speed up the cooking. Then we finished it off in the oven. We didn't have the cheese to put on the top, but it still was awesome. Oh, yea the picture was the last half of the pan before we polished it off.

Ingredients

• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• Cooking spray
• 6 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices (raw)
• 1 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 8 ounces uncooked mini penne (tube-shaped pasta)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese
• 1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 425°.
• Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.
• Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Combine squash mixture, bacon, and shallots; set aside.
• Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.
• Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon

Piotique Tomatoes

This weekend was the annual festival in Clay Center called Piotique (the blending of Pioneers and Antiques, just FYI). Back in early May, yes May. I decided that I want to plant a late planting of tomatoes and I want to have them for Mid-September until November. Being I was short on seed, I decided to purchase more of the selected variety.

Dear Jay Sleichter
Thank you for your order!

Your order will be sent after credit card approval. For seed orders only, we send by U.S. Postal Service, so there will be no tracking number assigned. Expect 7 to 10 days for delivery time.
_______________________________________
Customer/Shopper ID: 235544
Date and Time: Mon May 16 12:32:21 2011
_______________________________________

Item: Details: Quantity: Each: Item Total:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
#3992A Florida Large Quantity 3992A - 1 $ 28.30 $ 28.30
91 Hybrid Florida 91 Hybrid
1/32 Ounce $28.30
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sub Total: $ 28.30
Shipping Total: (US & Possessions - First Class) $ 5.25
Grand Total: $ 33.55 PAID


And with this, my plans were put in place. Keep in mind, we had a light frost on May 15th and I was talking about producing tomatoes up to the first frost/freeze in the Fall.

Well received my seeds and I got them going. Had a problem with germination. I started them over again, lost 10-14 days doing this.

Despite one of the hottest summers on record, I went ahead moved my seedlings outside to the high tunnel to harden off. Then the heat really cranked up.

I finished building the new rails for my movable building and got it ready and moved it to its new home.



I proceeded to plant the tomatoes out on July 16th. About 10-14 days later than I had wanted.

Here they are after being planted. Sorry about the poor picture.


Here they are on August 12th, about 1 month after planting.



Here they are on August 28th.


Finally on September 16th, a full 60 days past the planting day and 120 days after ordering the seeds.


Well here we are on September 24th, I didn't get my tomatoes for Piotique, but I do have them turning.



Here are some other pictures from the 23rd of September.





So when you say, "Where are the tomatoes?" I can honestly say I have been working on in for the past 120 days or longer. Stuff just doesn't happen, everything has to have been planned and well thought out. I guess I should think harder.

More tomatoes, maybe next week!

Jay

Piotique Tomatoes