December 1st Farmers Market in Manhattan

We have been getting ready for the December 1st Farmers Market in Manhattan at Pottorf Hall. We will have the following items. Orange and Yellow Carrots, Salad Mix, Spinach, 5 types of head lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Winterbor Kale, Red Russian Kale, Tuscano (Dinosaur) Kale, Swiss Chard, Cilantro, Red Bok Choy, Green Bok Choy, Tokyo Bekana, Napa Cabbage, Green Onions, Haikuri Turnips, Daikon Radishes, Garlic, Red Ripe Tomatoes, and 16 flavors of Jams and Jellies. We will have an even larger offering than last month, a full 40 feet of locally grown produce! Please let everyone know, the more the merrier! Hope to see your there!

December 1st Farmers Market in Manhattan

First Winter Market

While it didn't feel like winter, we had our first Winter Market on November 3rd in Manhattan. Here is what you missed. Don't worry, we will be back on December 1st, January 5th and 25th. You can also order though our online market, www.rvp.locallygrown.net

First Winter Market

Starting Fall and Winter Carrots, in the heat!

It is August and it is time to start fall and winter plantings of carrots and other crops. Most of my other crops are started from transplants, carrots are a different story. Carrots are hard to get to germinate, especially in hot and dry weather. This year we are very familiar with hot and dry! I plant our carrots in beds that we cover later in the year with our movable high tunnels. This way we can better utilize our high tunnels. Currently the movable high tunnels have tomatoes planted under them. We will be moving the tunnels off the tomatoes and over the carrots around Thanksgiving time, depending on the weather. So, I have to use extra measures to ensure germination. Here is the process. First we till up the beds and add any soil amendments. We rake the beds out smooth and lay out the two runs of drip lines per beds. Next we plant two rows of carrots for each run of drip tape. We use an Earthway planter with a the heavy carrot plate. I have tried the light carrot plate and I wasn't happy with the result. I wish there was a medium plate. After we plant, we turn on the drip and soak the beds. Next we cover the beds with row cover. Once we put the row cover down, I wet it down. Then I come back and wet it down every day 2 to 5 times a day. Just to keep it moist and cool. For the next planting, I am going to use misters on a timer. I start checking under the row cover on day 4 to see for carrot germination. Usually there is none. On the end of day 5 to the start of day 6 it is time to flame weed. Flame weeding is basically using a propane burner to burn and kill the weeds before the carrots come up. However, one has to remember that the carrots are germinating under the soil surface. I use a burner that hooks up to a 20 pound grill bottle. Here is a before weeding picture. All the green are weeds, not carrots. Here is the after flaming the beds. After flaming, we return the drip lines and soak the beds down. Depending on the weather, one can return the row cover or not. It has been cooler, so I chose not to cover. On the morning of day 7, here is what I saw. SUCCESS! Now on day 9, I have 4 rows of carrots growing. Sorry I don't have a picture. You can see the carrots growing the whole length of the bed. It does take time however the pay off is wonderful sweet and crunchy winter carrots!

Starting Fall and Winter Carrots, in the heat!

Fall Tomatoes

Are you thinking about September, October, November right now? Probably not. Well produce just doesn't show up. It has to be planned for, timed out, started and then planted. We are trying to have big tomatoes all season. We have planted multiple plantings and with any luck all will work out! We have already run into one problem. The hot spring and early summer pushed my first planting almost 4 weeks ahead of schedule. Usually I am picking my biggest pickings from now until the end of July. This year, I am essentially out! I timed my second planting to start producing about the 20th of July, based on previous years data. They will be ready then, but the first planting went early. So, we are low on tomatoes. It is sad, but I am happy as it will give me time to get fall stuff going! We have planted a large fall planting of tomatoes, larger than planned. We had some watering issues (trying to be helpful 3 and 6 year olds) who watered the tomato seedlings to the point of death. I thought this planting wasn't going to happen. However, after asking around I was able to locate some seedlings that another grower had extras of and we were back in business. Thank you Dennis Hatfield of Pierce City, Missouri. With his help, we were able to get this planting in, ahead of schedule. With any luck, we will hit my goal of big tomatoes for Piotique in September. We are doing a few things differently. First we are going back and using cages with one planting. Out of necessity, yes, and curiosity. It is a double row, 2 foot spacing with 18 inches between rows. I wanted to leave room for row cover and extra plastic in case of an early winter. The other planting went in a movable tunnel. 5 row, 2 feet apart. We also put in a row of cherry tomatoes. It was one of those, we have them why not? They look a little sorry, kinda spindly, but I am sure they will take off soon! Crops just don't happen. Farmers have to be planning ahead, make changes and with any luck, lots of hope and some prayers a crop can me harvested. Jay

Fall Tomatoes

Watermelon time!

I just realize I haven't posted anything on my blog for well over a month. I am sorry, I guess I have been kinda busy. :) Well I am pretty proud of these watermelons we are growing this year. I am going to start harvesting in the next 7 to 10 days and will continue to harvest for as long as we can. We have three plantings, May 20th, June 7th and July 7th. We "Should" have melons from now til frost. Let me show you the progression of the first planting from May 20th. They have been for planted 50 days as of today, July 10th. The are planted in Black plastic and are watered with drip. It is said that black plastic alone will cause them to ripen up to two weeks earlier. That said, this weather has helped out too! Pictures say more than words, so here you go. Well this isn't the melon patch, but you can see it in the upper left hand corner. This was on April 1st. May 18th, two days before planting. May 27th June 15th July 10th Yum! Enjoy!

Watermelon time!

Plastic Mulch

This year I am experimenting with using plastic mulch.  I have been using drip tape for several years,  it really changed how I water my crops.  Last year I used landscape fabric for Sweet Potatoes and Okra.  I was hooked.  Less weeding and earlier crops, I knew I am using more of this next year.

This year I am planting Tomatoes, Peppers, Okra, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Sweet Potatoes, Watermelon, and Canteloupe all in plastic mulch. 

It takes me 30 minutes to 60 minutes per bed to lay the plastic.  The plastic in the high tunnels is much easier than outside. 

Why Plastic Mulch? Here is a nice list of advantages from
http://uconnladybug.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/plastic-mulches-for-the-vegetable-garden/

Advantages:

1. Increases soil temperature, allowing earlier planting and earlier harvest, and promotes plant growth in cooler climates.
2. Soil compaction is reduced which improves root growth.
3. Fertilizer leaching is reduced because excess water runs off the plastic.
4. Water logging from excessive rain is avoided.
5. Drying of soil from evaporation is reduced.
6. Crops are cleaner and less subject to disease caused by soil-borne pathogens because they are not in contact with the soil or rain-splashed soil.
7. Weed control with black plastic eliminates the damage to roots caused by cultivation to remove weeds.
8. Weed control (black and colored mulches).
9. Harvest of crops can be 2-14 days earlier with black plastic and as much as 21 days earlier with clear plastic, depending on the crop and the temperatures.
10. The “chimney effect”:  CO₂, which is required for photosynthesis, builds up under the plastic and can only escape through the planting holes, causing a higher concentration around the growing leaves.

There are some disadvantages too.

 1.   Cost of mulch and irrigation equipment.
2.    Soil erosion can increase between the mulched rows.
3.    Weeds may grow through the planting holes close to the crop plants.
4.    Must be removed from the garden annually, along with the drip or   soaker hose irrigation tubes.  

However I believe the advantages over power the disadvantages.

 Here are some pictures from this year, so far.

Here is "Hoop B"  the big tomato building.




Cherry tomatoes


Cucumbers and Zucchini




Peppers




Watermelons








Okra




Sweet Potatoes





Enjoy!

Plastic Mulch

Pepper time

Things are looking good for my peppers in one of my high tunnels this year.  While most of these are Bell peppers, I do have one row that is Anaheims, Jalapenos and Shishitos.  The Habaneros go outside.  I have never had good luck with them inside the high tunnel. I don't know why.



Lafayette, Flavorburst and Gourmet


"Ace" out doing itself again


Grande Jalapenos



Shishitos


This year I am trying a new pepper support system. Usually I put posts in line with the plants and run twine down both sides of the plants. I have found that I smash the leaves and branches down and end up with some poorly shaped bell peppers.  So this year we are putting up posts every 10-12 feet and are attaching cross pieces to each post.  Then run twine down on each side of the plants to serve as support from the wind.  As the plants get bigger, we will attach longer cross pieces and widen out the strings or only put strings on the outsides.  So far I am very happy with it and it didn't take very long to set up or many materials but build as most of the cross pieces were headed to the burn pile!

Here are some pics

End of the Row


A little Closer



In row post


There are more than 320 pepper plants in here.  After two bad pepper years, I am hopeful for a bumper harvest this year. 

We have more peppers going in outside. I just got the plastic mulch down yesterday. They will be transplanted later this week.

Pepper time