Harvest Monday - 25 May 2015

Hello again from Eight Gate Farm!

This week we are continuing to pick baby mesclun--enough for a nice salad every other day or so. The mix is from Baker Creek, and I've been very pleased with how fast it grows and how tender and tasty it is. Although I certainly can't tell just what everything is! Could be weeds for all I know.

And I'm also quite pleased with the radish turnout. The row cover seems to have done its trick--very little damage from root maggots, and nice big bulbs. This is French Breakfast and Cherry Belle--what everybody grows. Is there anything nicer than a fresh, crisp, sharp radish?

A second major picking, with greens too:

Do you admire the artistic use of both black and white napkins??

This weekend was the big push, as expected. We planted a second bed of Espresso bicolor sweet corn, and gave it a cover just until it germinates.

And in the row garden, four half-rows of Honey Select sweet corn, zucchini (yellow and green), Diva cucumbers, and pickling cucumbers. I'll plant the other half-rows of corn when these emerge, and if all goes well (it seldom does), we'll have a continuing harvest of what is my favorite vegetable.

On the opposite side of the row garden, all 12 tomato plants went in. There are four indeterminates-- two Supersauce, one Caspian Pink, one Sugar Plum (grape), and eight determinates; three Incas plum tomatoes, two Roma, two Rutgers, and one yellow variety, Taxi.

In this same section will go the peppers and eggplants. As of now the plan is still to plant them next weekend, but I'm keeping an eye on the weather, as there is a chance the temperature will drop below 50 F. (~10 C.) just after the weekend. If so, I will wait. I've made the mistake before to set them out too soon, and they just seem to get stunted.

We planted melons (on the trellis), and 3 types of snap beans--Denver filet, Velour filet, and "Carson" yellow wax.

And in the "Survival Garden,"Floriani" red flint corn, Kenearly yellow-eye beans, Midnight Black Turtle beans, and four types of winter squash/pumpkins, all C. moschata varieties: Burpee's Butterbush, Butterpie, "Fairytale" (Musquee de Provence) pumpkins, and Long Island Cheese pumpkins. 

And along a fence line, scarlet runner beans, behind the ornamental sunflowers just now emerging. The runners climb the fence, and also sometimes the sunflowers of course.

So as you can imagine, it was a busy time! But with two of us working, it really didn't take all that long, and we have a pleasant feeling of accomplishment.

The potatoes have emerged, except for one piece which I must have cut too small.

I've said it before, I cannot seem to grow spinach. Here you see a tiny specimen already bolting! What is wrong? Plenty of sun, water, temps not too warm. It's got to be the soil I guess.

And here's another problem--a hen wild turkey has taken up residence under the bird feeder. She seems to think it's dandy to take a shortcut right through the herb garden, and she's already been scratching at the Survival Garden. Those are big feet! What to do about this? I couldn't bring myself to shoot her (woodchucks, that's another matter). And anyway, they are a game species and it's illegal to take hens this time of year.

Finally, a snap of blooming azaleas and Shasta daisies at the front of the house. Thanks so much for reading. Go back to Daphne's Dandelions, our gracious hostess of Harvest Monday, and see who else has been busy.

Harvest Monday - 18 May 2015

Welcome to another Harvest Monday post from Eight Gate Farm, and yes, there are a couple of tiny harvests to show!

The last of the asparagus:

And a picking of baby mesclun, or if you're classy, micro-greens. Cheers to the first salad of the season!

Continuing the update of garden progress, here you see (clockwise from bottom right) Brussels sprouts (transplanted last weekend, took the row cover off), broccoli (doing nicely), Espresso corn (happily germinated despite my fears), and the empty bed that will hold the next planting of Espresso, hopefully next weekend.

Next weekend, Memorial Day in the US, will be the big push. That's when I traditionally plant tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, zucchini, sweet corn--really, almost everything remaining except peppers and eggplants, which will wait another week. I hope the weather cooperates. Actually I saw that a local "real" farmer already has tomatoes in the ground--and farmers know best. So everything is ready to go in the "row garden." Here's where the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants will go. I seeded a row of sunflowers in the back this weekend.

And here's where the late season corn, cucumbers, and zucchini will go. The new row of asparagus is in the foreground.

The potatoes planted last weekend have not emerged yet, but the onions are getting stronger.

The soup peas, behind the still-fragile leeks, are looking good. That's artichokes in the background.

The spinach is unfortunately still small. I never seem to be able to grow it rapidly.

Behold, a radish that escaped the anti-root maggot doghouse. Won't be long now!

And the "Survival Garden," too, is all ready for planting next weekend. The Survival Garden is where we grow foods that don't need refrigeration--dry corn, dry beans, pumpkins, and winter squash. Learning from last year, I intend to plant less corn, more beans, and not let the squash overwhelm the beans. And a big thank you! to The Kitchen Goddess, who furrowed this bed while I was busy fiddling with the drip irrigation system for the reconfigured row garden.

I leave you with a picture of one of my favorite perennials--Alyssum compacta. Too bad it only flowers for a short time in spring.

Thanks for reading! Now head back to Daphne's Dandelions to enjoy harvest posts from around the world.

Harvest Monday - 11 May 2015

Welcome to another Harvest Monday post from Eight Gate Farm! Thanks to Daphne's Dandelions for providing this forum.

Our first vegetable harvest of the season...asparagus!

Of course, we should have had many times this amount, but last year voles destroyed most of the plants. I replanted, and even added a second row this year, but it will be a few years before we get to pick them.

This became part of a wonderful dinner of chicken and baby back ribs we smoked using chunks from the ancient apple tree that fell over last fall. Also included are corn cakes using our flint corn from last year.

I gave the chives a haircut. They are about to flower, and I find they are tastier before flowering. I also topped the basil, which was getting leggy. It will be a few weeks before it gets transplanted.

Okay, that was a ruse to get you to look at the rest of our non-harvest garden pictures.

The nectarine tree is flowering beautifully as usual. Too bad we never get any fruit. It develops some sort of disease which turns the fruit gooey.

The Macoun apple we planted four years ago looks like it will give us fruit this year. I hope so. It's my favorite apple.

The broccoli transplanted April 18 is doing nicely, although one seems to be a runt. The varieties are Acadia, Blue Wind, and Fiesta.

The bed frames are new. They are cedar, and measure (nominally) 4x6 feet. I bought four, to replace two 4x12 beds that had rotted. They are kits from The Farmstead. I forget which blogger suggested this source; for that I apologize. The mortise-and-tenon joints make them super-easy to assemble. My one complaint is those very same joints reduce the inside dimension by 9 inches both length and width.

The Brussels sprouts were transplanted this weekend. These were started April 15. They got a row cover to hopefully help them adjust to sunlight and outdoor temperatures. I know they are useful, but I just don't like row covers. I like to watch the plants grow!

I also sowed corn (Espresso bi-color, an early variety) in one of the smaller beds. I know this is dangerous, but it's been so warm the soil has gotten up to temperature. I'm taking a risk, but I guess the worst that could happen is I replant it.

Potatoes were planted this weekend. The onions (from sets) in the same bed are doing pretty well.

The leeks (from seed, transplanted April 19) are starting to settle down. In the background are Dwarf Blauwschokkers peas (for soup) I'm trying out this year. These were sown April 19.

Mesclun, snow and snap peas, and in the doghouse row cover, radishes. I hope this cover prevents the root maggots.

The "row garden" section has frustrated me productivity-wise for years; I finally gave in and brought in 6 yards of fresh loam. On the left tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant will go, on the right corn and cucumbers.

So here's a shot looking up the fenced garden. The first two beds on the right are resting this year.

I leave you with a snap of our weeping cherry tree at its loveliest. Thanks for reading, and thanks again to Daphne.

8 April 2015 - State Of The Beds

Today I checked on the raised beds. Most seem to be drying nicely, and are thawed down to the depth of a trowel. However, the beds I covered in black weedcloth still are frozen below about 3 inches. So this technique will not be used again! We are having a little cold snap, but temps are expected to moderate by the weekend, so I expect these beds will also thaw out soon (now that the cloth is removed).

I am a big believer in soil temperature governing when I plant. I see no point in sowing - even spring crops - "as soon as the ground can be worked" if the soil temp is too low. In my experience the seeds just sit there, and often rot. Even spring crops germinate faster and better in warmer soil.

So while it is frustrating to read about fellow gardeners getting the jump on me, I think it's prudent to wait awhile; at least until the soil reaches 50+ (F.).

And where are we now? Right at 40 (at mid-day). So there's still more waiting. But I should be able to till the beds this weekend, fertilize, and get everything ready.

Harvest Monday - 30 March 2015

Welcome to another Harvest Monday report from Eight Gate Farm. Thanks as always to Daphne's Dandelions for hosting this forum.

Proudly presenting our first harvest of the year...pure maple syrup!

We tapped for only 6 days this year, way later and shorter than normal. For some reason, the sugar content of the sap must have been extremely high. Normally you'd expect a 40:1 ratio of sap to syrup, but here we have 3 quarts of product, and while we did not accurately measure the amount of sap, I know it was less than 20 gallons. I read that historically maple sap is about 3% sugar, trending less in recent years due to stress on the trees from climate change. I guess the winter this year had a positive effect.

For those interested, here's a link to last year's post on how to do it. The subsequent 2 posts might be of interest too. The local high school's Forestry Dept. is again tapping some of our trees. This year they put 25 taps; last year they did more than 50. They "pay" us a pint of syrup. So we'll have enough to last us a year, I'm pretty sure.

I know there are those who actually prefer "maple-flavored" syrup, like Log Cabin or Aunt Jemima. But epicures like us (read: snobs) say it has to be pure or no-thank-you.

Saturday was cold with rain and snow, but Sunday it warmed a tiny bit, and I was able to get into the garden for the first time this year to shovel off the raised beds. The snow was compact and icy, which made for hard work, and by the end I was feeling my years. Needed a long soak in the hot tub.

The two beds which this year will hold spring crops like peas and radishes were then covered with black weed cloth, to hopefully speed warming and drying the soil. We'll see if it makes a difference. The nights are still below freezing.

The two beds on the right will be resting this year, so no need to fuss over them now.

Last week I gave a report on our storage potatoes; I neglected to mention our onions. These were pulled at the end of July, and as you can see, they are still doing fine, which is great. The variety is "Stuttgarter."

Of course, being human, we've tended to use the largest ones over the months, so only smaller ones remain; just as tasty but harder to use!

This weekend I also started peppers, eggplant, and a few perennials.

That's it for this week. There won't be any harvests from us for quite awhile; hopefully others have more!

Harvest Monday - 23 March 2015

Back in mid-September we harvested all our potatoes. The total yield for the year was around 40 lbs. as I recall. This is the variety "Kennebec," which is touted as a good keeper besides being delicious. We packed them in a bushel basket filled with shredded paper, and kept them in a cold room (50 F.) of the house. We've been enjoying them all fall and winter. Yesterday we checked on the remaining lot (maybe 8 lbs.), and found they were starting to sprout a little, but still fairly firm. So we took them all, cut them up, blanched them, and packed for the freezer.

We also shredded some using one of the attachments for the KitchenAid. I guess we used too fine a setting, as once we put them in the blanching water it turned into potato glurp. Not good for hash-browns, latkes, etc., but perfect for potato soup! Just the thing for a cold winter, er, spring night.

So this being my first experiment growing potatoes, I was not sure what to expect in terms of storage. I'm guessing 6 months is pretty good.

What's this? Something green??

Before we left for our annual jaunt to Key West, I chitted our leek seeds. Once they had sprouted (took longer than I thought) I put them in soil in an old salad container, covered with a clear lid, and left in the sunroom. By the time we got back (the 17th) they were up. I used the whole seed packet, as I know that onion seeds typically don't remain viable more than a year. This is the variety "Megaton," which is supposed to be early. My plan is to plant them in the row garden pretty close together, harvest some when they are maybe pencil-sized, and let the rest get big. That's the plan, anyway. I've never grown leeks before. And there is a lot of work to do in the row garden to improve the soil--which cannot be done since everything is still covered with snow. I hope these little fellows don't get too big too quickly.

This weekend I also started broccoli (two 6-packs) and some herbs. That's all I've got going. You've no doubt read how delayed everything is this year--it's going to be interesting, and I'm worried that all the preparation chores are going to have to be compressed into a short time period.

Speaking of broccoli, last year I tried planting them every other square instead of every square. The results were much better--big beautiful heads for the first time. I recently read on Cornell University's garden web site (very good, by the way), that broccoli planted close together yields smaller heads but more side shoots, compared to larger heads and less shoots when planted farther apart. I have found this to be true.

We've also begun tapping our sugar maple trees, almost a month later than last year. I'll write more about this in the coming weeks.

I hope you are enjoying more of your garden than we are as we come out of this brutal winter. Thanks to Daphne's Dandelions for continuing to host this forum.

Harvest Monday - 26 January 2015

Welcome to another Harvest Monday post from Eight Gate Farm! We thank Daphne's Dandelions for hosting this wonderful forum.

Last Sunday we brewed up our latest batch of beer, using hops we grew, picked, dehydrated, vacuum-sealed, and froze last season. The variety is "Mount Hood," which is an aroma or "finishing" type, as opposed to a "bittering" type.

We were going to bottle it this weekend, but it looks like fermentation has not completely stopped. We rushed bottling the last time we brewed, and paid the price. We didn't exactly have "bottle bombs," but we did have gushers!

We still got the bottle labels ready though, and here they are:

For those who don't follow American football, our beloved, Superbowl-bound New England Patriots are under investigation by the National Football League for using under-inflated footballs in last week's Conference Championship against the Indianapolis Colts.

So if our last batch was "over-inflated," we are hoping we get it right with this one.