Cutesy Tree Art

I decided to take some pics to show how big the latest starts are. This is the basil. The Thai basil is the one that hasn't sprouted yet.

This one is Tigger melons (left) and dancing gourds.

Here are the squashes. Look how huge that Boston Marrow is! 1 is Rond de Nice (zucchini), 2 is Gray Zucchini, 3 is General Bidwell melon, 4 is Boston Marrow (pumpkin-ish), 5 is Galeaux (pumpkin)

I'll try to get more squash started today. And here are the last of the peppers I planted, the Sonoras. They're still pretty small, but at least we have some.

I ordered the door and windows from Plow and Hearth, and you gotta admit, they're cute as can be.

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What We're Eating

This is what Rick and I had for dinner last night: Potato leek soup made with our homegrown leeks, fresh homemade rolls, and salad with our homegrown lettuce, homegrown snow peas, and homegrown carrot, dressed with goddess dressing and tossed with sunflower seeds. OMG it was delicious. Rick and Catherine ate homegrown snow peas, stir fried with homegrown onion and garlic, tossed with shrimp marinated in soy sauce. That sounds pretty darn good also.

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The radicchio is getting huge! It's starting to head up.

Catherine worked hard at eliminating nettles. Doesn't she look triumphant? This is an enormous help, because I am very sensitive to nettles, and break out in an itchy rash if I even get near them.

The snow peas are knee high to an ogre.

The rose looks lovely surrounded by borage and lemon balm.

Double Rainbow and Hail

We stayed home from the farm on Tuesday. It had been kinda rainy and Rick and I needed a day off. Wednesday I had to work late, but it had cleared up a little, and we needed some farm time. When we arrived, we saw that the hail and rain had knocked down some fruit. This just saves us from having to thin.

So we drank some beer, let the chickens out, using Rick's new chicken ladder! It's very cute. I'll get some pics of it today to post. It was pretty cold, so Rick C. made a fire. The sun was out, but dark clouds were all around. After a little while, we heard a big peal of thunder. Rick C got nervous, and started riding his bike home. We decided to wait it out. Sure enough, a big cell moved over, the temperature dropped by 15 degrees, and it began to hail. We scurried around getting the chickens back in and everything battened down, then ran for the playhouse to wait it out. Afterward, we were rewarded with the most amazing double rainbow. It's hard to see in these pics, but the rainbow went all the way across, and was fully double.

We just stood there amazed. I had read an article in Edible Shasta magazine, which Catherine had picked up, where a market farmer in Round Valley was talking about how each spring is a gamble about what crops will perform the best. But she ended her story with these words: "We don't have to win the lottery. We have a farm in springtime." That's what I felt, looking at this amazing sky, in our little farm.

We wished Rick and Catherine had been able to see it, but you know how it is: some people have enough sense to come in out of the rain.

Mowing and Mulching

On Saturday, Rene brought his reel mower over so Rick C could mow the glen. The grass had gotten too high, and unfortunately this mower doesn't do the edges well at all either. I'll get to work on putting brick mow strips around the sod so we don't have a shaggy mess.

Buddy gets into the act.

Then Rick and Rene work on the pad for the firepit

And spread mulch up to the pad's edge.  

We got a lot more mulch spread around, and the pile is still large. Here's another bug to identify. It's quite shiny and iridescent.

And the cherries are starting to barely ripen.

The typical El Nino year spring weather continues. The weekend was sunny and even hot, but the nights are still cool. Then last night it rained really hard, and the forecast says more rain through tomorrow. Then it's cloudy for a couple days, and sunny again on the weekend. The night temps are still in the mid 40s, so the tomatoes and peppers are still in the greenhouse, fattening up. We're eating snow peas and lots and lots of lettuce, plus leeks, the last of the mustard greens, and an occasional spring onion.

Lettuce did really well, and would have even in a hotter, drier spring. We've got to plant simply oodles starting next fall, and stagger them a bit more. The chickens are growing, and the tractor is working great for them. We've noticed that they cluck more like hens now, instead of peeping like chicks. They should start laying mid to late July.

I will be starting a little more squash, then I'm about done seeding until the July seeding for fall crops. Except for direct seeding of course. Rick C and I are both working hard on our home beds. This is that perfect window of opportunity: after the rains but before it gets too hot. Rick C has transplated his peppers in his yard already, but I know it's still too early. It's just easy to get impatient at this time of year. And of course, at the farm, we need to finish the spring eating before we even think about putting in summer crops.

I'd like to clear one more bed at the farm, along the back of the house (but out from it by 10 feet or so), so we can plant flowers to shade and hide the back of the house, and to provide cut flowers as well.

Earth Day

It was a lovely day for Earth Day. We all gathered at the farm. Rene helped Rick load some compost.

They amended row 5 thoroughly.

I added sulphur and iron, and Rick tilled it in. This row will hold tomatoes soon.

As usual, there's only one guy workin and at least 3 guys "supervising."

My what a lovely greenhouse! The tomatoes and peppers are really happy and vigorous.

We have the first peas! They were too small to eat yesterday, but we may eat some today.

The poppies are gorgeous. This one has attracted a bug.

Rene gets Cooper to pose.

I got some information about temperatures and transplanting.

Linda Scoggin, Smith County Master Gardener says:

For optimum growth, all transplants and seeds need to be planted within a certain soil temperature range. Planting too early, before the soil has had time to warm up, can lead to seed rot, slowed germination, poor growth and disease. Tomato transplants need a soil temperature above 60 degrees F for growth. Setting pepper plants out before the soil temperature is 70 degrees F could stunt their growth for the entire growing season. Use the following guide for minimum soil temperatures for seeds and transplants:

60 F - tomatoes, cucumbers, snap beans
65 F - sweet corn, lima beans, mustard greens
70 F - peppers, watermelons, squash, southern peas
75 F - okra, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes

Susan Boeschen, U. C. Master Gardener says,
The sun is shining, tomato plants are in the garden centers and your neighbor is bragging about having tomatoes in the ground. Is it time to plant tomatoes?

Resist the temptation. Tomatoes require warm soil and are very sensitive to frost. The optimum growing temperature for tomatoes is between 75ºF and 95ºF. Temperatures below 57ºF will actually delay growth and encourage disease. Soil temperature is as important as the air temperature. The minimum soil temperature for tomato growth is 50ºF to 55ºF.

Planting tomato seedlings outdoors before the air and soil temperatures warm up will not help achieve early-fruiting tomatoes. The plants will fail to set blossoms, or they will set and then most likely drop the blossoms. So you can put your tomato plants out early and spend lots of time and effort to protect them from the elements, but seedlings planted later when the temperature warms will generally catch up with and surpass the growth of those planted earlier.Why bother? Early planting may buy you bragging rights but not much else.

More Seeds Started

Sunday was really warm and pleasant. We made the most of it, because we knew the rain was coming back.

Batch even managed to escape and come over for a bit.

I transplanted most of the rest of the peppers into 4-inch pots and stuck them in the greenhouse. They are all looking good.

The chickens really made a difference on this piece of lawn. It doesn't take them long to strip an area.

I harvested this lovely leek on Monday. Catherine also took home some to make soup with.

After that lovely warm sunny day on Sunday, it cooled off, and rained again, starting Monday night, and just starting to clear up now, on Wednesday. The forecast calls for the next few days to be sunny again. No matter what various folks are saying in the ER, it's NOT time to plant tomatoes yet. It's still much too cold. We're just at the last frost date, which means you can plant "post frost date" plants, but not heat-loving summer plants. And this year is an El Nino year, meaning everything is going to be wetter and cooler. We are still having nights in the low 40s, even if the trend is warming. Tomatoes, beans, squash, melons, and peppers should be planted when soil temperatures are reliably over 60 degrees. That's gonna be about 3 weeks from now, somewhere around mid to late May. What it IS perfect time for is to start the squash and melons in the germination box for transplanting in May. I potted up Ronde De Nice zucchini, Gray Zucchini, Bidwell Casaba, Boston Marrow, and Galeux. I realized I missed two things on my Baker Creek list, so I reordered those yesterday as well.

Of Moles and Men

Rick C caught a mole in his gopher trap. Moles are insectivorous, so while he wasn't really a crop pest, it's ok to get rid of him anyway.

You can tell he's a mole because of his big front paws and weird little nose.

I'd bought pussywillows from Safeway a month ago, as a bouquet. They had begun to sprout nicely, so I clipped them and put them in a space near the tub. They'll get plenty of water there.

Here's Rick with the new pasture pen in action.

It's so great to have the hens out on pasture. They agreed, and were quite happily muching grass and bugs.

Here the guys admire the pen.

Summer Seeds 2010

Here are the seeds I bought for summer planting. All these are from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds. This is a duplicate of what's in the farm scrapbook, but I wanted it here for backup and searchability. Some of the seeds were bought this winter, while most were bought 4-15.

Christmas Pole Lima Bean
95 days. Very large, white beans, with beautiful, dark red splashes, rich flavor; heavy yields even in very hot weather; long vines. Heirloom

Dragon Tongue Bush Bean
This famous Dutch heirloom bean has an incomparable flavor. The tender and superbly delicious 7" pods are yellow, with amazing purple streaks! Also makes a tasty shelled bean. Popular with chefs and gourmets. Compact plants set high yields.

Old Homestead Bean
(Kentucky Wonder Pole)
65 days. This homesteaders' heirloom was first mentioned in The Country Gentleman magazine in 1864 under the name of Texas Pole. It was not until 1877 that it was introduced as Kentucky Wonder by James J.H. Gregory & Sons and has been popular ever since. It is a pole bean with 6"- 8" green pods that are very tender when cooked and have a great flavor. In 1896 Peter Henderson & Co. said, "This we regard as far ahead of any other green Pole Bean." They also said it was 10 days earlier.
 
Pigott Family Heirloom Cowpea
A Louisiana variety that has been in the Pigott family, Washington Parish, LA, since the 1850's. Prized by the family as the best-tasting cowpea of them all. Brown seed is speckled and of good size.

Dixie Speckled Butterpea Lima Bean (not shown)
76 days. Very productive. Beans are about the size of peas; red-speckled with a deep purple-rust color, and grow well in hot weather. A delicious baby lima. Bush plants.
Bidwell Casaba Melon
This melon was grown by General John Bidwell, who received his seed stock from the USDA in 1869. He was a soldier in the Civil War and also became a US senator. He grew this melon in Chico, California. It produces massive fruits that weigh about 16 lbs each and are football shaped. The orange flesh is sweet and creamy. Dr. Amy Goldman says it "...tastes like heavenly orange sherbet," in her book Melons for the Passionate Grower.

Tigger Melon
The most amazing melon we have grown. The fruit are vibrant yellow with brilliant fire-red, zigzag stripes, (a few fruit may be solid yellow), simply beautiful! They are also the most fragrant melons we have tried, with a rich, sweet intoxicating aroma that will fill a room. The white flesh gets sweeter in dry climates. Small in size the fruits weigh up to 1 lb. - perfect for a single serving. The vigorous plants yield heavily, even in dry conditions. This heirloom came from an Armenian market located in a mountain valley. It was the most popular melon at our Garden Show last August and makes a unique specialty market variety.

Tennessee Dancing Gourd

A tiny gourd just 2" long! They are bottle-shaped and green and white striped- turning tan when dry. This unique heirloom was sent to us by Mr. Junior G. of Primm Springs, Tennessee. They used to be popular there, and his Maw had said that, when she was going to school, kids would bring 'em to play with. Dancing gourds spin just like a top.

Boston Marrow Squash

90-110 days(C. maxima) Lovely 15 lb fruit are hubbard-shaped and a brilliant red-orange in color. This variety was first documented back to 1831 by Fearing Burr, the author of Field & Garden Vegetables of America. This variety was first mentioned being grown by Mr. J.M. Ives of Salem, MA. Mr.Ives had received seeds from a friend in Northampton, MA who had obtained his seeds from a friend in Buffalo, N.Y. This variety came to be grown in the Buffalo area after a tribe of Native Americans traveled through the area and distributed seed. From this historic introduction, Boston Marrow soon became one of the most important commercial squashes for 150 years, but as the 21st century approached, nearly every seed company had dropped this unique treasure. In 1881 D.M. Ferry’s catalog said, "Very dry, fine-grained, and for sweetness and excellence, unsurpassed; a very popular variety in the Boston market." It has rich, orange flesh that won it a place in Slow "Foods-Ark of Taste" for having superior flavor and taste!

Triamble or Shamrock Squash
(C. maxima) A very rare and unique variety that was imported from Australia in 1932, from seed secured from Arthur Yates and Co. of Sydney. This light-sea-green squash is lobed like a three leaf clover, making it highly unusual in apperance. They weigh about 10 lbs each and have sweet orange, fine-grained flesh. A fine variety for eating and decorating!

Galeux D Eysines Pumpkin
(C. maxima) Possibly our most beautiful heirloom squash. This flattened, round 10-15 lb fruit has a gorgeous salmon-peach colored skin that is covered with large warts! The sweet orange flesh is used in France for soups and also can be baked. We are delighted to offer this French heirloom.

Costata Romanesco Squash
52 days.(C. pepo) Famous, ribbed zucchini from Rome, Italy. The distinctive, long fruit are flutted with medium, green-striped skin. The cut slices are scalloped. When small, they are popular fried whole with the flower still on. Rich and very flavorful. A perfect, gourmet variety for the market grower.

Zucchini Gray Squash
49 days.(C. pepo) Great tasting, high quality gray Zucchini squash. Yields are very good; flesh is firm, mild and very tasty. We have been getting favorable reports back from customers about this squash. A real favorite.

Ronde De Nice Squash
50 days.(C. pepo) The delicious, Italian heirloom round green zucchini, the fruit are very tender and fine flavored, an ideal squash for stuffing, A popular variety for home gardens and specialty growers. Vigorous, quick-growing plants.


Tarahumara White Seeded Sunflower
Grown by the Tarahumara tribe for their mostly white seeds, plants produce beautiful 8”-10” golden yellow flowers on tall plants. We are proud to offer this rare heirloom that may have originally been brought to Canada by Russian Mennonite farmers.


Mammoth Grey Sunflower
The standard giant variety that produces delicious seeds. The 10’ plants produce heads that average 12” across. A stately garden plant.

Harlequin Marigold

This antique variety dates back to 1870 and has recently become popular again. It is quite unique with its yellow-and-red-striped flowers that are both charming and flashy. It makes a good cut flower, too!