Tag: Garden 2019

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Thursday Between Storms

Onion Starts in Containers

The morning was brilliant. Not only the sun, but life all around us as I worked in the garden on what has become a rare sunny morning this season. The sky is now clouding up with scattered thunderstorms forecast this afternoon. We are in between storms.

I direct-planted Early Scarlet Globe Radishes from Ferry-Morse, 25 days. I also planted the last of the onion starts from the farm for scallions.

The ground is saturated. I took down the chicken-wire fence around the early spring plantings and water was evident near the surface — under the grass in the walkway around it. It felt squishy.

Footprint between turnips and carrots.

The plot urgently needed weeding. I obliged, filling my bushel basket with weeds several times. I harvested the last of the first radishes, turnips, arugula and four kinds of lettuce. Even with competition the original plantings are looking great: beets, turnips, sugar snap peas, lettuce, arugula and carrots. While ground moisture made it easier to weed, by walking on it I added to compression that already existed. The plants look robust but I’m not sure how the excess ground moisture will impact yield.

In the kitchen I’m planning some kind of turnip-arugula dish with dinner. A classic is shaved turnips with arugula tossed in a dressing of homemade cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. I have plenty of turnips, but only two cups of arugula. (I had forgotten I planted arugula). The other option is to braise the turnips in butter then toss them with the arugula and maybe some other kind of cooking greens. Seems the dish would need garlic. Maybe I could make a dressing with the cooking remains, minced garlic and some cider vinegar. Or maybe I could toss the whole works with some of the lettuce harvested today. While there’s no certainty, there are possibilities. This is how a kitchen garden works.

Turnips

I’m not giving up on the garden. I considered mud planting the celery then thought the better of it. The ground is just too wet. So I wait.

It is surprising how just a few hours in the garden finds work for idle hands, clearing the fog of storm-related stress away. I’m not sure when the weather pattern began but is has been weird since the beginning of January. I expect we are only seeing the beginning of the weirdness. That is no reason to stop living.

I planted reserved seedlings of Blue Wind broccoli where others had failed. The plot is under the locust tree and one corner of it may be a problem for anything to grow. We should get some broccoli, and if the slow-starting seedlings mature, it will be in progression. We love fresh broccoli.

I find myself referring to these garden posts frequently to review when something was planted. There is value in trying to remember what I did on Thursday morning. There is hope of a delicious dinner made partly by the work of my hands. That’s why I am a gardener.

Categories
Environment

Climate Reality: It’s a Crisis

Scarlet Kale in My Garden

On Feb. 19 I submitted a vacation request for today and tomorrow at the home, farm and auto supply store so I could finish planting the garden if I hadn’t already.

Paid vacation is one of several perquisites of working for a mid-sized retail company. Such perks are a reason I linger there, even though I’d rather spend more time at home in my garden and kitchen.

As we now know, planting is behind during what may become the wettest Iowa spring in recorded history. People aren’t freaking out yet. Many I know, including all the farmers, are on edge. A lot is at stake when one’s livelihood is built around planting and growing foodstuffs. Non-farming people feel the oppressive weather as well. The continuing rain is not normal for east-central Iowa. I’m not sure my garden will get planted the way I expected in February when I submitted my vacation request.

Yesterday at Kate’s farm a thunderstorm rolled in and we moved the seeding operation into the barn. One doesn’t want to be inside a metal-framed greenhouse during a lightning strike. At home I left my trays of seedlings outside when I went to work and they survived the storm in good shape. I moved them into the garage as rain started again. There have been a lot of thunderstorms locally, which when combined with the recent polar vortex, heavy snowfall, rapid snow melt and wild temperature swings, indicate this isn’t a one-off weather event.

Around 1850, physicist John Tyndall discovered carbon dioxide traps heat in our atmosphere, producing the greenhouse effect, which enables all of creation as we know it to live on Earth. This and other scientific facts about physics, chemistry and biology are the foundation of analytical models that predict future behavior of the climate and its consequences for humans. As Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist and professor of political science at Texas Tech University, posted yesterday in social media, “climate models are (not) some type of statistical random number generator.” The science of the climate crisis is the same science that explains why airplanes fly and stoves heat food. It’s science.

Consider the displeasure with which the administration greeted the Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessment which predicted dire consequences for sentient beings in coming years if greenhouse gas emissions continue the way they have been going. The president’s advisors now seek to change how the assessment is done, arbitrarily shortening the window of concern to a near horizon of 20 years. I’ve never seen an ostrich stick its head in the sand, but this is what it would look like. There is no scientific reason to shorten the horizon for considering the effects of the climate crisis in climate models.

I didn’t know what to expect in 2013 when I attended Al Gore’s training to join the Climate Reality Leadership Corps in Chicago. Among the benefits was by understanding the basic science of global warming it became easier to cope with the crisis unfolding in front of us now.

The reality is climate change is real if we have the education and awareness to understand what we are seeing. It is not only about science. As Carlos Castaneda suggested when a reporter questioned him about discrepancies in his personal history, “To ask me to verify my life by giving you my statistics … is like using science to validate sorcery.” So it is with our politics. Scientific facts do not address the politicization of science to serve interests that are indefensible in light of our commonality.

Mother Nature has been the victim of humans living on Earth, of that there is no question. Brutalized and violated, who can mend her broken body? I don’t know if it’s possible, there is no Denis Mukwege for her unless it can be all of us together. Who am I kidding?

The sun is rising after the latest thunderstorm moved on toward the Great Lakes. I’ll put seedlings outside again and hope for a break in the weather long enough to work the soil. While farmers need a good week of dry weather to get crops in the ground, I can make do with less.

I feel good about today but then I am human. Most of us can’t see but six inches beyond our nose, try though we might. To sustain our lives we must do a better job of living now while working toward a better future — despite the setbacks of our politics. What choice do we have?

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Gardening in a Wet Spring

Western Sky at Sunrise – Sundog Farm

Whether or not we get a garden in this year the stakes are not high.

Much as I enjoy produce resulting from my labor, I could get along without it a for a year, or two, if I had to. We are part of a strong food ecology and unlikely to go hungry or want for fresh vegetables.

Eventually the ground will dry enough for planting and what has become a dozen trays of waiting seedlings will find a home. There have already been some successes: the kale looks great, radishes have been good, and the sugar snap peas will produce an abundance. I’ll do what I can, when I can, reflecting the position of most gardeners in my area.

The marker for end of spring is moving my vehicle back inside the garage. We are weeks away from that.

On Sunday I planted what will be the last tray of seedlings at the greenhouse. My work there wraps up at the end of June and already I am on every other week duties. Where did the first five months of 2019 go?

I planted,

Cilantro, Ferry — Morse, 45-75 days.
Imperial Broccoli, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 71 days.
Genovese Basil, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 68 days.

The Blue Wind broccoli planted earlier has been a disappointment with less than half of the seedlings planted now growing well. Blue Wind plays a role in larger operations as an early broccoli. We’ll see what it produces, but unless the heads are spectacular, it will be the last of this experiment. Late planting of Imperial will better serve our needs.

In other failures, tomatillos have done little. I may get one plant from the starts. Heirloom tomato starts were iffy, with a couple producing only one or two plants. Rosemary germinated, but growth hasn’t taken off. These failures combined with late, iffy planting take a toll. In the end it’s part of being a gardener.

I pulled apart last year’s tomato patch and mowed it flat. The plan is for cucumbers, peppers, squash, eggplant and sundry crops to go in there. The soil isn’t turned yet and won’t be until I get the previous plot planted.

While I’m struggling to get a garden in, larger scale conventional farmers are having a time of it. Spring rain has gone on so long some are debating whether to put in a crop at all. I posted a link to a story about the issue by Thomas Geyer in the Quad-City Times. My post made over 3,500 impressions on Twitter. Find the article here.

People who rely on their farms for a living have had a struggle of a spring. My friend Carmen at Sundog Farm wrote the following to her CSA members:

As I’m sure you’ve noticed there have not been very many windows of sunshine in between rainstorms over the past month and half, so we’ve been seizing every opportunity when its dry enough to get in the field to plant. Despite the limited opportunities and that planting sometime ends up looking more like wallowing in the mud, we’ve actually been pretty happy with our progress! We’ve also been grateful to have hoop houses where we’ve been producing most of the spring crops, and where we can plant even when it’s wet outside. We are a little behind in getting plants in the ground, but so far we are pretty close to where we want to be and hoping for the best!

Some seasons hoping for the best is what is possible.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Too Much Spring Rain

Seedlings Waiting for Dry Soil

On a glorious spring Monday I began spading the next garden plot. The soil was too wet to work so I stopped after four feet.

Excessive spring rain not only affects gardeners, farmers are feeling it too. Vegetable growers were either “mud-planting” or not planting at all. Less than half the anticipated corn crop was planted by May 12, according to Iowa Public Radio. It’s only the fifth time in the last 40 years that has happened.

I planted spring onions, Daikon radishes (KN-BRAVO, 49 days) and Rudolf round (24 days) and D’Avignon (21 days) radishes in three in-ground containers.

The apple blooms continue, although when the wind blows it is a snowstorm of petals creating drifts under the trees. This year has been one of the longer blooms I remember. There are so many blossoms it wouldn’t be bad if some of them didn’t pollinate, sparing me the chore of thinning the buds once they form. The good news is after the long growing season, there should be apples.

After my soil blocking shift Farmer Kate have me a guided tour of her farm. I took photos, which can be found on my Instagram account here. She farms about nine acres in large plots. A lot of it is planted and what isn’t remains in cover crops until its time. Although I’ve worked at Wild Woods Farm for a couple of years, this was the first time I saw the entire acreage.

I started a tray of seeds that didn’t germinate well at the greenhouse. Yellow squash and tomatillo seeds did not germinate at all at the greenhouse. The squash looked a bit funny when I planted them, so I’m trying again. I also used up the arugula seeds, and planted a few blocks of okra and pumpkin as an experiment. Like many things in gardening, we experiment and watch the results.

I’m ready for the second wave of planting as soon as the ground dries. Then it will be a mad dash to get everything in. Even though rain holds us back, the season’s not hardly begun so there’s hope of a bountiful year in the garden.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Cukes, Zukes and Yellow Squash

This Year’s Last Seedling Trays, Zucchini, Cucumbers and yellow squash.

When I returned from the farm Sunday afternoon I transplanted a dozen broccoli plants in the garden. Reserving a couple to replace failures, I gave the rest to my neighbor.

Continuing the minimal tilling experiment, I placed broccoli seedlings in a plot where cucumbers produced in abundance last year. I didn’t remove the plastic and used the same holes. The plot is shaded by the locust tree, so I’m not sure how this will turn out. Fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

At the greenhouse I seeded cucumbers, zucchini, and yellow squash, which is likely the last starts. Most everything else will be seeded directly in the ground in May.

I brought home a tray of lettuce and spinach for transplanting.

I seeded,

Cucumbers

Northern Pickling, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 48 days.
Little Leaf, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 57 days.
Marketmore 76, Ferry – Morse, 68 days.
Tasty Jade, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 54 days.

Zucchini

Raven, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 48 days.
Elite, Ferry – Morse, 55 days.
Dark Green, Ferry – Morse, 55 days.

Yellow Squash

Dixie Hybrid, Ferry – Morse, 41 days.
Early Summer Crookneck, Ferry – Morse, 53 days.
Early Prolific Straightneck, Ferry – Morse, 50 days.

While inspecting the apple blossoms yesterday I spotted leaves growing from the stump where another apple tree was blown over in a straight line wind. I staked and put a cage around it to protect from being eaten by deer and from the mower. Not sure what’s next, but it was a very early apple and I may grow it to maturity if that is what it turns out to be.

The spring share for which I bartered at Local Harvest CSA begins today and runs for five weeks. I’m looking forward to a salad made with fresh, local lettuce and cooking greens for a pasta dish.

The next step in the gardening season is upon us.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Easter in the Germination Shed

First Spring Flower in Our Yard

Seven of us worked in the germination shed at Sundog Farm on Easter morning.

The farmers were preparing dinner for their extended family. I brought them two quarts of home made vegetable soup for lunch in case they hadn’t thought about it with all the meal preparations. It was well received.

My broccoli is ready to plant, however, I seeded it in a tray with parsley, which is not. I brought the tray home to figure out how to make both plants grow optimally. Marginal planning on my part.

The peppers planted two weeks ago have not germinated which is slightly concerning. Peppers take longer but I’d hoped the plants would be emerging today. Tomatoes planted last week haven’t germinated either. That is to be expected.

Everything else is coming along, and the peppers may be coming along, only I don’t know it.

I planted,

Red Ace Beets, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 50 days.
De Milpa Tomatillos, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 70 days.
Bellezia Arugula, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 51 days.
Fairy Tale Eggplant, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 65 days.
Galine Eggplant, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 65 days.

This is the first time planting beets in trays. It is a common practice so I’m giving it a go. There are now eight trays in the germination shed with the next up for planting being spinach and lettuce, maybe next week.

Arugula has tiny seeds. A gust of wind blew through the germination shed taking a batch of arugula seeds with it. Luckily there were more in the packet.

The other experiment this year is tomatillos. I had some from CSA shares last year and they keep in the ice box for a very long time. They are a great alternative to tomatoes for making salsa.

It was a clear, beautiful day, the kind farmers and gardeners want.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Kale Planting

2019 Kale Bed with 21 plants ready for mulch and fencing.

Temperatures were ideal for yard work so I prepared the bed for kale.

It is important to get kale right because once established, it will produce leaves until November. Sometimes it even over-winters. It is worth the time to measure and plant according to the package instructions.

I put 21 seedlings in the ground and reserved a dozen in case some don’t survive. A neighbor wants some, and after that, I’ll snip the leaves and make a kale salad or two with the leftovers.

My process has a lot of steps after picking up the seedlings at the greenhouse.

  • I run the lawn mower over the plot to remove any tall grass.
  • This year I did a burn pile on this plot so using a garden rake I spread the ashes evenly over the surface.
  • Turn over the soil in bites the size of the spade. Do this by hand. A long-handled spade works best.
  • Spread fertilizer (composted, granulated chicken manure) evenly over the top. For a 10 x 12-foot plot I used a gallon and a half.
  • Using the garden rake, break up the clods of dirt until they are fine enough to rake somewhat smoothly.
  • Make a slight trench with rows three feet apart. Use a yard stick or measuring tape.
  • Using a hand cultivator, break up the dirt in the trench six inches either side of center.
  • Using a plastering brick laying trowel, knife the blade into the ground and pull the soil back until the seedling will fit in. Put in the seedling, then fill the hole by hand with loose soil. Measure distance to the next hole in the role as length of the trowel plus the length of blade. Finish planting.
  • Next I use six inch sections of field tile to protect the seedlings. These will be removed once the stem grows larger. Press each tile section into the ground. The idea is to prevent ground crawling and walking pests from biting the tender young plants.
  • Use the garden rake to even our the surface and remove compressed areas where the gardener knelt during planting.
  • Using metal fence posts, pound them into the ground with a post-driver.
  • Put up chicken wire ensuring to get the bottom to firmly touch the ground. Be sure to leave a place for a gate so you can access the ripe kale.
  • If mulch is available, mulch deep and completely. Return later if mulch is not available.
  • Finally water the entire plot thoroughly.

Sounds a bit complicated, but the process has served well during the last few years.

It was a great day to be out in the garden.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Planting Radishes

Brush Pile Burning Down, April 19, 2019.

Good Friday has been the traditional time to plant potatoes. With weird weather, tradition has been discarded.

Instead, under a clear sky and cool spring temperatures, I re-stacked the burn pile, lit it, cleaned up around the second garden plot and planted radishes in a container.

I’ll get spuds from local farmers instead of growing my own this year.

I planted,

Radishes

D’Avignon Specialty, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 21 days.
Rudolf Round, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 24 days.

In a week, I’ll plant another crop in the next container until the four containers next to the compost heap are filled with rotating crops for as long as intense heat stays within normal seasonal variation.

Lettuce seeds planted in the ground April 10 germinated and display a carpet of tiny green leaves in the first plot. Nothing else has surfaced.

I inspected the apple trees. Flower buds appear to have survived the Polar Vortex. Tips of the emerging leaves seem discolored, but I don’t know if that’s their normal color. They seem far enough along for a normal May bloom.

The plot with the burn pile will be for kale and something else. As I walk the back yard, carrying tools, seeds and fertilizer during multiple trips from the house, a plan for this year’s garden is being revealed.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

First Seedlings from the Greenhouse

Germination Shed April 14, 2019

Sunday I brought home the kale seedlings I planted March 10 from the farm. They are ready to go into the ground as soon as the soil is prepped, maybe this week. Five weeks from seed to seedling.

In the garden, seeds planted April 9 have not germinated, although temperatures have been cold. Halfway through April, I’m anxious to spend more time in the garden. Looking at the last couple of years I kept records, the garden is where it has been in these days of weird weather.

I planted tomatoes in the greenhouse yesterday, more than I thought, and more than I will use, 360 seedlings.

Here’s what I planted by tray:

Tray One

(Slicers)
Brandywine, Seed Savers Exchange, 80 days from transplant.
Martha Washington, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 78 days.
German Pink, Seed Savers Exchange, 85 days from transplant.
Beefsteak, Ferry — Morse, 80 days.
Abe Lincoln, Ferry — Morse, 70-77 days.
Early Girl Hybrid, Ferry — Morse, 52 days.
Better Boy Hybrid, Ferry — Morse, 70-75 days.
Big Boy Hybrid, Ferry — Morse, 78 days.

Tray Two

(Plum)
Amish Paste, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 85 days.
Moskvich, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 60 days.
Granadero, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 75 days.
Speckled Roman, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 85 days.
(Slicers)
Nepal, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 78 days.
Black Krim, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 80 days.

Tray Three

(Cherry)
Red Cherry, Ferry — Morse, 70-75 days.
Jasper, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 60 days.
White Cherry, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 59 days.
Clementine, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 68 days.
Matt’s Wild Cherry, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 60 days.
Taxi, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 64 days.
(Grape)
Red Pearl, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 58 days.
(Plum)
Roma, Ferry — Morse, 85-90 days.

“I planted too many tomatoes,” I told the farmer.

“You can never have too many tomatoes,” she said.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Burn Pile

Burn Pile
First Spring Burn Pile

I lit the burn pile with two matches and a pile of scrap paper but the long branches didn’t all burn. In fact, most of them didn’t, except in the middle where fire took hold for a while then died out for want of something.

The the partly charred branches need reworking and another ignition after this morning’s rain. Since today is first of two days at the home, farm and auto supply store, it won’t be until Friday.

Yesterday I planted in the ground for the first time this season, using an experimental limited till method. I have so many seeds, if some fail, they can be replaced.The season is late, but still new, and I’m interested to see if the seeds germinate and dig roots.

I planted in the ground,

Lettuce:

Black Seeded Simpson, Ferry — Morse, 45 days.
Buttercrunch, Ferry — Morse, 70 days.
Mesclun Mix, Ferry — Morse, 40-80 days.

Sugar Snap Peas, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 60 days.

Carrots: Bolero, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 75 days.

Beets:

Detroit Dark Red, Seed Savers Exchange, 65 days.
Moneta, Johnny’s Selected Seeds. 46 days.
Merlin, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 48 days.

Turnips:

Purple Top White Globe, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 50 days.
Hakurei, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 38 days.

The smallest of the plots is now planted and overnight rain will dampen everything down. Spring hope is in the ground.