Kitchen Garden
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Today is the day to plant Belgian lettuce according to my late maternal grandmother. Not a specific variety, any lettuce seed will do. March 2 planting makes it “Belgian” in a way someone who grew up in a Minnesota-Polish farming community would understand. It’s not happening this year, as the ground is frozen and covered… Read more
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LAKE MACBRIDE— The box of seeds from last season sat on the workbench for months. I brought it inside to begin garden planning—something I am loathe to do. In fact, I’m still thinking about mowing the lawn one more time before winter really gets here. After all, it is forecast to be in the forties… Read more
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SOLON— One was planning to harvest corn until Sunday, when he would turn to beans. Half the beans are already in and the fields have been too wet to get the equipment in the last few days. Talk is about how much propane will be needed to dry the harvest. “It could easily run up… Read more
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LAKE MACBRIDE— Father taught me to eat apples after a trip on River Drive to buy a bushel. It seemed unusual to secure so many at once, but he knew someone, and with a limited weekly income from the meat packing plant, the family took what help he could find. Dad used a knife to… Read more
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LAKE MACBRIDE— Not knowing what to expect when I broadcast the kale seeds, this year couldn’t have been better. Over time, the plants were thinned and picked until they look like a grove of palm trees. The leaves are cleaned from the bottom to the umbrella cover on top. The harvest has been exceptional. There… Read more
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LAKE MACBRIDE— To supply all the tomatoes a household needs, I planted a large tomato patch with eleven or twelve varieties, and two different cages. In all, there were 36 plantings, some with two seedlings in them. I used short cages leftover from previous years, and new ones cut from four-foot wire fencing. The whole… Read more
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From sunrise until sunset I made a retreat, preparing for winter. Read more
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LAKE MACBRIDE— The chill in the air is undeniable as summer activities wrap up— ready or not. The last share from the CSA picks up tonight, and Tuesday is to be a full day of outdoor activities, with Wednesday the rain date. It is time to harvest and prepare the yard and garden for the… Read more
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LAKE MACBRIDE— What to do with all of the eggplant? The image in this post is a bit of a protest because despite their colorful variation, eggplant is a vegetable that could be absent from life and few would notice. The fact is they are abundant, easy to grow and cheap at the market. Despite… Read more
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LAKE MACBRIDE— Yesterday began with two and a half hours of volunteer work at the CSA. The labor in our barter arrangement has already been provided so I’m free to volunteer for general farm chores like working onions. Once the seedling operation moved outside, the germination house was used to cure onions on the long… Read more
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