Tag: local food

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Kitchen Garden

Week 5—Life on the Cusp of Summer

Covered row installed May 5, 2025.

By my calculations, we passed the last frost and the rest of the garden can go in. If cold temperatures return, I have a banker’s box full of old flat sheets to cover and protect young plants.

Three plots had been planted, leaving four and part of the garlic patch with which to do something. I know one will be exclusively tomatoes, two will be a mix of vegetables, a small plot will be fennel, celery and celeriac, and the last will be some kind of winter squash. A lot of work is finished, and a lot remains before initial planting can be called done.

I planted spinach in the covered row simply to get the tray out of the overcrowded greenhouse. I learned how to use covered rows from my friend Susan while working on her farm. The best parts of a covered row are protection from pests and a controlled environment that enhances normal growth. I bought the hoops from the farm where I worked and the cover from a commercial supplier a number of years ago. If cared for, the cover will last.

Friday, I bought thyme, sage, and chive plants from local farmers I know. These will go under the cover with parsley, cilantro and basil. Once the plants get too tall, I will strip the cover back and let them grow in open air. This process can produce a large herb crop for drying. If there is enough, I will make fresh pesto and freeze some.

At the farm, each herb pot was four dollars. To put that in perspective, I have more than 700 blocks with plants started, or according to this retail value, about $2,800 worth of them. I don’t mind paying full price at the farm because I can leverage their work to get a few things I want but don’t have space in the greenhouse to grow.

I spent a couple of hours weeding garlic. I had hoped to have it mulched with grass clippings by now but there weren’t enough, therefore weeding. Collecting grass clippings was high on my weekend to-do list, yet there really isn’t enough grass to mow yet.

There were some empty spots in the cruciferous vegetable plot so I filled them in from the greenhouse. At this point, I want every spot filled with something. The crop looks healthy thus far.

Saturday was a solid shift in which I planted lettuce and tatsoi in the covered row, cleared off the celery and celeriac plot, and cleared last year’s tomato plot. I salvaged most of the plastic ground cover to reuse and made burn pile #3 for the season.

Burn pile #3.

Sunday morning was spent spading the big plot I cleared. It was a lot of work, yet part of the process of conditioning the soil.

Fourth plot turned over on May 10, 2026.

I wasn’t planning on running so many errands this week. The main one was Monday’s round trip to Des Moines. I had poll worker training at the county seat on Thursday, and a Friday get-together with a friend who just moved back to Iowa. Running errands takes away from gardening, yet is essential to a modern life. Much as I wish for something different from automobile culture, it is what we have in our decision to life in rural Iowa.

It was a good week of preparations. I am looking forward to getting the whole garden in during the next few weeks as we are on the cusp of summer.

In between stints of spading, I took a break in the garage. The addition of the table to the left is making a big difference.
Categories
Kitchen Garden

First Harvest 2026

Mizuna, two kinds of bok choy.

Bok choy and mizuna were outgrowing the germination tray so I harvested instead of planting them. Along with containers of arugula growing in the kitchen, I have three cups of four kinds of fresh greens: the first harvest of the season. I enlisted artificial intelligence to suggest a dish featuring them.

The goal is to make a warm, one-bowl meal.

Of the options presented by the chat-bot, I picked a rice-based dish. One cup uncooked white rice to allow the flavor of the greens to show. My standard rice preparation is to use homemade vegetable broth to cook the rice.

For protein I used MorningStar Farms® Chik’n Strips, which were browned in a small amount of oil, then set aside.

Next, the process goes quickly:

  • Saute garlic, onion in extra virgin olive oil until translucent.
  • Add the greens and toss for about 30-60 seconds until slightly wilted.
  • Make a rice dressing in a large bowl: 1-2 tbs miso; 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil; 2 tsp apple cider vinegar; dash of maple syrup; tbs chili crisp; Teaspoon of hot pepper powder; dash of sesame oil. Mix well.
  • Add cooked rice to the bowl and mix thoroughly so grains of rice are coated.
  • Add the cooked greens mixture and the protein. Mix thoroughly.

Makes 3-4 servings.

Finished dish. The sauce was particularly good.
Categories
Kitchen Garden

Week 4—Still Cooler Weather

Brush fire #2 of 2026.

A couple of nights dipped into the 30s this week, so I am holding off planting temperature-sensitive crops. The portable greenhouse is at capacity. I continue to used a space heater overnight. Other work besides planting remains to be done.

Plot preparation continued. The first round of weeding radishes and turnips was followed by hilling potatoes. I pruned the dying Red Delicious apple tree. The Zestar! and Crimson Crisp trees had a full bloom uninterrupted by frost. Cruciferous vegetables look good. The main question is how will I get everything done by Memorial Day? I probably won’t.

Crimson Crisp apple tree in bloom.

The brush pile got to six-feet tall so I burned it on a windless, cool Friday. Mostly, it was brush from that particular plot, combined with cuttings from the dying apple tree. It was quickly reduced to a pile of glowing embers that continued to smolder until nightfall.

With the burn pile now ashes, it will soon be time to prep the soil for tomatoes. I deconstructed last year’s tomato cages and stacked them closer to the plot. My main interest is to move the hardware as little as possible, but to remove it from where tomatoes were. That will be the first plot for seasonal, warm-temperature vegetables.

Tomato cage storage.

I mowed last week with the deck set to three inches. The idea was to let the clippings dry on the lawn before using them to mulch garlic. There are not enough clippings with this mow. The garlic is wanting weeding, or weed suppression. Mulching is a high priority, yet unaccomplished last week.

Embers of brush pile #2.

It was a good week in the garden. I started thinking about what would be first to harvest,  maybe radishes. Turned out it was mixed greens still in the germination tray.

Mixed greens from the garden.
Categories
Kitchen Garden

Week 3—Moving to the Greenhouse

Greenhouse shelves all full on April 24, 2026.

This week’s highlight was finishing with the LED lights and heat pad, and moving most production outdoors to the portable greenhouse. The shelves are full with some 700 seedlings, waiting for trays to be planted in the ground before the pepper plants can find space to move from the dining room. It’s all good.

Mixed into this week’s schedule was making the garage space more usable. I ordered a heavy duty shelving unit—capacity 3,500 pounds— and put it up next to the long handled implement rack. This allowed me to clear surface space on the work bench, the work table, the radial arm saw and the long, narrow table I made that will serve as a garlic rack when the crop gets harvested in July. A political candidate stopped by with some campaign materials and we strategized over a calendar laid out on the trash bins. Every inch of garage space has better functionality now.

Most mornings I started by taking a cup of coffee to the garage and simply taking in fresh air, morning light, and considering the day’s potential. One thing leads to another, and soon I get productive with tasks to fill the day.

Work presents itself without much planning. Experience developed since I began lawn and garden work here in 1993 leads me without it. For example, to clear greenhouse space before the last frost date of May 10, the covered row goes in next. After that, clearing the tomato cages from last year’s spot and turning it over for spring planting. Garden tasks naturally queue and will continue until the whole garden is planted, hopefully by Memorial Day.

This week, I got cruciferous vegetables planted and broke down the tomato starts from channel trays into individual soil blocks. Over the weekend I tilled the covered row plot, making it ready for herbs, Asian greens, spinach and other perennial favorites. Along with this was the first lawn mowing, although this pass it was mostly to even it out. I did not collect clippings for mulch but will need more than the yard can produce.

Week three was valuable in all these ways. A gardener needs that as we move through this new season of hope.

Plot for the covered row.
Categories
Kitchen Garden

Week 2—Recovering From Rain

Potatoes on April 17, 2026.

According to weather sources, In April 2026 we had 5.69 inches of rain through the 17th. That is between 65% to 95% higher than average. We felt it on our homestead as precipitation kept me from most gardening until Friday when I attempted to put in a plot of cruciferous vegetables—curses, foiled again. A weird combination of changing air pressure, lightning, thunder, hail, rain, and wind persisted from 1:30 p.m. until dusk.

I did get the bed tilled and weed barrier applied. Saturday we had high winds, so I didn’t plant and pulled up fencing instead. On Sunday, I finished laying ground cover and put in the fence posts. Based on the weather forecast, I will plant cruciferous vegetables later today.

Cruciferous vegetable plot on April 17, 2026.

Big trees are leafing out. Both of these have cracks in the main trunk from the 2020 derecho, and eventually will be goners.

Pin Oak Tree on April 17, 2026
Autumn Blaze Maple tree on April 17, 2026.

Radishes and turnips broke ground. Here are the radishes.

Radishes on April 17, 2026.

Temps dropped into the 30s over the weekend, so I put a space heater in the portable greenhouse Saturday night. The cold spell lasted through Monday.

I started what I believe will be the last indoors plants this week: cucumbers, squash, collards, and some more cauliflower and Asian greens. From here on, almost everything goes into the ground.

Finally, I cleared the burned plastic off this year’s tomato patch. The weed burn was a problem, as I couldn’t control which plot it burned and fire took out four of them, some with plastic weed barrier. Luckily, the scorched garlic plants have already recovered. Second week in and I’m making progress.

Garlic is up!
Categories
Kitchen Garden

Week 1 — Outdoor Gardening

Third year of using this portable greenhouse.

When the heat pads, LED light positions, and folding table in the dining room are full of trays of seedlings, it is time to move the garden outdoors. That means setting up the portable greenhouse. A round of indoor planting has been completed. All that is left is breaking down peppers and tomatoes from channel trays into individual soil blocks, and starting squash and cucumbers indoors when the seeds arrive. From here on, the focus is on planting garden soil.

It took me about 90 minutes to reassemble the greenhouse. I let it sit overnight, then began moving plants from indoors. The forecast is for no freezing overnight temperatures the rest of the week, so it was as good a time to get it up. The forecast Monday and Tuesday is highs in the 80s. Yikes! It’s April 13!

I finished the plot where I started potatoes. Next moving southward are leeks, onions, turnips and radishes. I fenced these in, although I don’t have mulch so I will return soon with the hoop hoe to weed and fertilize.

The roots of the locust tree that blew over in the derecho were finally deteriorated enough to dig them up. Last year I set two brush fires over the stump in an attempt to burn it out. Now the large pieces of root are stacked next to the composter, awaiting disposition. They are rotted enough, and most likely I will take the four-pound sledge to them and work them into the compost. Planting the trees there and leaving them was a mistake that years later has been rectified.

While I was turning soil in the plot for cruciferous vegetables and digging up tree roots, a neighbor walked down the hill toward me from their home on an adjacent lot. She carried a package with pieces of focaccia and sourdough as a gift. We chatted about spring—and the moles in our yards. Moles and voles have spread throughout the neighborhood. It makes no sense to eliminate them in a single yard without eliminating them everywhere. In our country setting, it’s not certain any approach would rid us of them permanently, so live and let live, I say. It’s another part of the habitat.

While moving seedlings to the greenhouse I had a good look at them all. The February plantings are getting big, and this week is time for them to go into the ground. I planted five collard seeds and only four survived, so I planted six more on Sunday. Everything else can use more time in the greenhouse.

I took measurements and decided on a 90″ x 246″ space for the first cruciferous vegetables. That makes four rows spaced 22.5 inches apart with 13 plants per row. Next steps here are to fertilize and till the soil, lay down plastic ground cover and get the seedlings in the ground. There are not enough kale and collard plants to fill all the spots, so I may make two rows of either broccoli or cauliflower or both. I need to count seedlings. However this turns out, the area will get fenced in before nightfall on planting day.

During the first week of gardening, the work simply presents itself. There is no written plan. The seasons of gardening I’ve conditioned into myself over 43 years of growing things on our property guide me, almost unawares.

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Living in Society

A Week Without Fertilizer

Predawn light on the state park trail.

I had to take a step back from life and noticed it was 3 p.m., the traditional time of Jesus Christ’s death on Good Friday. As has often been the case, everything outdoors was quiet for a moment. Reading the administration’s orders to dismantle the U.S. Forest Service had taken me aback. Find information about it here.

The highlight of Friday was working on seedlings with the garage door open, my U.S. flag on display. From my workbench I could hear the sound of songbirds in the neighborhood. Using my Merlin Bird app I was able to identify seven species in close proximity: American Robin, Chipping Sparrow, House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, and Northern Cardinal. The chickadee was browsing around where I planted flower seeds last week. This nesting period is a true harbinger of spring.

I had to get provisions for the weekend at the grocery store. Traffic along Highway 1 was heavy all the way into the county seat. It was well before the commuting time, so I guessed people were getting off work early for the long Easter weekend. I paid close attention to traffic even though there was a lot to think about.

Fertilizer was on my mind. Midwestern BioAg specializes in locally produced composted chicken manure among other products. While made locally, the disruption caused by the U.S.-Israel-Iran War, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, has farmers scrambling for alternatives to the types of fertilizer imported from the Middle East (containing urea, ammonia, sulfur, phosphates). Composted chicken manure already has broad application on farms, so it is a good operational fit for large-scale growers. Likewise, while the private equity acquisition of the company in 2020 may or may not be directly relevant, these firms change focus from small seasonal buyers like me to serving large customers. I had to figure out what I’m doing as an alternative since it is not available.

The hardware store sells “composted manure,” so I bought five bags. It was cheap, but after reading the label, it is only ten percent composted manure and the rest “composted natural forest products.” Its numbers are 0.05-0.05-0.05, so very little nitrogen. It is more soil conditioner than fertilizer, and what I need is more nitrogen, as does every farmer in Iowa. Probably the best solution is to travel to a couple of farm stores and see what they have left. Because conventional farmers are scrambling for fertilizer this year, whatever I find will be expensive.

The other alternative is to use the fertilizer left from last year–a five-gallon bucket–judiciously and let the rest go without. Because I have been gardening for decades here, there is likely some residual fertility left in the soil. Not a permanent fix, but it could get me through this growing season. I eventually found a 10-10-10 commercial fertilizer at a local hardware store. That will have to do this year.

Home-grown food will be important in our lives as the federal government cuts programs to the bone and puts people out of work. Eventually they will come after our Medicare and Social Security, so local food is doubly important, as is replacing my source for garden fertilizer.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Leeks and Onions

Brush fire.
Brush fire.

The next step in the garden is planting onions and leeks. It began Wednesday with burning brush on the plot where they are planned. The weather has been funky, with rain one day, cool ambient temperatures the next, and an 80+ degree day thrown in for good measure. I work in a t-shirt in 45 degree weather, but don’t stay at it for long.

If leeks grow successfully there will be a bumper crop. They are great for soup and freeze well if there are extra. I bought started plants this year, so there is a good chance for a harvest. Onions have been hit or miss for me, although any that grow will find a place in our meals.

Kale, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, and chard are getting big enough to go into the ground. The plot where they will be planted has desiccated fox tail which needs burning off. It was too windy for that on Wednesday, yet I cleared all the fencing and fabric so the burn would be clean when it happens.

Garlic is up and I crawled through the rows to make sure the sprouts that were not pushing through the mulch were exposed to sunlight. That was not a big job, yet important to having a full crop. Only one or two cloves did not sprout. Perhaps half a dozen had trouble pushing through the matted grass clippings.

Some volunteer garlic sprouted and I used it in making taco filling Tuesday night. There is another bunch and I’m waiting for the right dish to use it.

The two new apple trees are getting big enough I removed the caged and pruned them. It looks like there will be a decent crop on one, and it’s too early to tel on the other. The remaining three legacy trees are in their off-year in 2026. That’s okay because I put up plenty of apple products when fruit was in abundance last year. The pear tree will have blooms again this year. We mostly eat those fresh.

I was fussing around with the extra dirt around the potato tubs. I left it piled up to use in hilling the potatoes once they poke through the surface of the soil and grow a few inches.This year I am going strictly by the book in hope of bigger spuds.

A hill of ants appeared yesterday in the yard. One of them got inside last night, so the problem continues. If we kill them all, they eventually subside. We don’t like using poisons in the kitchen.

On April 1, it’s no joke there is a lot of garden work to do. I keep at it daily in hope of having a crop.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Last of the Apples

Last six apples from 2025 season in the refrigerator.

Sunday I finished reading A Basket of Apples: Recipes and Paintings from a Country Orchard by Val Archer. I wrote a brief review: “The paintings are gorgeous. The recipes very British, heavy on dairy and animal flesh. If you cook like that, give it a go!”

Planting apple trees on our lot in 1996 was a defining moment in my life. I remember the family gathering at our house after my mother-in-law’s funeral, then leaving for Ames with my father-in-law while I stayed behind to plant the orchard before joining them. Over the years, some trees were lost to windstorms and a derecho, but three of the original six still produce. Today, the pantry is full of apple cider vinegar, dried apples, applesauce and apple butter… plus these six fresh apples.

At a political event on Saturday, a long-time friend arrived with a car emblazoned with promotions of veganism. It got me thinking about why I settled on being ovo-lacto vegetarian. Sunday night our household had a conversation about that and I reached some conclusions:

  • I won’t give up butter but can limit myself to one tablespoon per day, and some days have none.
  • There is no reason I can’t limit the amount of hard cheese I consume to one or two ounces per day, or seven ounces per week.
  • Cottage cheese is less offensive than hard cheese when it comes to encouraging LDL cholesterol production. I consume the regular product, so should limit myself to no more than one cup per day and try low-fat.
  • Fluid milk is basic in my diet, and I will measure how much I consume. Not sure of a limit, yet drinking 16 ounces per day seems like a start.
  • Peanuts and peanut butter are a daily menu item. Roasted, salted peanuts for snacks, and Jif-brand peanut butter for meals or evening dessert. Goal is quarter cup peanuts per day and no more than two tablespoons peanut butter in a day, leaning toward one. Natural peanut butter will be for some, but not all of my consumption.
  • Sodium intake is a constant overage in my diet. Need to continue to reduce how much I consume. That dang brain of mine rewards consumption of salt, so I need to be less “brainy” in that regard.
Promoting veganism.

Sadly this means I won’t be visiting Archer’s book for recipes. From time to time, though, I can remember her beautiful paintings.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Local Food Renewal

Three trays of seedlings on Feb. 28, 2026.

After five planting sessions, there are seven trays of seedlings between the heat pad, grow light and table in the dining area. This year, indoor planting is proceeding well.

My foundational experience in gardening improved dramatically during the period 2013-2020 when I worked on area farms. 2026 is the year I introduced artificial intelligence into the process.

The results of ai have been surprisingly good. Because the large language model has so much information in its database, without hesitation, it can give me planting schedule adjustments, ways to use two spots on the heating pad, and two more under LED grow lights. The rest of my process from seed to seedling to greenhouse to planting has fewer uncertainties this year compared to last. Optimizing use of the heating pad has been a boon to productivity.

On the second day of March, I am of to a good start.