Monday, September 30, 2013

10 Reasons My Children Are Awesome


If you tell your children that you love them and give them encouragement they will walk a little taller each day. Each of our teenagers have unique skills and abilities, but there are some common denominators that they all share.

  1. They have a real faith.
  2. They value relationships
  3. They respect those who have a leadership role in their lives.
  4. They are good students. 
  5. They work hard.
  6. They save for the future. They have learned to delay gratification.
  7. They like to read.
  8. They are learning to win with money.
  9. They are givers.
  10. They pick good friends. They involve their parents in their friendships.
They are my children and I love them.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Squash Blossom Farm Fair

We were invited to set up a display of pumpkins and squash at Squash Blossom Farm today. They celebrate fall in at their farm every year at the end of September. We appreciate the chance to be a part of their celebration.

It was a beautiful day for their celebration and an excellent chance for many folks to get out to the country.

Squash Blossom Farm has some unique features. They have an aquaponics set-up using fish to grow greens and herbs. They milk a cow. They have an art gallery.They bake bread in a stone oven.

Pretty cool.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Market Menu for September 28, 2013

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, September 28, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Pumpkins - Decorating, Cinderella, Fairytail
Cantalop - Jenna's Favorite.
Winter Squash - Acorn, Spaghetti, Orange Hubbard, Butternut, Orange Kuri, Delicata, Jester, Kubotcha,
Pie Pumpkins - New England Pie, Winter Luxury Pie
Yellow Watermelon, Orange Watermelon
Baby Zucchini & Patty Pan - Seasonal Specialty
Cherry Tomatoes - Good Supply
Heirloom Tomatoes - Really Good Supply
Canning Tomatoes
Watermelon - Amazing (I picked 50 melons this week!)
Eggplant
Fresh Cut Basil
Salsa Kits - Red, Green
Salsa - Fresh Canned, Squash Blossom Salsa!
Hot Peppers - Jalapeno, Poblano, Serrano, Ancho & Habernaro
Tomatoes - slicers, Romas, cherries
Tomatillos
Squash Blossoms
Beets
Baby Zucchini Squash
Yellow Patty Pan Squash
Red Onions
Slicing Cucumbers - Burpless (Nice)
Mini Cucumbers - Tender, Crisp, Sweet, Bitter-free and Seedless (Top of the Line)
Red & Green Okra
Garlic - New Crop
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Chipolini Onions
French Filet Beans - new row this week
New Baby Potatoes - Red & Yukon
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale (new lettuce bed this week)
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Baby Kale - Regular
Spinach
Arugula
Baby Cilantro
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, new bed this week
Fresh Cut Herbs - Basil, Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro, Thyme, Dill
Dandelion Greens, Beet Greens
Shallots - New Crop
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Lisa's Soap

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Borrowed Time

I can't remember the last season where we hadn't had at least some touch of frost by this time in the season. The late season frost sensitive crops are always a little bit of a roll of the dice and usually don't make it before they are killed or damaged by frost. For example we just started picking a beautiful row of french fillet beans and I have another one staged to start next week. I did not really expect to harvest these beans, they were more for soil building, but hey we will take the windfall.

We are still harvesting a basil in bountiful quantities. Basil and Okra are two of the most frost sensitive of the garden plants and they are yet untouched. Cherry tomatoes and peppers. Several more weeks of the best of summer.

The flip side of this discussion is we can hardly wait for the first frost kissed Brussels sprouts and those sweet sweet candy carrots. Leeks, broccoli, and kale are all improved by the fall cold.

This again reinforces my premise that the averages of weather are just a string of extremes that meet in the middle. At least this year has stacked up that way, snow every weekend in April with a massive break all the records snow the first week in May. See my post on Once in a Blue Snow.


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

10 Ways to Preserve the Harvest

Here are 10 of the best ways to preserve the harvest.

1) Canning, discover the lost art of water bath canning. Be a Salsa Freak.
2) Dehydrating, many things will keep forever if dried and frozen.
3) Freezing, works well for many things. Consider the on going energy costs.
4) Curing onions and garlic well allows extensive storage.
5) Blanching, enhances the freezing process.
6) Can or freeze jelly or jam.
8) Pick varieties that store a long time. Shallots will store for a year.
9) Pickle cucumbers, zucchini and beets.
10) Ferment cabbage, pickles and garlic.
11) Puree and freeze pumpkin and squash.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Dryhydrate Everything

We have a row about 300 feet long of very large Jalapenos, that are the source of a bushel of Jalapeno peppers in the dehydrator this evening. We had two bushels at the market this week. We sold one and I am drying the other. It takes about 30 trays in my dehydrator for that many peppers. It will take about 24 hours to dry the peppers to a pliable consistency and 36 hours completely dry. If you are going to smoke them, the pliable consistency is best. If you are going to store them long term completely dry them and put them in the freezer. If  you want to try your hand at drying, stop by our stand.

We have a lot of Jalapenos but the real gems are the Poblanos or Ancho's as they are sometimes called. We have two rows 300 feet long of beautiful dark green peppers. Poblanos are quite a bit larger than Jalapenos and don't fit as well into the dehydrator. But the medium and small ones can fit in the trays. They dry beautifully and smoke even better.

I had a few extra trays so I loaded up a few hundred serranos with the Jalapenos. They are hotter so a little goes along way. They have a unique flavor, which is different than the other two.

Tomorrow night I'm thinking that I will load up some Roma tomatoes. They have much more moisture in them so they take a little longer to dry. You can also smoke the Romas and the will dance in your tomato dishes.

You can dehydrate just about everything:

- Green beans, for winter soup
- Watermelon, like cotton candy
- Herbs, pretty much anything
- Sweet Corn, makes ooh soo sweet corn meal
- Egg Plant, really reconstitutes well for late winter lasagna



Monday, September 23, 2013

10 Ideas to Improve Your Quality of Life

Here are some ideas to improve your quality of life.
  1. Pray regularly and read scripture.
  2. Shop at the farmers market.
  3. Attend church regularly and get involved.
  4. Become debt free. Spend less than you earn for a long time.
  5. Invest in relationships.
  6. Save 15% of your pay check for retirement
  7. Exercise regularly.
  8. Loose 20 pounds.
  9. Read more books and watch less TV
  10. Sleep well and take naps (my favorite)

Saturday, September 21, 2013

You can grow HOT peppers in Minnesota

Hot peppers like hot weather and a long season. Some gardeners assume that you can't grow hot peppers in Minnesota. This is definitely not true.

We like to grow Jalapeno, Poblano, and Anneheim peppers. They are recognizable in our markets and sell pretty well. I also like to dry and smoke these peppers for consumption over the winter.

We use them in our salsa and other cooking.

Peppers are a great way to spice up many bland Minnesota dishes and are very healthy.

We grow our peppers with liberal amounts of compost, organic fertilizer and no sprays or chemical fertilizers, ever!

10 Ways to Maximize Your Food Dollar

Produce at the Rochester Downtown Farmers Market is one of the best ways to maximize your food dollar.
  1. Local farmers have a better selection of produce
  2. Local vegetables are fresher
  3. Fresher means vegetables will keep longer
  4. Longer shelf life means less waste due to spoilage
  5. Fresher means vegetables have better nutrition
  6. Local produce is more sustainable (less miles from farm to table).
  7. Get to know your farmer so you know how your produce is grown.
  8. Local purchase dollars stay in the community
  9. Local produce supports local farmers and families
  10. Local vegetables are far less likely to be genetically modified.

10 Reasons to Shop At the Rochester Farmers Market

We shop at the Rochester Farmers Market and here is why.

1) If real estate is about location, location and location. Food is about fresh, fresh, fresh.
2) The farmers market has more diversity of produce and other foods. Just our stand has more diversity of seasonal produce than some supermarkets.
3) The knowledge base of the farmers about their product is orders of magnitude beyond any other source of produce or meats.
4) You can know your farmer. We want to be your farmer, get to know us.
5) You can get advice about cooking and preservation.
6) Some of the items offered for sale are weird. The vendors actually think about what you want, not just the latest fashion foodie trend. From basic to way out, you can find it all. Charcoal, black garlic, moon and stars watermelon, and chipotle smoked with apple wood.
7) You will never ever ever find some things anywhere else. Sun gold cherry tomatoes, ruby streaks mustard greens, baby patty pan squash and brandywine tomatoes have to be picked fresh, fresh, fresh. Putting them in a truck for a week would destroy them.
8) The market is a source of community, wisdom, and stability.
9) The farmers are our friends.
10) The market is a small business incubator. We talk about various business incubators in the region, from the Bio Business Center to Elk Run, the Farmers Market has them all beat hands down. The market has nearly 100 small businesses and all you need is a parking lot for 1/2 a day. Sounds like the spirit of American business to me.

10 Ways to Use Poblano Peppers

Poblano peppers are a large dark green pepper that starts out blocky near the stem and then tapers to a blunt point near the bottom of the pepper. They are less spicy than a Jalapeno. They grow well in Minnesota and we have a great crop this year. The inch of rain we got Saturday night really perked up the plants and I expect them to fill out the upper course of peppers. They are relatively tall plants and easy to pick.

  1. Chiles Rellenos, is a Mexican dish that originate in Puebla. You stuff and roast a fresh polano pepper. Sometimes other peppers are used such as Jalapenos. Our poblano peppers are very large making the stuffing easlier.
  2. They are great with cooked and fresh salsa. It is easier to remove the seeds than Jalapeno's so you can make the salsa mild or use more.
  3. Poblano jam with your favorite fruit like Raspberries or Strawberries.
  4. Dried poblanos. Make poblano chipotles. Very popular.
  5. Poblano corn chowder.
  6. Poblano frittata.
  7. Acorn Squash with Poblano Butter Topping
  8. Quinoa Stuffed Poblanos
  9. Guacamole-stuffed Poblano 
  10. Poblano Peach Ice Cream













Friday, September 20, 2013

Market Menu for Saturday, September 21, 2013

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, September 21, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Pumpkins - Decorating, Cinderella
Cantalope - Jenna's Favorite.
Winter Squash - Acorn, Spaghetti, Orange Hubbard, Butternut, Orange Kuri
Pie Pumpkins - New England Pie, Winter Luxury
Yellow Watermelon
Baby Zucchini & Patty Pan - Seasonal Specialty
Cherry Tomatoes - Good Supply
Heirloom Tomatoes - Really Good Supply
Watermelon - Amazing (I picked 40 melons this week!)
Tomatoes - Canning
Kohlrabi
Eggplant
Fresh Cut Basil
Salsa Kits - Red, Green & Sweet Corn
Salsa - Fresh Canned, Squash Blossom Salsa!
Hot Peppers - Jalapeno, Poblano, Serrano, Ancho & Habernaro
Tomatoes - slicers, Romas, cherries
Tomatillos
Squash Blossoms
Beets
Baby Zucchini Squash
Yellow Patty Pan Squash
Red Onions
Slicing Cucumbers - Burpless (Nice)
Mini Cucumbers - Tender, Crisp, Sweet, Bitter-free and Seedless (Top of the Line)
Red & Green Okra
Garlic - New Crop
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Chipolini Onions
French Filet Beans - new row this week
New Baby Potatoes - Red & Yukon
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale (new lettuce bed this week)
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Baby Kale - Regular
Spinach
Arugula
Baby Cilantro
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, new bed this week
Fresh Cut Herbs - Basil, Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro, Thyme, Dill
Dandelion Greens
Shallots - New Crop
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

10 Reasons We Are Weird

10 reasons why we are weird.

1) We work hard. We like to work.
2) We read books. Yes paper. We often highlight and underline
3) We don't watch TV. It improves our peace of mind.
4) We save. It improves our present and future. We give. It is the best investment.
5) We invest in ourselves and others. We are building a legacy.
6) Our teenagers are respectful, hardworking, good students and good citizens
7) We pay cash for our cars and our farm equipment. We don't borrow money.
8) We attend church every weekend and are actively involved.
9) We value relationships. God, Family and Friends.
10) We like good music, plays and movies.

We are living our dream. The way I see it weird is good.


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

10 Reasons I Like Fall

My farmer dad says that fall is his favorite season. I think he said that because he finally got to harvest all the stuff he worked so hard to grow that year.

1) Salsa Freak - Tomatoes, Peppers and Onions (see our simple recipe)
2) Candy Carrots - The adage is frost on the pumpkins, but we like frost on the carrots.
3) Leeks, Onions and Shallots "Oh My"
4) Heirloom Tomatoes for BLT's
5) Watermelon - 15 varieties
6) Winter Squash
7) Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkins
8) Cool Weather
9) Planting Garlic
10) Fall Broccoli

Monday, September 16, 2013

10 Best Squash and Pumpkins for Minnesota (You Will Find At Our Market Stall)

We have a very good supply of high quality winter squash at our market booth. These are all ready now. You can also come to the farm any time and visit our self service area at the end of the drive. If you don't see something or the quantities you need, please ask.
  1. Delicata - sweet potato squash
  2. Acorn & Carnival - your mom would love this one
  3. Spaghetti - low carb, high flavor
  4. Butternut - soups, pies, everything
  5. Hubbard - Red October
  6. Buttercup - classic, long keeper
  7. Kabocha - orange and dark green
  8. Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin - netted, sweet
  9. New England Pie - heirloom sweet
  10. Fairy Tale Pumpkin - deep orange, sweet
  11. Cinderella Pumpkin - sweet for pies
You would think that the crop would be a little small this year due to the dry weather. But it is exactly the opposite. I planted the winter squash and pumpkins in our lower field and I think the water table is higher there. These plants have very aggressive root systems and can tap into subsoil moisture. So they did really great.

Winter squash is very flavorful and nutritious. 

We have large 30-40 pound pumpkins that we started picking two weeks ago. Wow September 1st to have a 40 pound pumpkin mature in Minnesota! I'll definitely plant that variety again. Nice big strong handles too.

We picked several 40 pound water melons last week. They love hot weather. What I want to know is where they got 39.999 pounds of water this year. They must have an incredible root system or maybe they absorb moisture out of the air or something. I'll have to research that.  


Friday, September 13, 2013

Market Menu for September 14, 2013

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, September 14, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Cantelope - Jenna's Favorite Sooo Sweet.
Winter Squash - Acorn, Spagetti, Orange Hubbard, Butternut, Orange Kuri
Pie Pumpkins - New England Pie, Winter Luxury
Yellow Watermelon

Baby Zucchini & Patty Pan - Seasonal Specialty
Cherry Tomatoes - Good Supply
Heirloom Tomatoes - Really Good Supply
Watermelon - Amazing (I picked 40 melons this week!)
Tomatoes - Canning
Kohlrabi
Eggplant
Sweet Corn - Young, Tender, Fresh and Very Sweet
Fresh Cut Basil
Salsa Kits - Red, Green & Sweet Corn
Salsa - Fresh Canned, Squash Blossom Salsa!
Hot Peppers - Jalapeno, Publano, Serrano, Ancho & Habernaro
Tomatoes - slicers, romas, cherries
Tomatillos
Squash Blossoms
Beets
Baby Zucchini Squash
Yellow Patty Pan Squash
Red Onions
Slicing Cucumbers - Burpless (Nice)
Mini Cucumbers - Tender, Crisp, Sweet, Bitter-free and Seedless (Top of the Line)
Red & Green Okra
Garlic - New Crop
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Chipolini Onions
French Filet Beansw - new row this week
New Baby Potatoes - Red & Yukon
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale (new lettuce bed this week)
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Baby Kale - Regular
Spinach
Arugula
Baby Cilantro
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, new bed this week
Fresh Cut Herbs - Basil, Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro, Thyme, Dill
Dandelion Greens
Shallots - New Crop
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
- Sage, Tricolor Sage
- Dill
- Cilantro
- Chives
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

Advice on Canning Tomatoes

Typically we would have canning tomatoes for another month. But don't wait to long this season to do your canning. Many tomato patches have blight this year and we haven't had a good rain in 3-4 weeks  and that means tomatoes will be in short supply.

We have a very good supply this week. But I expect that to taper off abruptly. Don't wait or you might not get the supply you need.

See my post earlier this week for directions on canning salsa.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

A Simple Canned Salsa Recipe

I have canned about 250 pints of salsa so far this season. We have lots of tomatoes this time of year so let me share a very simple canned salsa recipe.

Ingredients:

15 pounds Roma tomatoes. Washed.
3 pounds Sweet onions (Walla Walla or Spanish) Peel off outer scales.
12 Jalapeno Peppers (cut the stems off and keep the seeds)
1 tablespoon of bottled lemon or lime juice (per pint)

Instructions:

Boil water in a water bath canner. Remove lids from 12 pint jars and put them in hot tap water. Put jars in boiling water for 15 minutes or more to sterilize. While jars are sterilizing. Core tomatoes and chop into 1/4 inch chunks with a food processor. Add to stock pot and cook on medium heat until boiling. Cut onions into quarters and pulse in the food processor into 1/4 inch chunks. Add to stock pot. Pulse jalapeno peppers into 1/8 inch chunks with seeds. Add to stock pot. Stir thoroughly and bring mix to a boil.

Take hot jars out of boiling water. Add 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice to pint jars. Use canning funnel to ladle hot salsa into the cars leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch head room at the top of the jar. Put lid and rings on the cars and place jars in the boiling water. Add additional water until the jars are covered by 1/2 to 1 inch boiling water. Bring canning vessel back to a boil. Boil for at least 15 minutes after boiling starts. I sometimes let it cook a little longer, this is OK to do with salsa as you are not trying to keep it crisp like you would be doing with pickles.

Remove jars after 15 minute and let cool to room temperate. Jars will keep up to a year. Label carefully.

I figure 1 jalapeno per jar is medium. 2-4 is hot. 6-8 is very hot.

I don't like to add cilantro or tomatillos to cooked salsa (love both with fresh salsa).

Garlic is a welcome addition. Green peppers is also OK. Anything that is not acidic needs to be added with caution. I add extra lime juice if using other ingredients. Corn can also be added.

Varying the tomatoes is one of the best ways to change the flavor. We use heirlooms, Romas and cherry tomatoes. I have also occasionally roasted the tomatoes.

I have found that simple is better.

We bring this salsa to market from late summer, through winter to the spring.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Salsa Freak

We made 84 pints of salsa the weekend of labor day from gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and roasted Roma tomatoes. If we add that to the salsa we have made over the last several weeks I would have over 150 pints so far.

Reed and I went to Fleet Farm on Labor day and bought another 8 dozen pint jars.

We have lots of tomatoes, sweet onions and peppers so we have been taking advantage of the bounty.

Our recipe is very simple and uses only those three ingredients. We vary the flavor by the types of tomatoes and peppers that are used.

For all you "Salsa Freaks" we have started to take some limited edition salsas to market. I had 6 pints of Squash Blossom Salsa at market this week. Yum!

Update. We made 96 pint of salsa on September 8.



Monday, September 9, 2013

The Fastest Way to Change Yourself is to Hang Out With the People You Want to Be Like

Whether you want to be an excellent cook, an knowledgeable parent, an experienced foodie or just reduce your carbon foot print. One of the quickest ways to change yourself is to spend time with the people you want to be like.

If you want to be an excellent mom, find other moms who have done a great job and are a little ahead of you in the process. Ask if you can hang out with them once a week or once a month.

If the process of being a dad seems a little overwhelming from time to time. Find some other men that have been through the stage you are in and pick their brains. Don't be shy, do a little parental networking.

Cooking can seem like a lost art, find some folks of like mind and spend some time cooking together. No one has all the answers and we can learn from each other.

I'm not sure how you get to be a foodie, but I'm sure if you hang out with other foodies you get better at it.

The reverse of this process is also true, if you hang out with people who are the opposite of who you want to be they will rub off on you. If someone uses coarse language, you will pick up these manerisms. If someone has poor habits with money like over spending or shopping beyond their means, this can affect your spending patterns. If someone has the "spirit of Eore", this can also be contagious.

So do your homework and spend time with people who you want to be like.





Friday, September 6, 2013

Market Menu for Saturday, September 7, 2013

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, September 7, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Cantelope - Jenna's Favorite Sooo Sweet.
Winter Squash - Acorn, Spagetti, Orange Hubbard, Butternut, Orange Kuri
Pie Pumpkins - New England Pie, Winter Luxury
Yellow Watermelon

Baby Zucchini & Patty Pan - Seasonal Specialty
Cherry Tomatoes - Good Supply
Heirloom Tomatoes - Really Good Supply
Watermelon - Amazing (I picked 40 melons this week!)
Tomatoes - Canning
Kohlrabi
Eggplant
Sweet Corn - Young, Tender, Fresh and Very Sweet
Fresh Cut Basil
Salsa Kits - Red, Green & Sweet Corn
Salsa - Fresh Canned, Squash Blossom Salsa!
Hot Peppers - Jalapeno, Publano, Serrano, Ancho & Habernaro
Tomatoes - slicers, romas, cherries
Tomatillos
Squash Blossoms
Beets
Baby Zucchini Squash
Yellow Patty Pan Squash
Red Onions
Slicing Cucumbers - Burpless (Nice)
Mini Cucumbers - Tender, Crisp, Sweet, Bitter-free and Seedless (Top of the Line)
Red & Green Okra
Garlic - New Crop
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Chipolini Onions
French Filet Bean.
New Baby Potatoes - Red & Yukon
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale (new lettuce bed this week)
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Baby Kale - Regular
Spinach - Good Supply
Arugula - Good Supply, new bed this week
Baby Cilantro
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, new bed this week
Fresh Cut Herbs - Basil, Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro, Thyme, Dill
Dandelion Greens
Shallots - New Crop
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
- Sage, Tricolor Sage
- Dill
- Cilantro
- Chives
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Drip, Drip, Drip


Drip, Drip, Drip, Drip

No I’m not having a problem with an annoying faucet, drip irrigation is one of the modern wonders of agricultural technology. Drip tube is created by a poly tube that has passages every 8-12 inches that seep out a controlled amount of water, but have a labyrinth that won’t allow fine soil particles to block the passage when water pressure is off.

We typically use drip when we use a plastic row cover, which isn’t very often. The only annual crop we use drip on is cherry tomatoes. It keep them clean and helps us control water, when the crop is mature. 

We also used drip when we started the raspberries. We used plastic row cover to keep the weeds down in the rows for the first couple of years and allow us to water. When I had tried to start raspberries in the past those were the two problem areas. Worked like a champ this time.

You can also use drip without row cover instead of a soaker hose. It is inexpensive and very flexibl

You need a few accessories to use drip. The first is a regulator, to step down the water pressure from what is in your garden hose to 10-15 psi required by the drip. The regulators are preset for pressure. You also need adapters from your hose to the pipe fittings on the regulator.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Green Beans

We just started our second row of frenh filet beans in two weeks. They don't grow very fast with the short days of fall. So I usually plant several rows very close together in time. Then when they grow back for the second picking it takes a couple of weeks instead of a few days.

I usually plant some extra beans at the end of the season for soil building purposes. But this year they have been blooming and will produce beans.

We have had 3-4 weeks more growing season this year than we usually do. It is amazing to still have all the crops at the start of October.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Don't Mark My Paper, Help Me Get An "A"

In honor of all those students out there that will be starting school this fall I have entitled this post, "Don't Mark My Paper, Help Me Get An "A"". All of us who teach need to consider how we communicate the goals of our instruction. Do our students understand what an "A" looks like and how to achieve it. Have we been clear on where we are going and how we will know when we get there. Kenneth Blanchard author of the One Minute Manager said when he was a college instructor he would pass out the final at the beginning of the class so the class would know exactly what was expected. His finals were essay type and considered to be difficult but the students knew the goal and if they worked hard there was no reason they couldn't all get an "A" and many did.

We try to help our readers and customers to understand what an "A" looks like with our blog and with our answers to questions at the farmers market. We often have to ask questions to understand the approach a person is using in their gardening or farming. It is never to put down the learner, but only to frame the issue so advice and encouragement can be given accurately and completely.

There are times when the learner is really going in a different direction and so the teaching seems like a lot to understand. We are very counter cultural and non-traditional in our approach to farming and food. It is interesting that even many of our fellow growers at the farmers market do not subscribe to the same philosophy of growing that we do. We do not use chemical fertilizers, sprays or pesticides ever. But when the sprays and chemicals fail, the other growers often become the learner and look for a better way. It is those teachable moments that get people to change their path.

The farm and the class room are "thin places" where the natural and supernatural, meet together. The observant farmer and observant student are looking for answers to the questions of life, why do things work the way they do and how do we make those systems work for us. But it isn't just the facts that are important it is also the process and how to learn that are important.

The interesting thing is, if we do the right things in our relationships, finances, care of the land, care for others, and spiritual walk, we can all get an "A". There is no bell curve in life, if you walk the right path it leads to the right place. Get on the right path and get an "A" every time.