A Trick For Growing Very Early Carrots

The first thing to come up in the spring at our farm is the garlic. Wait...I thought this post is about carrots.

Yes there is a connection, read on...

Petersen's Market Menu for June 27, 2015

The spring greens are at their peak. We will have spring mix, wild arugula, wild dandelion, baby baby spinach, baby kale, cilantro, cress and beet greens this week.

We picked two bushels of garlic scapes this week.

Reed dug new baby potatoes that we will bring this week!

Andrea dried some mints and herbs and is making some Vegetable Freak...Freaky Tea. Sweetened with fresh stevia.
 

• Andrea's Tropical Tea - Orange Mint, Pinneaple Mint and Stevia
• Jenna's Sweet Chocolate Tea - Chocolate Mint & Stevia
• Lisa's Orange Blossum Tea - Orange Mint, Spearmint & Stevia
• Just Mint - A Blend of Spearmint & Stevia

We will have the following items at the Farmers Market for Saturday, June 27, 2015 (New items are in Bold Print)

Garlic Curls!

New Crop Radishes
Garlic Curl-Garlic Scapes
Asparagus
Fresh Cut Herbs: Mint, Chocolate Mint, Oregano, Basil, Chives
Baby Spinach
Spring Mix
Baby Kale
Cress
Beet Greens
Wild Arugula
Regular Arugula
Dandelion
Mint Plants - Chocolate, Orange, Spearmint
Herb Plants - Chives, Sage, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, Epasote, Stevia, Oregano, Dill, Cilantro
New Crop Green Onions - Walla Walla Sweet
Pepper and Tomato Plants, Heirlooms
Melon Plants - Large Selection
Pumpkin Plants
Pea & Bean Plants
Heirloom Red Okra Plants
Cole Crop Plants: Broccoli, Cabbage

Salsa: an array of different kinds
Pickles - Sweet, Dill and Relish

Parsnips

Shallots
Cipotle Smoked Peppers

Charcoal (home grown, home made)
Potting Mix with our compost

A Farmers Inner Compass

Have you seen these books about "True North"?  There are organizations and even a movie with this title.

True north refers to the North Star that aligns with the rotational axis of the earth. Every junior high student learns that you can always navigate at night by looking for the North Star, which is in always in alignment with the edge of the big dipper.

Compasses are another matter. A magnetic compass does not quite point to true north as it is attracted to a large magnetic ore deposit near but not quite exactly at the north pole.

Compasses have largely been replace by satellite based GPS (Global Positioning Systems). With GPS you can tell your location anywhere on the earth within 3 meters. With high precision GPS you can go a lot better than that.

So what does this have to do with farming

Your Organic Vegetable Coach

I totally enjoy talking about growing vegetables with our customers. I had been talking about 10 minutes to one of our customers a few weeks ago and she suggested anyone of our family could be a "Vegetable Coach".  Kinda like a personal trainer for gardeners.

I have been thinking about that over the last couple of weeks and I think she was on to something.

Here is what I concluded...

Petersen's Market Menu for June 20, 2015

The spring greens are at their peak. We will have spring mix, wild arugula, wild dandelion, baby baby spinach, baby kale, cilantro, cress and beet greens this week.

We picked two bushels of garlic scapes this week.

I found some new baby potatoes that we will bring this week!

Check out our salsa for Fathers Day!

We will have the following items at the Farmers Market for Saturday, June 20, 2015 (New items are in Bold Print)

Garlic Curls!

Garlic Curl-Garlic Scapes
Asparagus
Fresh Cut Herbs: Mint, Chocolate Mint, Oregano, Basil, Chives
Baby Spinach
Spring Mix
Baby Kale
Cress
Beet Greens
Wild Arugula
Regular Arugula
Dandelion
Mint Plants - Chocolate, Orange, Spearmint
Herb Plants - Chives, Sage, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, Epasote, Stevia, Oregano, Dill, Cilantro
New Crop Green Onions - Walla Walla Sweet
Pepper and Tomato Plants, Heirlooms
Melon Plants - Large Selection
Pumpkin Plants
Pea & Bean Plants
Heirloom Red Okra Plants
Cole Crop Plants: Broccoli, Cabbage

Salsa: an array of different kinds
Pickles - Sweet, Dill and Relish

Parsnips

Shallots
Cipotle Smoked Peppers

Charcoal (home grown, home made)
Potting Mix with our compost

Treasure

You know the old saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure". Well we had a good example of that at the farmers market last week. Before I explain what happened let me give a little background.

We had a great onion crop last year and we have been selling onions all winter and on into the spring. These  are the Spanish onions that will keep for 6 months or more. Well these onions were picked in early September so we are way out on the edge of the bell curve, probably six sigma or something like that, with these onions lasting 10 months.

The onions that are well grown and well stored don't really go bad they just sprout (meaning they wake up and start growing.)

That is the start of the weird transaction we had at the farmer's market...

How to Be Rich

Andy Stanley has written a book with the title "How to be Rich" based on 1 Timothy 6:17 where it says, "Command those who are rich in this present world..."

I hadn't read the book yet but I got to thinking that compared to many people we are rich in this present world.

Did you know that if you make $48,000 a year, you are in the top 1% of the wage earners in the world.  The average income in Olmstead county is $62,000 per year. I'll bet you didn't even know that most of you are a "one percenter".

What difference does this make. Here are three reasons this is important...

The Top One Percent

There is a lot of discussion about the inequity of wealth between the top one percent of the wealth holders and the rest of us. The top one percent have wealth so vast as to boggle the mind.

So why is this such a hot topic.

Petersen's Market Menu for June 13, 2015

The spring greens are at their peak. We will have spring mix, wild arugula, wild dandelion, baby baby spinach, baby kale, cilantro, cress and beet greens this week.

We will have the following items at the Farmers Market for Saturday, June 13, 2015 (New items are in Bold Print)

Garlic Curls!

Garlic Curls
Asparagus
Fresh Cut Herbs: Mint, Chocolate Mint, Oregano, Basil, Chives
Baby Spinach
Spring Mix
Baby Kale
Cress
Beet Greens
Wild Arugula
Regular Arugula
Dandelion
Mint Plants - Chocolate, Orange, Spearmint
Herb Plants - Chives, Sage, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, Epasote, Stevia, Oregano, Dill, Cilantro
New Crop Green Onions - Walla Walla Sweet
Pepper and Tomato Plants, Heirlooms
Melon Plants - Large Selection
Pumpkin Plants
Pea & Bean Plants
Heirloom Red Okra Plants
Cole Crop Plants: Broccoli, Cabbage

Sweet Spanish Onions


Salsa: an array of different kinds
Pickles - Sweet, Dill and Relish

Parsnips

Shallots
Cipotle Smoked Peppers

Charcoal (home grown, home made)
Potting Mix with our compost

How to Plant Watermelon Organically

This year I went crazy with water melon starts. About three weeks ago I started one flat each of 15 varieties. Many of these seeds are heirloom varieties from Seed Saver's Exchange.

Some of the seeds were small quantities and a flat was all I had. Others I had a larger quantity and so I also direct seeded some.

I have been bringing transplants to the farmer's market. So it you want to try any of these you can get them there.

Here is how you do it.

Asparagus, Brown Rice Pasta, Scallions and Tazekie Sauce (Gluten Free)

It is asparagus season and every good salad needs some green onions. I found some Brown rice pasta spirals that work well with the veggies. The whole grain rice pasta is gluten free.

Here is the recipe...

Rosemary, Green Onions, Brown Rice Penne Pasta and Greek Yogurt (Gluten Free)

I love fresh Rosemary and Greek yogurt, which makes a great dressing for brown rice pasta.

Here is the recipe...

Petersen's Market Menu for June 6, 2015

The spring greens are at their peak. We will have spring mix, wild arugula, wild dandelion, baby baby spinach, baby kale, cilantro, cress and beet greens this week.

Cilantro We Will Have at the Market. Photo Cred: Reed Petersen

We will have the following items at the Farmers Market for Saturday, June 6, 2015 (New items are in Bold Print)

Jumbo Pansies
Asparagus
Fresh Cut Herbs: Mint, Chocolate Mint, Oregano, Basil, Chives
Baby Spinach
Spring Mix
Baby Kale
Cress
Beet Greens
Wild Arugula
Regular Arugula
Dandelion
Mint Plants - Chocolate, Orange, Spearmint
Herb Plants - Chives, Sage, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, Epasote, Stevia, Oregano, Dill, Cilantro
New Crop Green Onions - Walla Walla Sweet
Green Garlic 
Pepper and Tomato Plants, Heirlooms
Melon Plants - Large Selection
Pumpkin Plants
Pea & Bean Plants
Heirloom Red Okra Plants
Cole Crop Plants: Broccoli, Cabbage,Kale

Sweet Spanish Onions


Salsa: an array of different kinds
Pickles - Sweet, Dill and Relish

Parsnips

Shallots
Cipotle Smoked Peppers

Charcoal (home grown, home made)
Potting Mix with our compost

Black Beans, Lentils and Black Rice with Cilantro (Gluten Free)

By the time this is posted we will have cilantro in the garden. This is a cold salad with a black rice, bean and lentil base. Very inexpensive and good for you. Lots of fiber and Glutin free.

Here is the recipe...

How to Grow Herbs in Minnesota

We have a very cool climate, which needs to be taken into account when growing most vegetables and especially herbs.