Market Menu for Saturday, May 10, 2014

Welcome to the 2014 out door market season. We will have the following items at the Farmers Market for Saturday, May 10, 2014. (New items are in Bold Print)

Salsa - Brandywine, Cherry Tomato, Roasted Roma, Hot'n'Sweet, Jalapeno Jelly (yum)

Crunchy Candy Carrots - these are amazing eating carrots.
Sweet Red Onions
Shallots
Sweet Spanish Onions - these babies are very sweet.
Dried egg plant (see recent blog posts on how to use and recipes)
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Dandelion Greens
Fresh Spinach

Herb plants for this week,

• Chives
• French Tarragon
• Apple Mint
• Chocolate Mint
• Spearmint
• Peppermint
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Lemon Thyme
• English Thyme
• Oregano Thyme
• Silver Posie Thyme
• Caraway Thyme
• Cilantro

Tomato Plants: Early Girl, Celebrity, Beefsteak, Roma, Sweet 100, Yellow Pear
Pepper Plants: Red Bell, Jalapeno, Habernaro, Yellow Bell

The weather is looking good Saturday. See you there.

How to Grow Cipollini Onions

Cipollini (pronounced chip-o-lee-knee) were once the province of high end restaurants and gourmet magazine. But they are becoming more common at local farmers markets. We have grown these little gems for over 10 years. We start our cipollini onions from transplants. We started planting about 3000 plants last night and will finish by the weekend (weather permitting).

Here is how we do it.

Before Children There was Music, A Mothers Day Tribute for Lisa

There are common threads in marriage that transcend all others. These are typically things like our love for each other and our faith in God. One of these things in our marriage is music, not because it is more important than love or faith, but because it is part of the beautiful tapestry of our relationship and it is near to our heart.

Let me explain...

Isn't Mommy Beautiful?

"Isn't Mommy beautiful?" is one of the well repeated phrases of Dad on Mother's Day. My habitual response was to grin and nod, and repeat, "Yes. Mommy is beautiful", and secretly roll my eyes at the slight romance.

I appreciate the love my Mom shows for me daily, and am giving her a little love now. She works tirelessly trying to serve us, with no monetary compensation. Here's a poem I wrote to show some appreciation:

Mother's Day Reflections

We lost my father to cancer about 5 weeks ago and I know my mother is feeling the loss the most. Here are some reflections of my growing up years and the affect my mother had in our home.

It is my goal to bless her for all these memories...

10 Reasons Why Rochester Minnesota Is a Great Place to Raise a Family

Spring is in the air and people start thinking of moving and relocating. With all the talk about the Destination Medical Center (DMC), many people will be thinking of relocating here. The local papers and TV are promoting Rochester as a mecca for employment and growth.

As a long term resident, I would like to offer my list of why the Rochester area is a great place to live and raise a family.

Honor - A Mother's Day Blessing

The ten commandments says to honor our father and mother. As a husband I think this includes honoring our wife, the mother of our children. We can bring honor to them with our words as well as our actions. I know it is a week early, but if you are looking for some fresh ideas on how to honor your wife or mother for Mothers Day here are some suggestions...

How to Pick the Best Garden Vegetable Seeds

One of the rituals of spring is picking out seeds for the garden. Until you have some experiencing it is always a challenge to pick the best varieties and seed. 

Here are a few tips...

Market Menu for Saturday, May 3, 2014

Welcome to the 2014 out door market season. We will have the following items at the Farmers Market for Saturday, May 3, 2014. (New items are in Bold Print)

Salsa - Brandywine, Cherry Tomato, Roasted Roma, Hot'n'Sweet, Jalapeno Jelly (yum)

Crunchy Candy Carrots - these are amazing eating carrots.
Sweet Red Onions
Shallots
Sweet Spanish Onions - these babies are very sweet.
Dried egg plant (see recent blog posts)
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Dandelion Greens

Herb plants for this week,

• Chives
• French Tarragon
• Apple Mint
• Chocolate Mint
• Spearmint
• Peppermint
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Lemon Thyme
• English Thyme
• Oregano Thyme
• Silver Posie Thyme
• Caraway Thyme
• Cilantro
• Basil

The weather is looking good Saturday. See you there.

How To Make Compost Tea

What is Compost Tea?

For all you tea lovers out there you can add compost tea to your list but you don’t drink it, you use it on your plants. 

You make compost tea by steeping compost in unclorinated water. The mixing process can be a simple as burlap bag in a bucket of water, or some very advanced tea makers use bubbling air to mix things and keep it aerobic (good microbes).  Some tea makers also add some nutrients for the microbes, typically a sugar.  

So why go to all this trouble?