As The Garden Grows 05162013

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:30:03 +0000

05-16-2013

On my way to feed my animals before leaving for work, I briskly opened the door and then slammed it. I peeked out the window to focus on the thermometer. It registered an almost unbelievable 41 degrees for the middle of May. I put on three more layers of clothing. We really did not believe our lettuce rows would hang on much past this week. We gambled of course and planted new ones just to tempt the fates. This would have been a great day to pick lettuce as it is always sweeter when picked before the day warms. Crunchy from the coolness of the night it holds much better in the refrigerator.

Rows of Snow Crown cauliflower and the last row of broccoli were harvested yesterday as newly planted peppers adjust to their home outside of greenhouse. Our ½ acre of assorted squash are rising above the always prevalent nut grass and soon there will be a massive effort to weed three foot circles around the squash. The Red Meat radish rows produced the most beautiful radishes with deep red centers and a sweet flavor. Our first parsnips are being harvested and I can hardly wait to enjoy them the way my grandma used to cook them…simmered in butter.

Come visit us on Farmstead Saturday and receive free recipes with your vegetables. It should be a lovely day to stroll through the gardens, create a picnic and our new playhouse is completed and ready for rambunctious little people.

As the Garden Grows March 14, 2013

admin — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:00:32 +0000

An armadillo was on the run, across the lawn and right through the electric fence and into our new raised beds. She tunneled through the garlic and rearranged the Hakeuri turnips in a search for the most delightful bugs. Two feet of chicken wire was wrapped on top of the electric fence in the hopes a wet nose would have trouble getting through the fence. The eight new rows in that section are doing well and have added new growing space including another row of garlic, turnips, carrots, beets and deep burgundy Blade lettuce plus Green Grand Rapids lettuce.
During the last freeze I began loading freeze cloth on the ole’ farm truck. Driving to the edge of the garden, I began throwing the cloth over the electric fence for each of the rows. One bundle was so much heavier with a big lump on the side. I stretched and squeezed the roll to get as far as the fence and tried to unfurl what appeared to be a large brick or block from the cloth. Then, a grey furry foot extended from the folds. I threw the bundle into the air with a load squeal and ran for the catch net. Yelling for assistance as I rounded the truck, flailing the net, after one huge opossum…it escaped under the Farm Store. I shall be much more careful loading the cloth for the freeze the next two nights. We are ready to begin planting squash, peppers and tomatoes as soon as the last frost has passed. I am counting on the natural flow of the pecan tree which always leafs out after the TRUE last frost. If I only knew what the pecan tree knows, I would not be so restless in the Spring. I am waiting for pecan leaves!
Lee Solomon, Chief Gardener

As the Garden Grows February 12, 2013

admin — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:00:01 +0000

The red-shouldered hawk squawked a warning as an immature eagle circled over the gardens. Lipstick, our farm pig grumped about. Then, about midday, we heard loud screeching from way behind the gardens. The wild hogs rooted for ground delights and squabbled among themselves in determined territorial sounds. The noise was a bit unnerving and reminded us of the work ahead before a hard freeze on Sunday. The hogs fed heavily, then hunker in the deep palmetto and cabbage palm forest for the cold snap. Animals always know way before we do when inclement weather is moving in and shift their daily routine. We have a lot to learn from all those creatures who frequent the gardens in the night, fly in for bugs all day, and Lipstick, out tame wild pig, who sneaks into the garden to nip the end row of Artisan Mix or jump into the strawberry bed to munch.
Huge wonderful heads of Green Grand Rapids lettuce, our first attempt at Iceberg and Artisan Mix are all available for your salad palate. The mid-winter crops are the favorite salad combo vegetables of the gardeners. (But, we still LOVE our tomatoes.) Gardeners can be seen munching on carrots while moving manure on the tractor or sozzling lettuce for restaurant orders between bites of Artisan mix.
Our first attempt at Gilfeather turnip production failed in the vision we held for it, but provided lots of wonderful sweet greens. The turnips held onto the dirt with many tough finger roots and when pulled left a basketball sized hole. They developed cylindrical pointed turnips rather than the huge round ones I remember from my youth. Brussels sprouts belong in “Brussels.” We reserved two rows in the main garden and three ground rows in the new garden for test runs. We mulched, pulled bottom leaves as sprouts swelled and finally broke off the tops to see if it would force the remaining sprouts to mature all at once. Nope!
I am always searching for crops which will produce in our soils. We will soon switch to crops of Sugar Pod peas, Rattlesnake beans and Zephyr squash, leaving our Gilfeather turnip and Brussels sprouts dreams to rest.
Come visit the farm store and stroll the gardens. Monday we will pull all the freeze cloth from our rows so visit us during the week to enjoy the newly planted rows.
See you then!
Lee Solomon, Chief Gardener

As the Garden Grows January 17, 2013

admin — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:00:45 +0000

The first two weeks of this new year filled with defined goals has been wonderful in many ways. What has NOT been wonderful is the weather for our garden. The false spring we are in has caused our plants and trees to struggle to absorb temperatures to 85 degrees within the daylight available. The shorter winter days still sends a winter message. Lettuce, Brussels sprouts and gardeners are bolting. Carrots and Beets are in a resting state in the beds, alive and green, just not moving towards the sky. The promise of a frost next week gives us hope temperatures will return to a more seasonable path. Rows of purple and green cabbage have been harvested to keep them from splitting. Romanesco cauliflower (the one which looks like an alien form of fractals), is stored in our cool box before the spirals become flowers.

This time of year is usually spent huddled around a fireplace with hot coffee and a stack of seed catalogs. Each year it seems as if they grow faster than the plants themselves. Irish Eyes Garden Seeds is a magical catalog with listings for over 40 organic potatoes including a whole page of fingerling varieties which perform well in the south. If you have been tempted to try these in your garden, find an Irish Eyes catalogue as they will ship potato starts in an insulated box November through February when OUR season provides a window of production. Most catalogs will not even ship until March which eliminates the possibility of spring plantings in our zone. This year we held potatoes over the summer and through fall to begin new varieties this month.

Wishing you purple potatoes, Easter egg radishes, Cosmic purple carrots and a rainbow of fun for your garden.

Visit us soon for a stroll through the gardens.

Lee Solomon, Chief Gardener

As the Garden Grows January 9, 2013

admin — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:00:09 +0000

In the early 1900’s, John Gilfeather developed the Gilfeather turnip in Wardsboro, Vermont not far from where I spent my early days hiking through hill and dale. There is now an annual Gilfeather turnip festival with tasting parties and recipe sharing. The story is told that John cut the tops and bottoms from the turnips before carrying them to market so no one could propagate them and held close the seed supply. There is even a cookbook, The Gilfeather Turnip Cookbook and Other Recipes Rooted in Wardsboro. John Gilfeather was of Irish decent and yet there remains to this day discussion concerning the German roots of this Vermont heirloom. Amidst horticultural debate one would banter whether it is a true turnip or a rutabaga based on its’ thick skin, long neck and long growing season characteristic of a rutabaga. But ask an ole’ Vermonter…and she will tell ya it’s a turnip! Now, from the deep south today in honor of my turnip history you have Gilfeather turnip greens in your Farm to Fare baskets. Stay tuned because the “turnips” are coming. It just takes a spell for them to become basketballs.

The gardens were bustling with gardeners pulling out old beds of broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. We planted parsnips today to tempt the fates. In our half acre garden space, it sparks the creative energy to add something new to challenge our growing discussions. The two rows of Brussels sprouts also have been magical. We talked lots about trimming back the bottom leaves to allow the sprouts to mature all together or in steps up from the bottom. The final agreement was to NOT trim out the top of the plant to force all sprout to form at the same time. Perhaps next year we will be braver.

It’s January, it’s 80 degrees, and we wonder if the alligators in the pond will emerge from their muddy cave in the swamp bottom to bask along the bank near the garden beds. Visit with us soon to enjoy the vibrant greens of the gardens and the unseasonable temperatures while they last.

See you then!

Lee Solomon, Chief Gardener

As the Garden Grows December 13, 2012

admin — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 17:00:52 +0000

The rains came and it was as if elves were dancing in the sprinkles. The huge drops pitted the sand where they bounced appearing like deserted ant lion funnels. Lipstick the pig, swirled about in jumping circles as the dust ran down her sides in rivulets and she flapped her ears to dry them off. Gardeners hustled to harvest cheddar and snow crown cauliflower with broccoli in buckets headed to the processing center to be sorted and stored. Our dusty trail to the farm absorbed the rain and the next morning revealed the frolicking tracks of yearling deer.

Our first Artisan Mix of lettuce was harvested this week and includes 8 varieties in shades of red, burgundy and vibrant greens. Our temperatures have been so warm lately that the aphid problem on the mustard family has not had a freeze to set them back. When processing the Mizuna and the Choi family of vegetables we have experimented with the salt water bath which does cause a few to float away from the leaves. Our high strength sprayers blast them from the back of the leaves. They lay eggs in the soil and at the first sign of good food surface to achieve as many as ten life cycles in a season. Rows of Win Win Choi, Red Pac Choi and Tat soi that were in ground rows had to be shared with the chickens as their infestation was severe. Chickens have been celebrating the excess of green organic goodies to peck through and find an extra special worm. It is so strange that we are in mid-December and have only had one, one night freeze.

Let us hope the temperatures become more seasonal and the winter crops breath a sigh of relief.

Lee Solomon, Chief Gardener

As the Garden Grows November 28, 2012

admin — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:00:37 +0000

The day warms and we are thankful; blessed also that the gardens did not get hit with a frost two weeks ago. Last year’s first frost was November 12. This year’s after Thanksgiving frost allowed an extra two weeks for tomatoes, datil peppers and eggplant to produce another round of vegetables. Now, we cut bamboo stakes and interwoven tomato vines from support cages. There was a profound difference in tomato production between different rows of tomatoes. Four rows were planted the day before Tropical Storm Debby dumped a week and a half of rain and some serious flooding on the farm. The row which flourished until this frost was planted the week after Debby. Lesson learned!

Next week most all rows will have been planted to winter crops with a few rows held for succession plantings of carrots and beets. Our rows of saved garlic will be planted in February. We hope to double our seed stock for the next year. Seven new raised garden beds are being created and planted as soon as the beds are filled and tilled.

Many of our cauliflowers and broccoli plants have leaves that are over two feet long and a foot wide. We realized that a number of people who visit the farm plan to eat healthier in the new year with juicing as a major element in their program. In response to these needs we will provide leaves of the brassicas for $.50 per lb. to encourage more people to improve their nutritional intake. These leaves are sweeter and tenderer than collards with varied flavor for each variety.

We hope to see you on the farm soon.

Enjoy your stroll through the broccoli forest.

Lee Solomon, Chief Gardener

As the Garden Grows November 1, 2012

admin — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:00:38 +0000

The winds of winter blew in gusts to 25 knots as gardeners unloaded fold upon fold of freeze cloth. The gardens were shaped by bends of PVC pipe over each raised bed, gardener‘s modern art for sure. Teams worked the ends of the cloth using the loft of the wind to sail the cloth over the supports and fasten them with huge clamps to the metal beds. It became a parasailing experience at times. As the winds rippled the cloth, everyone had a different low temperature prediction. Gainesville predicted a temperature of 35 degrees with a wind chill of 20 degrees. Well, the wind died at sunset, but for the few degrees of higher temps it would have frosted. The winds of winter blew through and our journey with the cabbages, broccoli and Asian greens begins.

We have been experimenting all summer with new varieties in the greenhouse production. Rattlesnake beans grew long and slender and were beautiful without stink bug damage. Black Plum tomatoes matured with lots of flavor but did not develop their signature black coloration due to lack of direct sunlight, which is the trigger for tomatoes and peppers to turn black and deep purple. Summer Sun Gold tomatoes did not perform as well but we will work on improving their fertilization next spring. We are excited about two tables of Shishito peppers which, so far, are doing well although they have not set blooms yet. We hope you will visit the green house to see all our new adventures when on the farm .

Enjoy your winter and take lots of time to sit by a warm fire with gardening books and plan your spring growing season. All the seed catalogs allow plenty of time to circle items you are dreaming of growing. Visit us soon!

Lee Solomon, Chief Gardener

As the Garden Grows October 24, 2012

admin — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:00:52 +0000

“When what is old becomes new again,” is writing the road of my life. I spend hours sorting through cookbooks and garden collections of early Rodale gardening books. Scrambling through old recipe files for that zucchini relish recipe Mom always made with the two foot long zucchini my brother would thump on the kitchen counter. The thump indicted what an amazing grower of zucchini he was as he proclaimed, “That should make a lot of relish Ma.” Memories…now I strain the brain to remember how grandma processed beans or cured meats. If only I had paid more attention as I sprinted through the dairy farm kitchen on a mission to conquer the next mountain or brook, which I was sure required my surveillance. All the old homesteading, which was a foundation for my early childhood, is now on my coffee table as Backyard Poultry, Capper’s, Organic Gardening, Chicken Coops, Mother Earth News and Grit. Articles about making lard, incubating eggs, growing heirloom varieties, training a draft horse and canning are all part of my swirling effort to get back to basics.

To simplify my life through workshops on the farm and store porch conversations on Farmstead Saturday of how life used to be is critical. “Used to be,” is here now as it seeps into our daily reality that we must conserve energy, can our own foods, create more sustainable households and teach our children heritage skills so they can have a strong foundation in a changing world. Join us for the Pine Needle Weaving, Creative Totes and Soap Making workshops on the farm.

See you then!

Lee Solomon, Chief Gardener

As the Garden Grows October 18, 2012

admin — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 16:00:46 +0000

The time to grow strawberries is NOW! The window for central Florida is September to November for optimum production. When temperatures drop to between 50-80 degrees F. with a day length of 14 hours or less, plants will set blooms. The briskness in the air has all the leaves in the strawberry bed at full attention. Throughout late summer the greenhouse staff harvested the daughter plants from the strawberry bed and they have developed strong root systems in 4” pots. “Festival” and “Everbearing” are ready for fall planting. Strawberries are a wonderful ground cover for well drained, full sun locations in your yard. However, one deer passing through will reduce them to nubs, so choose your location carefully.

Our pepper rows are slowly calling it quits. We have been harvesting and pulling the summer rows to plant fall rows of Cheddar, Graffiti, Romanesco and Snow Crown cauliflower. Rows are being reserved for onions and garlic which will be planted as temperatures drop. In anticipation of a colder winter than last year, we are installing the PVC pipe arches for the freeze cloth protection we will need for the raised beds. Over the past couple of years frosts have arrived as early as the first two weeks of November. Good garden practices require freeze protection for pipes, plants and farmyard animals.

Have a wonderful fall and we hope to see you on the farm soon!