Adventures in Farming

I may be slacking, but the seedlings aren't

2010-04-16T13:03:00.007-05:00

Exciting times here around the farm! Unfortunately, the Farm Dog is too exhausted from being tricked by squirrels to blog, and now we're behind over here. So without further ado, a brief update of how things are growing by area...

The back garden, called the triangle
Garlic is up and tall! So are the shallots, green onions, and garlic chives. Peas, chard, and spinach were experimentally direct seeded REALLY early because of the early spring, but they just came up and are looking great!
These photos were taken about a week apart. In the last one, from 4/22, you can see the cauliflower, broccoli, and beet seedlings in trays in the foreground. Radish, lettuce, and onions (below ground) planted out next to the garlic. Plus, the richer dirt where compost was added.

The seedlings! Of course, this has been the most exciting part. I was a little slow in getting heat to the summer seeds, so the sprouting was not ideal. As you can see early on, things progressed evenly. But very quickly, an overachiever emerged... Luckily, by the time that zucchini lost its mind, the cold weather seedlings were ready to check out life outside the house, so the zucchini has ventured out as well. Otherwise, the grow lights are just too far away from the tomatoes...

More room for the tomatoes now that the cold weather seedlings live outside 24/7...

Speaking of grow lights, WOW are they great! The last couple of years I have started my seeds in a sunny window, and the difference in growth is just amazing. Hopefully this will also avoid the two week halt in growth that has typically happened while the plants figure out what exactly they were thinking growing so tall once the wind arrives...

So that about sums it up.

More to come on a few riveting topics including:
1) How I listened to the wrong hay/straw guy and am now forced to hang all my hopes on a weird little bag of corn gluten meal.
2) Massive Flea Beetle Infestation, and how [I hope] the farm gets saved by insecticidal soap
3) The Very Exciting reused lumber effort to make the raised beds. And...the hilarity that ensued once we made what we drew up on the plans. [Teaser: Veggies do not require bathtub-sized raised beds to grow.]

Garlic and shallots and ramps, oh my!

2010-03-29T11:45:00.016-05:00

Oh yeah, and a farm dog attempting to avoid dry land drowning in the lilies. Because this news is just too exciting to wait for me to get caught up on filling you people of the internets in on the nuts and bolts of the farm these days, I give you a quick view of the Excitement on the farm!

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 51F
Yesterday's low: 34F
Warnings: None! We're solidly in spring mode, and on track to have the first snow-free March in 125 years1
Mood of the farm: Reaching high to find sunshine and warm air

The Blog Lives On

2010-03-18T09:12:00.005-05:00

Okay, I'm officially excited about restarting the blog. Thanks for wanting to read it, you people of the internets!

Here's a quick update, with a photo-filled one promised soon. The last of the snow melted off the area that was last year's garden (not the woodchuck one), and the hay covering Way Too Many heads of garlic that are planted Way Too Close Together (that being the motto of this farm blog) is starting to warm up. The ground is still happily frozen. So all eyes here are on the seed starting operation, which will receive final set up...tonight! Photos soon.

In the meantime, I'm working on my Farming Face in preparation for the season.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 59F
Yesterday's low: 33F
Warnings: The Mississippi is thinking about flooding.
Days Until Last Frost (est 5/15): 58 days

So about this farm blog...

2010-02-20T12:28:00.003-06:00

Farmer Gower here with a question for those of you who still check this thing. And much to my surprise, there are a number of you who still check this thing...

Now that I have new farm space that (cross your fingers) is woodchuck-free. I am considering restarting the blog. The farm this year will include some traditional beds and likely some raised beds as well. Hopefully with an even wider variety of veggies.

And now the question. Would you be interested in reading? A quick thumbs up or down in the comments would be much appreciated.

Seed planting begins in 2 or 3 weeks!

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 31F
Yesterday's low: 6F
Snow pack: approximately 2' in the garden now

So Long, Farewell

2009-06-15T12:24:00.003-05:00

Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye...

After just over a year of farming and blogging, I'm hanging up my hat. Turns out that a small family of cocker spaniel-sized woodchucks got the best of my farm, and me. Thanks to all of you--friends, family members, and a surprising number of strangers--for reading about all my (mis)adventures along the way, and for offering up advice, encouragement, and good-natured heckling on a regular basis.

Instead of ending with a photo of the carnage, death, and destruction on the Farm (the family came back for seconds, and thirds, etc., until all that's left are stems), I'll end with what may be the last harvest--a very tiny portion of the strawberries, protected from the woodchuck feast by some especially prickly wire fencing, and picked fresh this morning.

Speechless

2009-06-12T11:36:00.002-05:00

So much for the farm. And probably the blog.

WOOHOO!

2009-06-10T16:23:00.002-05:00

Hey It's Wednesday

2009-06-10T10:22:00.002-05:00

How 'bout a MiniChuck's Eye View of the Farm that you haven't heard anything about in weeks? Sorry to be such an irresponsible blogger...

I'm currently wondering just what the chances are of the broccoli or cauliflower actually growing heads as opposed to awesome leaves... Time will tell. In the meantime, it's fresh salad all around!

Wando Peas!

2009-06-03T17:56:00.001-05:00

Look how cool the first pea flowers look!

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 71F
Yesterday's low: 50F
Mood of the farm: The cool weather crops are pleased as punch. Warm weather crops are just trudging along.

Updates from (and about) the Farm

2009-05-27T15:52:00.006-05:00

Well folks, there's been some news. Aside from the fact that the farm is growing (like) weeds faster than anyone can imagine, it turns out the Farm is actually for sale. More specifically, the consumers' house is for sale, and along with it, the farmland. The blog may focus more on my plans to release small rodents into the consumers' house and undo the work of Jim the Critter-Gitter, just at the moment they try to show the house... Okay, seriously. I'll still update the blog until the farm is sold, and I'm still going to do some planting. But the big stuff (tomatoes especially) will find other homes. As you can imagine, I have many Feelings about this situation, but mostly I'm excited for the consumers to get central heat so I can visit them in the winter.

And without further ado, because I have got to get some work done today, here's a whole host of updated photos, including (!!) the salad stuff for my dinner tonight. Last year at this time, we hadn't even had the idea for the Farm yet, and this year dinner is already grown. Amazing.

Peas

Dinner

Broccoli

Chard

The Oak Leaf Head Lettuce, and a few carrots I thought hadn't germinated. Really? I couldn't get those things to grow last year no matter what I tried, and now, NOW, they want to grow in the lettuce. Nice.

Spinach

Strawberry with first blush

More berries

Green beans in one row and a row of surprise seeds for H.

And now for the awesome green onion flowers...

So about that farm...

2009-05-21T18:26:00.004-05:00

I am so far behind on farm updates, that these pictures are probably a week old. One day, I will catch up, but in the meantime, rest assured... Stuff is growing. Harvesting will be happening this weekend (lettuce!). And life on the Farm chugs along, especially the weeds I spread in not-fully-heated compost from the neighbor, whether I am there to watch every development or not. Phew!

A Gourmet Farm

2009-05-10T15:21:00.005-05:00

So, you know those "wild garlic onions" I've mentioned here and there... Yeah. At the shwank Mill City farmers' market yesterday, someone was selling them (for a hefty price, I might add). Turns out, they're ramps. One of the first harvest-able things on any farm (or forest). A really fancy food. Used as a key ingredient in more than one episode of Top Chef. The object of desire for chefs that write for Gourmet magazine. Yep, those ramps. Luckily, I found out just in time for a harvest. Cooking them tonight with the freshly picked Minnesota asparagus available at the St. Paul farmers' market from today (yes, I go to multiple farmers' markets...).

And so as not to be misleading... Here are pictures from the first official spring harvest: a green onion. First, still a little dirty, with the farm dog moving at what appears to be her Standard Spring Speed.

Second, all cleaned up, with the farm dog in a rare pause...

Green Thumb Sunday | Houston, We Have a Problem Edition

2009-05-10T14:41:00.005-05:00

Green Thumb Sunday | Houston, We Have a Problem Edition

(and by "we" I mean Suburban Gardener)

The St. Paul Farmers' Market, amazing though it may be, is completely enabling my Farming habit. I had grand plans for 8 tomato plants, four conventional kinds started from seed, and four heirloom types I was going to try based on what looked good at the farmers' market. Um, yeah. Look what happened. In my defense, most of these belong to Suburban Gardener. But without further ado... Here's the list of tomato plants currently in my window:

Lemon Boy (from seed)
Early Girl (from seed)
Super Sweet 100s (from seed)
Aunt Ruby's Green (from seed)
Yellow Pear (from seed)
Russian Big Roma (from seed)
Black Cherry (from seed)
Gold Medal Yellow (from seed)
Amish Paste
Brandywine
Grandma Oliver's Green
Carolina Gold
Old German
Grape
Garden Peach
Yellow Brandywine
Black Prince
Big Rainbow
Bonny Best
Green Zebra
Roma
Tomatillos

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 57F
Yesterday's low: 41F
Mood of the farm: Settling in amidst a lot of upheaval (details to come...)

News Flash: Farm Dog Afraid of Puddle

2009-05-05T23:25:00.005-05:00

I have NO idea what was happening here, but I could watch this all day. Hilarious.

Also, check out the latest Wando pea development. They found the tomato cage all on their own!

Transplant Day!

2009-05-05T07:59:00.002-05:00

Guys!
It's transplant day!

This afternoon, the following seedlings are going into the ground:
Chard
Lettuce heads
Cauliflower? Maybe one--these are tough times
Sunflowers!

Everything is getting too big for the little peat pots, and the sunflowers are itching for more sun. There's a reason they say not to start sunflower seeds indoors, folks. And CERTAINLY not two months before you want to plant them. Do you know how fast those things grow???

Pictures to follow. Naturally.

Green Thumb Sunday | You Know What This Means

2009-05-03T16:47:00.002-05:00

Green Thumb Sunday | You Know What This Means
I didn't either. But I looked it up, and turns out we will have strawberries this year (knock on wood).

Garlic Layout

2009-04-29T20:01:00.003-05:00

Here's the view of miniFarm with the garlic, for reference a few months from now when I've forgotten... [Wild garlic onions in foreground]

New Additions on the Farm

2009-04-29T11:04:00.003-05:00

Things are growing away on the farm (photo updates soon), and I have some exciting news. I've wanted to grow garlic since the beginning of the farm, but never quite managed to get everything in order at the right time to do it. I figured last October was my last shot, and at that point, the Farm was in danger of becoming a garage. So imagine my surprise when Suburban Gardener and her Partner in Crime gifted me three varieties of garlic from the St. Paul Farmers' Market (which also sells fresh chicken eggs! I am SO going there this weekend. Anyone interested?) and advice from the garlic farmer who said you can plant them now for smaller bulbs late-summer. Woohoo!!!

So. The Farmer extends Learning Opportunities to garlic. Planted today: Music, Inchelium Red, and Georgian Fire garlic plants. Possibly shallots next. Stay tuned.
And finally, seeds for 5 varieties of heirloom tomatoes were planted today, a little late, but better than never. Seems like the summer push is in full swing.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 62F
Yesterday's low: 29F (WHAT???! Farmer had no idea it was supposed to get that cold last night. Luckily, everything looks okay)
Warnings: Farmer better pay closer attention to the lows!
Mood of the farm: Excited about the new additions, and the rain.

Green Thumb Sunday | Farmer Self-Portrait Edition

2009-04-26T21:53:00.002-05:00

Green Thumb Sunday | Farmer Self-Portrait Edition

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 56F
Yesterday's low: 39F
Warnings: Cucumber seeds (indoors) about to sprout!
Mood of the farm: Glad the worst of the storms are over....

Early Farm Glamor Shots

2009-04-25T09:25:00.006-05:00

Readers.
There is a serious Threat of Rain for the Farm tomorrow. And not just any kind of rain. We're talking about the one inch (double what we've had all month!) pouring down with thunder and lightning and possibly hail--all the stuff that keeps baby seedlings up with worry at night. Baby seedlings, Farmers. Same difference... Anyway! Since the rain is coming whether I pitch a tent on the farm and tend to the seedlings or not, I thought I would take some glamor shots of the spouts, so we have a pre-storm record. If you are not a farmer/gardener, you might find these pictures boring. I, however, have been staring at them like a new mama stares at her infant. They're beautiful. Just sayin...

Hey look! The Farmer learned how to space since last year's fiasco...

And let's not forget the dainty Farm Dog, caught mid-sniff to her left, just after getting off her leash and ROLLING in a DEAD ANIMAL. And plenty of dirty to go along with it. Good news = she was not hard to catch.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 71F
Yesterday's low: 44F
Warnings: Threat of Rain
Mood of the farm: Growing in its own merry way
We're Growin' Up Fast Moment: Baby indoor seedlings to begin the hardening off process...TODAY! Two hours on the shaded, but windy screened-in porch, then back to the comfort and safety of the overprotective, doting Farmer. My babies are growing up!

Learn Something New

2009-04-23T10:06:00.002-05:00

Hey, check out today's official weather warning:

".. RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING... WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING."

What, you ask, is a red flag warning? (That part comes at the end of the notice...)

"A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW... OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS... LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY... AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL."

Now we know. And we have a new tag to go with threat of hail and threat of frost. Threat of fire.

Consulting Update

2009-04-23T09:44:00.004-05:00

Here's the scoop on the new plant consulting job. Yesterday, when I was at the magical place that has cured me of a decade of daily headaches, I noticed a very sad looking plant sitting on the windowsill. Turns out, due to a variety of weird circumstances, Dan acquired this plant in tough shape. He knew it needed new soil, but only had the kind good for a cactus on hand, so I offered to help. Now folks, let's be honest. I make at least as many mistakes at farming as I have victories, but really, this plant was on its last leg anyway, so it seemed like as good a time as any to begin the consulting job. I carefully drove the thing home, and took this hasty (blurry) picture before getting to work.

Turns out, the thing was potted in what seemed like dust from an empty lot, with chunks of concrete (yet, you read that right) at the bottom of the pot. Unfortunately, there was not much of a root structure at all, and some of the branches were basically like lawn ornaments, stuck in with not a root to be found. So! I gave it some new, loose soil, removed the unrooted branches, made a cutting for a cup of water and a cutting to plant directly into the soil (not sure which one is right), and here we are. Still really droopy, but I'm hoping it will perk up a little bit soon.

Updates, of course, will be forthcoming.

Also, farm update: another Wando pea seedling is up! And the spinach has finally sprouted! The lettuce, on the other hand, is a Situation. I think the seeds either blew or floated to a low spot in the bed, because I know I spaced the seeds this year...

2009-04-22T16:07:00.001-05:00

Acquired my first plant consulting job. 4Runner acting as ambulance for troubled plant in mint family. Details to come.

It Was the Best of Times

2009-04-21T14:47:00.005-05:00

(thanks to Mother Nature, the first Wando pea seedling has emerged)

and It Was the WORST DAMN TIME in the Entire History of the farm (thanks entirely to the ridiculous and not forward-thinking farmer).

What happens when your farmer puts you in a sunny windowsill on a windy day.

All the potential tomatoes... You know what this means: Raise a glass, and pour one (or a few) for the homie...

Man Down!

2009-04-21T08:55:00.004-05:00

If these two little green onion stems were the only thing big enough to get hit by hail, then this Farmer feels pretty lucky...

In other updates, the wild garlic onions:

Some frost-nipped garlic scallions:

And one slightly less blurry chard seedling (the lettuces are still too small), Now do you see what I've been saving you from having to squint about...

Oh, and look how I didn't kill that flowery thing Suburban Gardener gave me last spring. The fern, on the other hand, is an entirely different situation...

Today's study break farm projects
1.) transplant chard and lettuce to single containers
2.) start (indoor) seeds for: cucumber and possibly some spinach as a test, since it's not really coming up outside at the moment...

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 48F
Yesterday's low: 39F
Warnings: Heat wave on its way!
Mood of the farm: A little chillier than ideal...
Reason to consider a new career: I had to turn on the heating pad for the tomato seeds yesterday. Really?

Actual Hail

2009-04-20T15:19:00.001-05:00

Freak Hail Storm on Farm!

Stay tuned for updates on microseedlings...

What's with the Radio Silence?

2009-04-20T10:30:00.003-05:00

There have been requests (no, really. there have been. more than one, even...) for a blog update on what's going on in the Farm. I've been trying to spare you the fuzzy pictures of dirt with a tiny speck of green that is so small my camera can't focus on it. One day I'll get a fancy camera that can capture the the first sprouts, but in the meantime... Rest assured, lettuce and a little spinach, and possibly even the first chard seed are all starting to sprout. Also, it's possible (likely) that the peas are growing below ground... That's all I'm saying about that. SO! A little patience, farm followers, and I'll get pictures up soon. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, so hopefully there will be plenty of growth after these two days of rain.

In other news, the highs on Thursday and Friday are in the 80s. What.

Also, the very first indoor tomato seedling sprouted. And the tiny tomato is about to get flowers. It's growth left and right around here.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 51F
Yesterday's low: 38F
Warnings: The seeds couldn't have asked for a better kind of rain... Slow, steady drizzle. Perfect.

Hey Look At These!

2009-04-16T09:27:00.003-05:00

These little things are quickly becoming my favorite thing that's growing on the farm. Suburban Gardener gave them to me last year, and I was sure I killed them in the transplanting process, but apparently not. If memory serves (and I'm almost sure that it doesn't), Suburban Gardener's sister dug these up in the woods somewhere, and they're some kind of forrest elf delicacy... Um, yeah. Turns out I don't really remember what they are. I want to say garlic onions, but that seems weird (obviously). SG--a little help?

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 67F
Yesterday's low: 32F
Warnings: Everyone's on pea shoot alert.
Mood of the farm: Growing under ground, I hope!

Weekend Update

2009-04-13T09:07:00.005-05:00

Here are some classic "before" photos of the farm before this weekend's work-a-thon.
Clearly, the place was a pit. I thought the worst part of all was going to be the thick layer of sludge below those piles of leaves, but once I got all the sludge out, I discovered (Trial of the Farmer #1) the real worst part. Ice! The quarter of the farm beneath 18" or so of grass and leaves was still frozen solid!

(See the ice crystals in the middle???)

Luckily, the rest of the farm was more than ready to be worked, so I prepped all the rest of it except that one area. Based on some very scientific (read fourth-grade-chemistry-set) experimentation, it looks like the pH of the farm is great--right around 6.5. The macronutrients, on the other hand, are practically nonexistant. The consumers and I knew this, of course, and had planned on adding plenty more compost this time around...

So after about 100 pounds of manure and compost,* plus two wheelbarrows full of fresh compost from the neighbor, Chris, the soil was considerably richer in all of the important ways.

(*Note: this makes it seem like Farming in April in Minnesota is No Big Deal. Wrong. Really, we're talking about Trial #2 of the weekend. The longer version of this story is that I pried the compost Saturday off the shelf at the Garden Center, leaving chunks of ice behind, was excited to get started, then opened the bags to realize it was all kind of frozen. So I opened the bags, left them in the sun, and came back to work on this project Sunday. Very frustrating for a farmer who is not as patient as she should be).

Also, in the middle of all of this, the Farm Dog, who looks deceivingly cute in this picture:

managed to sniff out the MiniChuck, which, after a winter of hibernating, is much less Mini and much closer to the size of a cocker spaniel. Fast forward through a flying leap into the farm, tie out ripped from the ground, and a good chase through a couple of backyards, and Maisy eventually gave up on the Chuck. But at one point, she was about six inches away from a mouthful, and then probably an ugly fight. In case you were wondering what a Farm Dog does after such an exciting chase... The answer is sit at attention like this for about 8 hours over two days, staring in the direction of the Chuck sighting. That dog has a one track mind...

And last, but certainly not least... The "after" pictures. Here's the little bit of side farm all cleaned up:
And here's the first 2009 installment of (Mini)Chuck's eye view* from the MiniChuck highway. As usual, you'll have to click on the picture to have a chance at reading the words... You can see in the top left corner of the picture the still-frozen area. That will be prepped later...

*No idea what I'm talking about? Here's the first. (Sidenote: Wow! I forgot what Farming actually looks like when it's underway. Even more excited now!)

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 58F
Yesterday's low: 39F

A Preview

2009-04-11T19:48:00.003-05:00

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 53F
Yesterday's low: 28F
Warnings: The quarter of the Farm that's frozen better thaw stat or the farmer is going to lose it.

2009 Farm Plans

2009-04-10T17:20:00.002-05:00

So I made what may be the worst design specimen in the whole world. However, I think it's a great plan for a Farm! Work starts tomorrow. And better still, PEAS WILL BE PLANTED! This weekend. For real!

Hopefully I'm learning something this year. See how there's a clear path into the Farm? Progress. Also, I've abandoned the rows in favor of beds. We'll see how that turns out...

And finally, in that little stretch of farm that's not actually on the farm... Basil, cilantro, all the onion-ish things that are already coming back up(!), and of course, more beans.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 52F
Yesterday's low: 28F
Reason to consider a new career: I'm keeping BOTH of my careers at the moment...

Timing

2009-04-05T20:13:00.006-05:00

I should have posted this months ago, but better late than never, right...

INDOORS
Planted March 15th:
Cauliflower

Planted April 5th:
Rainbow chard
Oakleaf lettuce heads
Romain lettuce heads
Cilantro

Planted April 15th:
Tomatoes
Basil

Planted April 21st:
Cucumbers

OUTDOORS
April 12th:
Peas
Leaf lettuce
Spinach
Chard (Rainbow and Rhubarb, from seed)

To plant when big enough...
Lettuce heads (seedlings)
Cauliflower (seedlings)
Rainbow Chard (seedlings)

May 1st:
A second round of spinach and leaf lettuce

May 15th:
Beans
Cucumbers

May 21st-June 1st, depending on temperature
Tomatoes (seedlings)
Zucchini (if N will eat it, and only one plant)

Green Thumb Sunday: Non-Green-Thumb Edition

2009-03-29T09:53:00.006-05:00

Green Thumb Sunday: Non-Green-Thumb Edition

A Green Thumb Sunday when the ground is frozen once again? Fitting for this perfectly weird edition. First off, an illustration of the ridiculous onion problem I mentioned a few days ago re: why the farmer needs improvement when it comes to fall tasks:

New growth. Plus a lot of crap. Hmm. Is there a metaphor here?

Next, and the real headline news is a massive Victory of the Farmer! Remember that trash can, left by the original owners of the house (before the Farm Consumers)? That trash can that was too heavy to be moved and at one point in the summer became the Squirrel Death Trap, forcing H to fish a squirrel carcass out with a stick? And fling it, making the yard smell horrible for days? Yep, that trash can.

Today, I moved it! And, it's set to slowly melt the little bit of water/ice left inside into the neighbor's mess of a "yard" which is also down-stream of the Farm. So. Excited!!

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 39F
Yesterday's low: 17F
Warnings: Snow. Ice. No, really.
Reason to consider a new career: Maisy caught a bird in her mouth this morning, and when I thought I was going to have to kill it because it was too injured, I nearly fainted. Luckily, it was just stunned. Catch and release, I'm cut out to do... Breaking necks with my bare hands, not so much. But HUGE thanks to Dr. P for the hippie-farming-advice on how to put it out of its misery. And equally HUGE thanks to the bird for rallying and sparing me from having to enact said advice.

All Mixed Up

2009-03-26T20:43:00.003-05:00

Folks. It's March. There are seedlings on my windowsill. It is snowing outside. The trees have buds. But the windchill this morning was in the teens. I somehow did this to my computer and spent almost an hour trying to figure out how to undo it (have you ever tried to use a touchpad sideways??? It is not natural, people).

And Maisy Gower, Farm-Dog Extraordinaire alternates between slipping back into hibernation on her special pile of three beds (see below) and making me absolutely crazy by pacing with spring fever.

Nothing to do but work 'til it's over.

In case there was any doubt...

2009-03-24T10:35:00.003-05:00

at how new/bad I am at this farming gig, here's one more example:

"Fall chores" on the farm were ignored in favor of "fall chores" of the academic year--the overlap is really unfortunate. Anyway, today I took a peek under the mulch covering the strawberries and green onions, only to realize there are green leaves under there. But the question is, new or old??? Honestly, I think they're a mix, which all boils down to one thing: this Farmer has a Big Mess on her hands.

SO, if anyone reading this actually knows the proper way to grow strawberries and has any suggestions for righting the ship, puh-lease leave them in the comments.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 49F
Yesterday's low: 43F
Warnings: more snow is coming. no, really.
Reason to consider a new career: I think this post basically covers it.

It's the First Day of Spring...

2009-03-20T11:04:00.004-05:00

...the Obamas are planting a garden on the White House lawn, and it's snowing here in the tundra.

Luckily, the seedlings haven't noticed much. Here's an update!

It's hard to get the camera to focus on tiny rainbow chard seedlings, so I highlighted them for you. (click for a better view)

Cauliflower seedlings all in a row. Note how my labeling strategy has improved astronomically since Tomatofiasco 2008...

The Green Oakleaf Lettuce looks healthy

Don't blink or you'll miss the Romaine lettuce. It's there. I swear.

And finally, from the world's best spring care package, and directly from Massachusetts, my next weekend planting project!

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 37F
Yesterday's low: 20F
Warnings: Just because the calendar says spring doesn't mean you should start growing immediately if you are a strawberry plant, fyi.

I'm so excited!

2009-03-18T11:17:00.007-05:00

Not only has it started to feel like spring here in the tundra, but there have also been a ton of farm-related developments. I was supposed to do a whole mess of work before I posted these pics, but seeds started sprouting today, and I just can't wait! So, here's a sort of photo-essay of recent events. Then I'm getting back to my other job...

There's still a bit of snow on the farm (and all the stuff I never put away. Bad farmer!)

Here's the planting set up. Note the fancy new gloves H&N gave me for Gowerukkah, which worked perfectly.

The Farm Dog watched carefully over the process and piped up when she thought I was doing something wrong...

Planted on March 15th: rainbow chard, oak leaf lettuce (heads), romaine lettuce (heads), and spiky kind of cauliflower (I really will post more about that soon)

And today, March 18th (already?!?!) the oak leaf lettuce and cauliflower is up!

It looks like winter might end after all!

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 55F (!!!)
Yesterday's low: 34F
Warnings: Hoping the strawberry plants don't get too used to this warm weather.

Farmer Out of Practice

2009-03-13T10:08:00.002-05:00

Sorry folks. Everybody knows blog posts without pictures are capital b Boring. Here's a follow-up, plus an apology bonus.

1. The new seeds from Johnny's:

So excited for the chard and weird cauliflower (more to come on that) especially. Also! Cilantro seeds to be started this weekend. What!

2. The especially tiny Tiny Tomato plant:

3. The farmer's new nerdtastic glasses (photo before coffee kicked in...). They're bright blue inside, folks.

A Study in Contrasts

2009-03-12T22:48:00.003-05:00

The windchill might have been -23F yesterday morning, but today, a little box of seeds arrived in my mailbox from Johnny's. SO excited. I know I abandoned the 2008 review, but I will get a list of seeds for 2009 up soon.

It's hard to imagine walking around without a coat (in shorts and a tank top??) and harder still to imagine having enough time in the day to leisurely check on the farm. Farming 2009-style will clearly involve a lot less frequent Watching My Garden Grow, but hopefully I learned enough last year to compensate.

Oh yeah--remember the Tiny Tomato seed? Well it grew/is growing, but with the short daylight and Arctic temperature in my living room, it still only has 6 leaves. By this summer, maybe it will be big enough to do directly into the ground.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 5F
Yesterday's low: -3F
Warnings: with highs this weekend in the 40s, we're in for a slush and mud mess...

2008 Review | Green Beans

2009-01-26T18:17:00.005-06:00

Dates and times
Officially, these are Contender bush snap garden beans, and they were planted like practically everything else on May 24th. The first bean was picked on July 11th, one week before they were scheduled to produce, based on the seed packet.

Keep or Lose?
These plants were pretty small, and I think that's mostly because they needed better soil. Planted in an area of the Farm that had more mulch and old tree stump than soil, it's kind of amazing that they grew as well as they did. That being said, the approximately 8 plants were far too few for 3 eaters who love to eat green beans. I'm going to keep these, same variety and all

,,,Changes for 2009
Way more plants. Possibly 25 might do it, but H really loves green beans, so maybe not... And of course, lots and lots of compost.

Running planting list for 2009
Wando peas
Provider green beans

Tiny Tomato Update

2009-01-21T09:10:00.003-06:00

Guys! Two important announcements:

1.) The tiny tomato seeds sprouted a few days ago! (pictures to come) Actually, I forgot I had stored them for warm, dark keeping, and so they were kind of yellow when I remembered. But a little sunlight has greened them right up.

2.) Farmers and snowboarding Do. Not. Mix. Seriously. Proceed with caution, farmers.

2008 Review | Onions

2009-01-18T15:27:00.002-06:00

Listen. This post isn't even going to have pictures because the onions weren't really around long enough for photo shoots. They were planted late. As a long shot. Because the Farmer thought she had a little extra space.*

Did the onions sprout? Yes--two thin little green leaves per seed.
Did the leaves grow? Not a chance. One morning I came out to see the 3" long leaves lying flat on the ground, as if sawed off by a mini-chainsaw.

Am I crazy enough to grow them again? Nope. You can buy a bunch of onions for a buck at the farmers' market on my street. I'd rather plant more beans and tomatoes.

Running planting list for 2009
Wando peas
(that list will actually get longer, I swear...)

*[Note: if the Farmer ever says she has "extra space," you should never believe her. I mean ever.]

2008 Review | Wando Peas

2009-01-17T08:01:00.003-06:00

Dates and times
The Wando peas, if you can believe such a thing, we're planted on May 24, and the first pea pod didn't even show up until around July 11th (high temp: 81F) and wasn't ready for eating until late July. A summer pea? I mean, really. Who ever heard of such a thing.

Keep or Lose?
I suppose the good news in all of that is that in the heat of the summer, there was a steady, slow production of peas, and on all but the hottest days, they were extremely sweet and delicious. Sadly, I think we harvested a total of about 18-24 pea pods. No, really. So I think I'm going to stick with the Wando variety again this year with a number of...

,,,Changes for 2009
Many. First of all, the peas are going into the ground early. Super early. And then instead of letting them grow so slowly in the heat of the summer, I'm pulling them out and replacing with green beans, which we all agree that we can't get enough of.

Also, I'm going to stake all the peas, even though it says not to. The peas that weren't staked looked like fine lace by the time June rolled around, and they never produced a pea.

Fun Fact
Minnesota is the largest grower of peas in the U.S.

Running planting list for 2009
Wando peas
(that list will be more fun as it gets longer, I swear...)

An Important Announcement

2009-01-15T17:56:00.004-06:00

Hard to believe there is an important Farm Announcement on a day where the 8am temp was -24F, windchill -40, but there is.

The Farm is making a reappearance next year! As you can imagine, the Farmer is ecstatic about this news. And the Farm Dog is looking forward to lounging in the sun, or at least she will once she remembers what warm weather feels like. As a break from work, I think I'm going to review last year's crop choices and production and start thinking about changes to make for next year. The Farm Consumers have already put in a request for more green beans, and I couldn't agree more. Lots of exciting changes to make, so stay tuned. Seed catalogs have already been ordered, and I've begun consulting the Farmers' and City Folk Almanac.

I'm so happy about all of this that I'm going to post the kind of picture I despise seeing on all the other gardening blogs I read--the Snow Covered Garden Picture. Ugh! This will be the only one though, I promise.

(What kind of farmer leaves the cages and stakes on the Farm. Really, Farmer. Really.)

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: -4F
Yesterday's low: -16F
Warnings: We haven't been above zero since Monday. No, really.

The Farming Start to 2009

2009-01-10T15:02:00.002-06:00

Friends of the Farm,
Happy 2009! It's too early to tell what this year will hold for Farming opportunities, but I can't wait to get my new Farmer G Gloves (a birthday gift from the Farm Consumers) dirty. So! It's time to get the tiny plant going. The seeds went in the dirt today.

I am so very skeptical, but I will keep you posted, as always.

An Importand Date

2008-12-19T13:16:00.002-06:00

Dear Friends of the Farm,

On Thursday, December 18th, 2008, at approximately 7pm, the last of the Farm tomatoes were consumed. The Farmer, Dr. J., the Farm Dog (and her really boundless energy), and some lovely, frozen Farm basil were plate-side for the sad day. Also marking their exit were the very last of the local farmers' market onions. All present observed a moment of silence.

[Um, seriously though. The farm tomatoes lasted until the middle of December! Mother Nature astounds once again...]

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 17F
Yesterday's low: -6F
Warnings: The farm is currently parading around without a coat because 22F feels so warm, but the farmer cautions the farm that near-zero lows are on their way...

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-17T12:33:00.005-06:00

From the Farm Dog......who can't believe her mother is again making her go through this routine.

And the Farmer...

...and the other Farm Dog, too.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 4F
Yesterday's low: -12F
Lowest windchill so far: -30F

I Can't Think of a Better Idea

2008-11-15T09:20:00.002-06:00

than a Farm on the White House lawn...

This Lawn is Your Lawn - 1 minute version for Climate Matters contest from roger doiron on Vimeo.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 41F
Yesterday's low: 26F
Projects remaining: clean stuff up, mulch the strawberries, remove the fence

So...

2008-11-11T18:40:00.000-06:00

Friends of Farmers,

It is winter here in the frozen tundra of Minnesota. Yet a certain farm consumer has been leaving hate comments regarding the lack of blog posting. SO! I thought that I'd oblige and post today since there have actually been brief farm-related activities. Mulching the strawberries so they don't die? Nope. Moving the last of the tomato cages indoors and taking down the fence? Not that either.

I'm taking a short break to make green tomato chutney from a recipe a preschool teacher where I'm collecting data gave me. Pretty sure it's from the Moosewood Cookbook. Check this, though. Not only does it use the green tomatoes that haven't ripened yet, but it also uses that damn coriander, AND the cayenne pepper that worked so well as rabbit deterrent. Seriously, folks. The coriander. Is in the pan. Flavoring something delicious. I may not hate it as much as I originally thought...

[Farmer update: I just finished eating it, and it is the best damn thing I've had in a long time!!]

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 33F
Yesterday's low: 20F
Warnings: Telepathically encouraging the Farmer to spread the damn mulch.
Mood of the farm: What farm?
Reason to consider a new career: I'm pretty sure farming involves more sleep than my current gig. Or at least better sleep...

Happy Birthday, Farm Dog!

2008-10-25T16:00:00.001-05:00

Anybody who doesn't love scrambled eggs, cheese, and bacon for their birthday breakfast probably can't be friends with the newly4 year old Farm Dog.

Happy Frost 2008

2008-10-21T13:52:00.004-05:00

Happy Frost Day, fellow farmers and friends of farmers! Luckily, this farmer pulled all the tomato plants this weekend, which may be the first time in which me being a step ahead of Mother Nature worked in my favor. Pictures of the Last Harvest soon...

In the meantime, you'll probably enjoy this. And if you don't, I have no idea how you survived reading this blog so long.

Farmer Almost Froze Her Fingers Off

2008-10-13T20:55:00.005-05:00

Had to pick some tomatoes today. WOW was it cold on the Farm after rain all day! Here's a look. Something about yellow tree leaves falling on the rows and tomato plants just doesn't sit right...

I'll be harvesting all those green tomatoes this weekend and pulling the tomato plants. Winter is on its way to Minnesota, and the squirrels are eating anything they can get their grubby paws on in an attempt to look like they've swallowed a baseball. With a little help from my tomatoes, it's working...

Farming Should Probably Stay on the Farm

2008-10-07T21:53:00.003-05:00

FYI: farming exuberance does not fit during dramatic play in a preschool classroom.

4-year old kid: "come on horsey"
me: "am i the horse?"
kid: "yep. i have to put this rope on your arm."
me: "um, why?"
kid: "because i need to take you to the farm"
me (excitedly): "the farm?!"
kid: "yeah. because the farmer grew some food for you to eat."
me: "oh great. i do feel like a very hungry horse."
kid: "yeah, you are. eat the farmer's food 'cause we have to take a long trip."
me (while presented with a basket of fake food including zucchini and cukes): "yum! i grew these in my garden this summer!"
kid (with a really confused look): "what?"
me: "oh, horses don't grow vegetables, do they?"
kid: "no. we're playing horse. got it?"
me: "yep. got it. neighhhhh"

Fall Days, Sunshine

2008-10-05T14:03:00.003-05:00

Rosa: "Hey--watch this."

I'm just going to walk up, quietly...

Give her a little smooch...

...and then pounce!

...and pounce!

and get in her face. :)

Oh yeah. The tomatoes just barely survived the threat of frost (note the low...).

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 63F
Yesterday's low: 32F
Warnings: This is looking like the last week for growing...
Mood of the farm: Frigid.
Reason to consider a new career: farmer has to have something to do in the winter besides wait for spring...

Fall Has Arrived

2008-10-02T18:20:00.005-05:00

Man down! The sunflower was sawed off at the base, just when all the little nubs were about to bloom.

[H suspects squirrel involvement]

Well it's fall around here. The squirrels are starting to get pudgy (which Maisy translates as "more delicious"), the leaves are turning, and this Farmer wakes up freezing and wondering about frost. Sadly, I'm only wondering, not Worrying and Scurrying to the Farm to check on the state of things. Whether that's because fall has a different pace or because I'm swamped with work, I couldn't say. But I only go to the Farm at most once a day now, and even then only for a few minutes; I've even been known to skip a day. Shocking, I know.

In the meantime, look at this delicious thing I made. It turns out that since the farm is still producing tomatoes to harvest, a person needs to find fall-ish things to make with them. Farm box onions and garlic, sauteed with the tomatoes and gift-mushrooms from H&N turned out to be just the thing. AND! At the very end, I added a bit of the basil-and-olive-oil paste I made and froze a few weeks ago to see how I might be able to use it. Delicious! (Sorry about the messy bowl--I didn't know it was going to be so delicious I'd have to photograph it immediately)

Science in Action

2008-09-22T21:45:00.006-05:00

I spent a lot of time on this blog chronicling the perils of growing tomatoes in pots. Like when I was sure they had wilt, even though I knew I planted a wilt-resistant variety. Or when I was sure the curled leaves were evidence of early life stress, even though I babied those seeds . And while I've known that other people successfully grow tomatoes in pots, I've generally preferred to chalk it up to "Mother Nature Does It Better."

Well those crappy tomato plants finally stopped making small, crappy tasting tomatoes, and I dumped them rather happily. There's nothing like having pots at the entrance to the Farm mocking your budding Farming Skillz. Well imagine my surprise when I found the following inside the pots:

The red and yellow circles are the two tomatoes plants, and for context, let me tell you it had rained for three days straight.
Curious scientific observation #1: The soil was bone dry.
Curious scientific observation #2: The pots were basically solid roots at the bottom, which suggests that Observation #1 was not a fluke.

The blue circle shows the soil from the cilantro/coriander pot, which has been sitting empty since I cut the plant for the coriander drying project.
Curious scientific observation #3: That soils was DRIPPING wet. As in, water poured out with soil, even though the bottom of the pot of course had holes.
Curious scientific observation #4: The soil was way darker and more dense in this pot than the other two.

Taking these Curious Scientific Observations and using my powers of deduction and formal operations, I have drawn the following Scientific Conclusions:
Scientific Conclusion #1: Soils are different, and when you accidentally buy top soil instead of potting soil you should get your rear back in the car and return it. Should you think to yourself, "well, I'll just pot the seedlings in the top soil and fix it when I transplant rather than get the car dirty again," then you better REMEMBER that detail before planting cilantro in it.

Scientific Conclusion #2: Potting soil dries out REALLY quickly, especially when the pot is FULL of roots. I can only conclude that starting about a month after those tomato plants moved to the Farm, I was already under-watering them. Amazingly, that was about the time I started Worrying about wilt and other tomato diseases...

Scientific Conclusion #2a: Watering requirements are different for farms vs. pots with potting soil vs. pots with top soil (Don't Do It!). It's almost like you have to find the right match between the plants, their soil, the growing context, the weather, and the amount of water you add. Whoever heard of such a thing?!

Scientific Conclusion #3: I gave growing things in pots short shrift. LUCKILY, Guatemala K (who has been back in the frozen tundra for a while now, but will forever be known on the blog as Guatemala K) gave me the coolest present ever last week! It's a tomato growing kit! In a bag!

This winter, I'm going to try to tip science on its head by: a) growing tomatoes b) in a bag c) in my apartment d) in the winter. Guess that means the blog will not completely hibernate this winter! Intrigued? Go here to get one for yourself and we can have a winter farming version of a book club--you know, all try to grow them and compare results! I already know Dr. Corncobb and her green thumb want to participate. ;)

(Actually, that just links to the Amazon site--you can google it to buy it from a smaller, more independent kind of place. Or if you live in the Twin Cities, get it at Twin Cities Green.)

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 82F
Yesterday's low: 52F
Warnings: Real rain arriving soon.
Mood of the farm: Hopefully primping itself for the arrival of the Farmer's mother this weekend. The Farm is not exempt from the pre-parental cleaning spree.
Reason to consider a new career: Still happy with real career.

Green Thumb Sunday: Farming is a Tough Business Edition

2008-09-21T10:02:00.004-05:00

Green Thumb Sunday: Farming is a Tough Business Edition

As you regular readers of the blog know well by now, Farming involves a regular helping of Tough Decisions. Specifically, Tough Decisions that have to be made with few concrete facts on which to base them, which, in the grand scheme of things, is probably why they're called tough decisions in the first place. In any event, today this farmer had to be The Decider about a number of things, which are illustrated here since it is, after all, a Green Thumb Sunday.

1.) The tomatoes.
As you may have noticed by the tree leaves starting to turn, fall is rapidly approaching. Unfortunately, many of the tomatoes are green green green, thanks especially to cool nights that have slowed the ripening process to a crawl. The days have been hot lately, which is what made this decision so tough, but an honest, unemotional look at the calendar (late September already?!), made this decision the easiest one to make. All of the new flowers and branches about to grow new flowers (that I could find in that jumble of tomato plants) had to be unceremoniously chopped off so that the plants' resources could be directed to ripening all those green tomatoes. Behold what would have been enough cherry tomatoes to last H for a whole summer, if only they would have had time to ripen:

2.) The watermelons.
Those miniMelons have been a Trial since the beginning, and just the other day, the birds started pecking them to death. I covered them with plastic pots, which for the record looked ridiculous, and they've been growing like that for a while. But today, I gave them a thump, which to my best guess seemed to sound hollow-ish, so I picked them. I have no idea if they're ripe or not, but I'm sure H & N will report on the quality. Here they are with some of the tomatoes that managed to get ripe.

So with the zucchini plant completely succumbing to the squash vine borers (with 4 miniZucchini growing on it still!), and now the watermelon plants gone, the only thing left on the Farm are the tomato plants. I think that means MiniChuck's Eye View will be going on hiatus until the next time I have a Farm...

Join

Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 77F
Yesterday's low: 55F
Warnings: Farmer on the Farm with Pruning Shears Alert
Mood of the farm: Fearful of pruning shears
Reason to consider a new career: I probably had more distress about that tomato pruning than any real Farmer should...

Drive-by MiniChuck View

2008-09-17T10:34:00.004-05:00

It's a busy day around here, between meetings, visits from talking troll academics, Maisy getting herself into some mysterious kind of situation that will likely require vet care (cross your fingers for no x-rays, please!), etc. However, I didn't want to leave you hanging on a view of the new emptiness of the farm. Which, for the record, is somewhat disguised by my attempts to get the other watermelon growing in the sunshine (as opposed to hiding in the tomato plants) this week...

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 81F
Yesterday's low: 49F
Warnings: Last warm sunshine of the summer this week...
Mood of the farm: Better be ripening or else it's in trouble.

Hello There, Strangers!

2008-09-15T20:36:00.004-05:00

Hi, folks. Seems like it has been 6.4 years since I last updated you on the progress of the Farm. Many important Milestones have occurred since then in my other life as a grad student, but if you know me in person, I've already bored you with all the details. And if you don't know me in real life, now would be a good time to be glad about that.

But! Even while I've been busy with school, many many things have happened on the farm. I think we'll need a list here, there are so many...
1.) The only things still growing on the farm are tomatoes, watermelon, and a few mini zucchinis on one sad, sorry plant. That's it, folks!
2.) I harvested the bounty (or what I thought would be the bounty) of the carrots. The big plan, as I think I mentioned before, was to freeze the carrots so that I could enjoy the exciting flavors of the farm in the winter, instead of boring old grocery store carrots. Well look what the whole, entire harvest entailed:

Here, dirty, with the basil (see #3)

Here, cleaned up, but not any more bounty.

Sad. Very very sad. And an amazing waste of farm space, it turns out. Luckily, I had a million farm box carrots, and I grabbed a bunch for $1 at the farmers' market. Also luckily, during the wash/peel/cut/blanche marathon Farmer Sis entertained me with stories of school and her farm (pictures may be coming soon!) so the time flew by. Anyway, the carrots are in the freezer and ready for a taste of summer in the middle of the winter. But lesson learned: next time I have a farm, I will not be planting carrots!

3.) As you can see in the picture above, I also harvested two of our five basil plants. Those got processed with some olive oil (and an extra bunch of farmers' market basil) and then put in a ziploc bag for freezing. I usually use ice cube trays to freeze that stuff in small portions, but Farmer Sand suggested that if you spread it as thin as possible in a freezer bag, you can just break off pieces when you're ready. Genius. Thanks!

4.) All the beans have been pulled, I've finally given up hope on the "fall lettuce," and two, count them two, of the nine tomato plants have moved on to greener pastures. Look for a post soon about the science-in-action learning project that resulted from those plants...

5.) Here's what the harvests look like these days. The yellow tomatoes are a bit cracked from our drought and my attempts at compensating with the hose. But they still taste pretty good; that's the good news.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 61F
Yesterday's low: 51F
Warnings: weather.com is misleading. I could see my breath this morning. Also, there's a heat wave coming.
Mood of the farm: It better have something to do with ripening as fast as possible during the heat wave this week.
Reason to consider a new career: Still happy with what I have going on over here...

MiniChuck's Surprise Eye View of the Farm

2008-09-10T09:19:00.003-05:00

In case you were wondering just how much this Farmer loves routines, I was halfway through eating my Honey Bunches of Oats with farmers' market raspberries and writing this Farm update before I realized I told you yesterday MiniChuck didn't have any new views of the Farm. Well, what can I say? I love a good routine.

So here's the Farm. See what I mean about how empty it's getting? The zucchini will probably get pulled this weekend. And, because I realized yesterday just how sad I'm going to be when I have to go back to buying boring, tasteless, winter produce from the grocery store (really sad!), I think I'm going to pull all the carrots this weekend, and then blanch and freeze them. I'm also reading up on ways to save cherry tomatoes. I mean, not that we have very many or anything, but you know... I have too many Farmer Worries about canning to go that route, so only freezer-related preserving methods are on the table. Also, the basil is getting pulled and preserved in some yet to be determined ratio of drying and freezing (after being processed with olive oil) this weekend. Did I mention how cold it's getting here (look at the low below)??

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 69F
Yesterday's low: 39F
Warnings: Um, did you see that 39F ????
Mood of the farm: Freezing, almost literally.
Reason to consider a new career: Nope. Still ecstatic about my real career.

A Slight Change to the Growing Schedule

2008-09-09T20:04:00.005-05:00

So I fessed up here recently that I planted lettuce seeds in an attempt at a "fall crop." It was kind of late, since the frost comes early here in the tundra, but I thought the Farm was looking a little empty (no, really. It's almost completely empty except for the tomatoes and watermelons) so why not give it a shot. I planted the salad mix lettuce seeds from the spring--a good variety with at least some types that thrived in the important temperature range. Well, bad news, folks. That dirt isn't growing a single thing. Actually, it is growing a number of weeds in the vicinity of where I planted the seeds, but not actually where I planted them... A little google searching suggests that lettuce seeds don't last too long (see--I wasn't completely wrong about the "bad seed packet" thing...), so maybe that's the deal. Should you have any additional suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments!

Luckily, however, I seem to be growing something new of the Farm that I didn't plant. It seems to be some kind of cross/hybrid thing, but I can't really tell fully what kind of cross...

Okay, actually, it's a Maisy plant. But she was so proud of herself for getting all wrapped up in there (that I didn't manage to capture on camera, sadly), that I had to post the pic.

I think maybe she was using the sick tomato plants as camouflage while spying on Rosa... Anyway, since there's not really much new on the farm since last week for a MiniChuck's Eye View, I thought I'd at least give you this.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 63F
Yesterday's low: 49F
Warnings: It's really cold, folks...
Mood of the farm: Gearing up to grow fast during possibly the last warm spell at the end of this week.
Reason to consider a new career: None. I'm ecstatic with my career today!

Who Needs GTS When You're on Cakewrecks??

2008-09-07T08:41:00.003-05:00

And now an interruption to our regularly scheduled Green Thumb Sunday!

Dr. Corncobb, Dr. J., Dr. Amanda (who doesn't yet have a blog nickname), and I made it onto the cakewrecks blog! If you've never seen this blog, have a look. It's hilarious--full of all kinds of professional cakes decorated in the most unfortunate (wreckish) ways. And, the cakewrecks lady hates on bad grammar. What could be better? Here's the link to our entry.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 70F
Yesterday's low: 47F
Warnings: Maybe a little sun afterall...
Mood of the farm: Getting really concerned, now that I pulled the watermelon plant that produced yesterday's bounty...
Reason to consider a new career: Hey, maybe I should be a cake decorator!

It's a Baby Watermelon!

2008-09-06T14:38:00.005-05:00

Folks, growing watermelons has given this Farmer more than one grey hair. First, there was the time when Maisy practically killed all the plants while defending her farm, then there was the time I stepped on a little growing watermelon and crushed it, then there was the time I spent almost an hour on hold with Linder's trying to find out just what kind of watermelons I was growing (to no avail), and then there was the time that I asked Archie his opinion and he looked momentarily stumped. But once again, my bff Archie was right! After thinking for a minute, he guessed I was probably just growing little mini watermelons. Today, I thought maybe one of those miniMelons was getting close to ready, so I called on N, who has a legendary ability to thump watermelons and know if they're ripe or not, to check into the situation. She hopped into the farm, gave the watermelon a thump, and professed it ready for eating.

I was so overcome with excitement that I forgot to take a picture of it before we cut into it, but you can see it in the picture below, bottom left. Luckily, I got my wits back about me once N made the first cut, which was quite eventful. It kind of exploded open after she barely touched it with the knife.

Here's what it looked like, perfectly ripe as N divined:

And I can tell you it tasted delicious!

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 71F
Yesterday's low: 47F
Warnings: Cold and crappy weather tomorrow.
Mood of the farm: Getting lonely as one by one the bounty gets removed.
Reason to consider a new career: If only I could farm in the summer and research in the winter...

MiniChuck's Eye View Is Exempt, Of Course.

2008-09-03T19:34:00.002-05:00

Hey! Where are the beans? And the cukes? And the rest of the zucchini? It's crazy. I know. In case the beginning of the school year and the new episodes of Gossip Girl, America's Next Top Model, and Bones didn't clue you in, fall has reached Minnesnota, folks. Today, I could only go out without a sweatshirt for about two hours. Rest of the day required a hoodie. The viability of my "fall lettuce seeds" is looking questionable at this point...

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 79F
Yesterday's low: 56F
Warnings: Cold weather! Grow Grow Grow!
Mood of the farm: Snuggling up for warmth
Reason to consider a new career: Farmer misses her farm days.

A Return to Labor...

2008-09-01T09:01:00.007-05:00

Family, Friends, Strangers, and Pioneers,

Happy Labor Day! This is going to be a long post, because many things are going on at the moment. I just came back from checking on the farm, and I have some things to catch you up on... First of all, over the last week or two, a number of things have either succumbed to squash vine borers or just run out of steam and needed to be pulled. This includes most of the zucchini, all of cucumbers, and most of the green beans.
Fear not, the tomatoes continue to grow and ripen at breakneck speed. The plants are even making new flowers. I know in the interest of ripening the tomatoes already on the vines that I should remove these flowers stat. But the bottom line is that I don't have the heart to do it, and the plants are already making more tomatoes than three humans could possibly eat in one summer. Here are a few yellow ones I picked this morning, alongside the last cucumber of the season.
About those yellow tomatoes... When I picked the first, gigantic one, I was so excited. And then I took a bite and almost cried. It tasted terrible, and I professed my hatred of yellow tomatoes to my closest friends, but not you people of the internets, because I had put so much energy into growing the things and Worrying my Farmer Worries about whether or not they were growing appropriately. Well, luckily I tried another one a few days later, and I am happy to report that it tasted DELICIOUS! This one was of the traditional size, instead of the first ginormous one, and this one was definitely ripe--I might have cut into the first one a little too early. In any event, I am proud to say that I love yellow tomatoes, and am once again delighted with the Bounty.

Also on the farm, the flowers have sensed they're running out of time and sped things up. Now I'm not generally a fan of flowers, and certainly not posting pictures of them, but I'm a little bit enamored by them this fall...

So here's the sunflower of Green Thumb Sunday fame, but close up:
Some kind of vining flower seed N is growing that we almost mistook for a weed until we figured out what was going on:
The garlic chives flowering away:

Now, we're at the sad part of this post. September has arrived (somewhat unbelievably), and the time has come for me to return to my real career as a graduate student. I never really left it, but I added this farmer gig on top, and as is no surprise to anyone who knows me well, I'm not very good at doing two things I love at once. So this Farmer schtick is getting downgraded to a part-time job, which luckily dovetails nicely with the fact that the farm requires almost no maintenance at the moment. And the Grad Student schtick is going back to it's all consuming ways. I have a giant paper to write, and then several hours of on-the-spot questioning to prepare for this fall, all in the service of showing the powers that be that I am a competent human being. And I'll be collecting my dissertation data. This weekend, I prepared my office for that task, and like the green-ish farmer that I am, I even recycled a little motivation.

What does that mean for you people of the internets? Well, this blog is going to be updated a lot less frequently. But I'm still going to air all my farming adventures, mistakes, and hijinx to the masses. I mean, threat of frost will soon loom over the farm around every turn, and you know I'm going to post all my antics of attempting to cover those wild tomato plants and all of my fretting about whether they are surviving as they should. Oh, and I don't think I mentioned it but I planted lettuce seeds (!!) a week-ish ago to try my hand at a "fall crop" even though I'm not sure if Minnesota can handle it. People, you know I will be fretting about that too. But daily posts are a thing of the summer, not the fall. And you know how I like routine...

So until the next time the farm (or the farmer) does something remarkable, take care of yourselves, and each other.

When you don't have a sign off, I find it's best to use Jerry Springer's. ;)

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 86F
Yesterday's low: 67F
Warnings: Last day of hot weather, possibly for the rest of the year, today.
Mood of the farm: Worried about all the plants the farmer is pulling...
Reason to consider a new career: Well, I'm a grad student. And I love it. So I'm sticking with that.

Green Thumb Sunday: Sunflower Followup and Carrot Hole Edition

2008-08-31T07:30:00.000-05:00

Green Thumb Sunday: Sunflower Followup and Carrot Hole Edition

(I took this on the high-res setting again and strongly suggest you click on it.)

Also, I love carrot holes.

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Cooking with Bounty

2008-08-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

Last night, I had a craving for spring rolls and a Vietnamese dish for which I have no name. And so I asked myself, "Self, What Would Archie Do?" Luckily, I decided Archie would call Anonymous K to find out how one might go about making such a meal. Archie, clearly, is a very smart guy. Once I got home from the store, Dr. J had a craving to take Maisy for a run. Actually, she might have just had a craving for me to stop whining about Maisy's poor behavior. Either way, I said I'd trade her a run with my dog for dinner, and she agreed. And what was born? Free-spirited fellowship. Spur of the moment, completely unplanned, impromptu fellowship. And we didn't even freak out about it. Or if we did, we totally made it seem like we didn't.

Anyway, what, you ask does this have to do with the farm blog and farming? Well, it has everything to do with the farm because a lot of this meal was made with food from the farm or the CSA share (aka Farm Box). A few things came from SuperTarget (gasp) or the Asian grocery store, Shuang Hur. I even marked where the food came from for you in the picture (FG = Farmer Gower, of course).

Those are some good lookin carrots.

Rice paper in water.

My spring roll technique needs work.

Dr J., humoring me re: the ridiculous bowl situation.

Me, eating out of, yep, Corning Ware. But I'm still proud enough to display the meal in my signature pose, naturally.

In the end, everything turned out to be pretty tasty. The sauce was definitely not right (at least not at first. After a second, it got close to the right flavor...), and my lack of large bowls was definitely a difficult problem. But, you know, we're free spirits, so we just rolled with it.

Ode to State Fair Food

2008-08-29T12:02:00.003-05:00

Big Fat Bacon. 1/3lb of caramelized bacon with maple glaze. Verdict = pretty good, but not enough maple syrup for me.

Apple cider freeze pop--my new Fair beverage favorite.

Strawberry sundae (berries from MN) from the Dairy Barn.

World's best french fries. No really, that's what they're called.

Eating corn with Dr. Corncobb and Dr. J.

And don't worry, I had the chocolate chip cookies. I was just so excited to eat them that I forgot to take the picture.

The Less-Than-Great State of the Tomatoes

2008-08-29T09:29:00.006-05:00

Remember when the tomatoes looked like this? Nice and symmetrical, just how my farmer free spirit likes life.

Well, have a look at what we're talking about now. Remember when the plants were taller than me? They still are, they just got themselves all tangled up with one another, and it's turning into a disaster...
Luckily, the tomatoes are still ripening like crazy, so it seems to be alright since frost is on its way in the next few weeks...

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 79F
Yesterday's low: 59F
Warnings: It's getting hot again this weekend
Mood of the farm: tired
Reason to consider a new career: I miss Archie.

Archie and Me

2008-08-28T08:20:00.004-05:00

Well folks, I officially accomplished everything on my state fair list, including seeing 4 piglets and a calf (!!) being born. It was really something. Tomorrow I'll post the food roundup of all the deliciousness, but today I'd like to introduce you to Archie.

As you know, next on my priorities list after seeing animals being born was talking to a real farmer/gardener and asking my question about what you actually cover your crops with during Threat of Frost. Sadly, with lows in the 40s and the first frost already having happened in northern Minnesota last week, this question is a little more pressing than I'd like it to be.
Here's Archie in action. This lady had questions about squash, and Archie hopped right up from behind is his booth, and walked her over to the vegetable display area to demonstrate some particular squash features he was talking about. Guys, Archie is about 87 years old and relies heavily on a cane, so this is really quite a lot of dedication to squash.

Anyway, Archie looked at me skeptically at first--a young whipper-snapper trying to give the Master Gardener a hard time. But after I started asking my questions, he quickly realized he was dealing with a serious, if inexperienced, farmer.

Question #1:
When they say "cover your crops" under threat of frost, what exactly do you cover them with?
Archie's expert advice:
Cheesecloth, or an old sheet. Basically, anything other than plastic.

Question #2:
I'm growing watermelons (Archie: "Good for you!") and the melons are small and the leaves are starting to get a little yellow. What am I doing wrong?
Archie's follow up:
What kind of seeds did you plant?
Me, embarrassed:
That's the only thing I didn't plant from seed, and Linder's didn't know.
Archie:
Well, it's probably a small melon. There's a variety that gets between the size of a softball and a little smaller than a soccer ball (that fits with what I have), so you're probably growing those. Also, don't worry about the leaves--it's late in the summer, and the plants are getting tired.
[Note: Archie's advice is just like the giant lesson I've learned over and over again this summer: Mother Nature knows what she's doing, so simmer down and find some patience.]

Question #3:
My cucumber plants have produced a ton of cucumber all summer (Archie: "Well that's impressive!" Clearly, he was catching on to just what a novice I am...), but now there are only female flowers and no male flowers. What's the deal?
Archie's expert advice:
Mother Nature has had enough, young lady. The plants are done.

Well, I must get off to school for the first official thing of the school year. Another activity that relies highly on routines and changes with the seasons, just like farming. Yes! Food report tomorrow. Oh, and maybe I'll actually talk about the farm too, which doesn't know what to do with itself after 3.06" of rain yesterday(!)--so much for that drought.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 75F
Yesterday's low: 60F
Warnings: Back to school alert
Mood of the farm: Waterlogged, but happy about it
Reason to consider a new career: I want to be like Archie when I'm old and retired.

You Didn't Think I'd Forget, Did You?

2008-08-27T09:08:00.006-05:00

Hey it's Wednesday! And I have a smorgasboard of pictures for you. I may be busy with school- and fair-related activities, but I'm not going to neglect my Farm Blog duties, fear not.

First, how bout a MiniChuck's Eye View of the Farm? It's rapidly changing. You can't fully tell in this picture, but the tomatoes are a real situation. Not the yellow ones--they're growing small and fine. But the Sweet 100s grew WAY taller than the cages, and then started to fall over. Those branches then got tangled with the branches of their neighbors, and now they're all pulling each other down. There's a larger social message there. But anyway. I'm hoping those plants can make it through the summer--they still have amazing amounts of green tomatoes on them. Also, see how the zucchini looks a little naked? The squash borers really got busy this week, and about half of the plant died. The cukes as well, though relatively healthy, seem to have decided that producing male flowers is highly overrated, which is annoying because there are a lot of female flowers on there waiting to be pollinated...

And now for some Fair-related pics. How about a little liberal political crop art? That's right people, it's made out of seeds, and it hates on Republicans.

And finally, how bout a picture of the farmer and the farm consumers, eagerly anticipating the Brandi Carlile show?

Okay, must get ready for the Fair (again!!) with Dr. J and Dr. Corncobb. Report to follow.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 80F
Yesterday's low: 55F
Warnings: It actually rained last night. As in water, real life water, fell out of the sky. That's supposed to happen again tonight.
Mood of the farm: Enjoying life without the parched feeling
Reason to consider a new career: Unless there's a career involving full-time-fair-goer-and-miracle-of-birth-center-watcher, I'll stick with what I have, thanks.

Naturists

2008-08-26T23:10:00.006-05:00

Tonight, Guatemala K (who, for the record, can heckle me all she pleases about all my worrying about her being in a plane crash just so long as she doesn't actually get herself into one)'s husband Joe and I hung out. We drank beer, ate cinnamon bun ice cream and peaches (don't worry K, we poured a spoonful on the hardwoods for you ;), and dreamed up the greatest roadtrip of all time for Summer 2009, all while heckling, I mean engaging in critical discourse regarding, the Democratic National Convention.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I learned about a farm called Rising Sun Farm in Wisconsin, and I thought you should know about it too. Folks, the farm is run by naturists. No my psych friends, not nativists. Naturists. They advocate for such things as: organic and sustainable farming, skin cancer being caused by lack of sun rather than exposure to it, and getting 8 hours of sleep a night. Oh yeah, and not wearing any clothes.

To each their own, people. But I'm just saying. The next time you think to yourself, "Farmer Gower has really gone off the deep end," you best be glad I did it with my clothes on...

In other news, here are some prize winning vegetables, etc. from the Fair (click for bigger pics):

Fair Report Part 1

2008-08-26T08:41:00.004-05:00

So many thing happened at the Great Minnesota Get Together (aka Minnesota State Fair), I'm going to have to spread them out over two posts. Seriously people, it was amazing. Below are the Most Exciting parts of the Fair.

1.) Getting my picture on this tractor. You might think I look upset, but I'm not. That's just a face farmers make. If you haven't noticed by reading this blog already, farming involves furrowed brows. Furrowed brows from worrying about your crops, worrying about whether there will be bounty or shortage, worrying about pests, insects, and those damn squash vine borers, and a million other Worries. Farmers, I feel confident, have many Farmer Wrinkles.

2.) PEOPLE, I SAW ANIMALS BEING BORN! This, as I posted about last weekend, was my number one goal at the State Fair this year. And if I didn't see any animals arrive in the Miracle of Birth center, I was going to be very upset about it. Well not to worry, because I saw three piglets arrive into the world, and then two of them almost got killed when the mama pig laid down on top of them. Much squealing ensued, six people jumped into the farrowing pen and lifted the back end of the mama up, and the piglets were rescued. It was the life cycle from both sides. Also, in case you were wondering, the first three piglets popped into the world of their own accord, then I went and ate Big Fat Bacon (ironic, I know) and wandered around the agricultural building while 6 more piglets arrived, and then I came back in time to see a veterinarian, um, "pull a pig" as she explained that it's called, which is exactly what it sounds like, and the placenta came with it. All in all, I think I saw a lot of the process, so I'm a happy farmer. Though I do think I might peek in on my other trip to the farm just in case a cow is in labor...

Here are 8 of the piglets trying to get some dinner (the older ones are WAY more successful than the younger ones, who still think you can get food from your sibling's ear).

Oh, and in case you don't care in the slightest about the state fair (really? you people exist?), here's what I harvested this morning! And yes, that's the giant sized yogurt container for perspective...

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 79F
Yesterday's low: 47F
Warnings: The days feel like summer, but the nights feel like fall.
Mood of the farm: Wondering if the farmer has any sleeping bags available
Reason to consider a new career: None. I am considering entering any future things I might grow into the state fair...

Fair Predictives

2008-08-24T16:58:00.004-05:00

Here's what I need to get done at the State Fair this week, in case you were wondering:

Food:
-french fries
-Dairy Barn ice cream (this could conceivably be replaced by vanilla ice cream with lingonberry sauce if necessary due to location constraints)
-corn on the cob x at least 2
-Sweet Martha's cookies
-Big Fat Bacon (if you don't know, this is 1/3 lb of bacon that is caramelized, fried, and drizzled with maple syrup. on a stick.)

Farming:
-admire the seeds and crop art
-get my picture taken on a tractor (I don't know if this is possible, but I'd like to try)
-have a look at the prize winning vegetables
-admire and contemplate the possibility of preserves
-learn all there is to learn in the Agricultural Building
-talk to a real farmer
-check for advice about how to prepare crops when there is a threat of frost (practical application coming soon, unfortunately)

Livestock:
-WATCH SOMETHING BEING BORN. The fair will be a complete waste if I do not accomplish this objective.
-see the fattest pig
-figure out if there really is a dog building, or if N was just giving me a hard time

Other:
-visit the MPR booth and acquire stickers
-not get trampled in a sea of white people with blond hair
-visit the DFL booth and be smart enough to give them a fake phone number if I need to sign up for something
-pace myself on the food front so I do not actually explode
-send picture messages to all the people missing out on the Great Minnesota Get Together
-heckle the disgusting things Minnesotans eat (Scotch egg, anyone?)
-see Brandi C.

It's a lot to do in only two trips, but I'm very determined.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 73F
Yesterday's low: 57F
Warnings: Low tonight in the 40s!
Mood of the farm: Bundling up.

Green Thumb Sunday: Sunflower Hosts 80s Bug Edition

2008-08-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Green Thumb Sunday: Sunflower Hosts 80s Bug Edition

(I took this on the high-res setting and strongly suggest you click on it. That bug is something else. Fuscia and teal? Really, Mother Nature? Really?)

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Long Awaited Day

2008-08-21T21:53:00.003-05:00

Folks. Before I get on with the bragging and self-congratulatory business, I'll start with the normal business. Have a look at what I dropped off (sort of dirt-covered) for H & N today. Not a bad haul, I think.

Okay, now on to the prize.
FINALLY. Really, I thought it might never happen, but it did. The first lemon boy is officially ripe, and ready for eating. Here it is showing its muscles on the farm:

And here it is taking advantage of the natural light in the living room. I think it looks just as lovely indoors as out, I'm not going to lie. And versatility is a good thing in a model--have you seen what they make those contestants do on America's Next Top Model? You really have to be versatile to model wearing raw meat.

All in all, I'd say the Lemon Boy has a lot of modeling potential. Flavor potential will be discussed when I return from another wedding.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 85F
Yesterday's low: 67F
Warnings: Thunderstorm warning while I'm gone tomorrow. Hopefully the farm won't be too scared without me.
Mood of the farm: Hoping to get some attention now that the yellow tomato is gone.
Reason to consider a new career: I'm kind of liking my current career at the moment, to tell you the truth.

PhantomMiniChuck's Eye View

2008-08-20T09:43:00.002-05:00

The MiniChuck family has been gone long enough that it appears they may be gone for the summer. Funny how you can miss something that once instilled so much fear in this farmer (remember the hissing and staring down?)...

Anyway, changes on the farm this week: One fewer zucchini plant, the rest of the lettuce pulled, watermelon taking over, tomato plants about to fall down they're so tall and full of tomatoes. Also, the sunflower is growing like gangbusters so the angle of this picture is slightly different in order to get a full view of the farm. And if you look really closely, you just might see the yellow tomato.
Like your peep shows to involve less work? Here you go:

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 88F
Yesterday's low: 65F
Warnings: The tomatoes are starting to wrestle with each other. No really.
Mood of the farm: Cheering on that yellow tomato!
Reason to consider a new career: If that Lemon Boy tomato tastes as good as I think it will, not a single one...

ATTENTION.

2008-08-19T09:49:00.002-05:00

A LEMON BOY IS TURNING YELLOW. FOR REAL.
(Not just in my imagination)

That is all.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 90F
Yesterday's low: 68F
Warnings: Heat wave.
Mood of the farm: Falling all over itself with tomato growth
Reason to consider a new career: Compared to how well my other career is going, I'd have to say none.

It Just Feels Like Years...

2008-08-17T17:32:00.007-05:00

I know I've complained ad nauseum about how long the Lemon Boys are taking to ripen. So I thought I would see just how long it really is taking. Turns out, not very long at all...

On July 18th:

On July 23rd:

On August 1st:

On August 17th:

Is it just me, or are these really starting to look yellow?

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 88F
Yesterday's low: 68F

Green Thumb Sunday: Bees, and Tomatoes, and Watermelons Oh My! Edition

2008-08-17T09:57:00.005-05:00

Green Thumb Sunday: Bees, and Tomatoes, and Watermelons Oh My! Edition

On first glance, this looks like a jumble of watermelon and tomato plant leaves,

But upon closer inspection, I found this bee in the process of pollinating the watermelon flower that was growing up the tomato plant and its cage.

And also this watermelon, about tennis ball size, right at the base of the tomato plant.

Here are the other two watermelons that are growing, in case lack of information about watermelon growth has been keeping you up nights...

The big one I've blogged about before:
The new miniMelon on the scene:

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Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 86F
Yesterday's low: 61F
Warnings: The last gasp of summer is on its way. Prepare for a week-ish long heatwave.
Mood of the farm: Surprisingly prosocial. This might be a bit of a hitch for Darwin's whole survival of the fittest thing...
Reason to consider a new career: None. However, I am working on my list of things I'm looking forward to (excited is too strong of a word--farmers are stoic people) at the Great Minnesota Get Together. I am planning two trips, and you know they will be copiously photographed.

Cornfed Farmers' Market: A Photo Essay

2008-08-16T11:49:00.002-05:00

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 83F
Yesterday's low: 55F
Mood of the farm: Squishy

Getting Crafty With the Farm

2008-08-15T13:50:00.004-05:00

Remember all that cilantro I was mad about because it went to seed? Well, I figured I ought to at least make something good out of the deal, so coriander it is. Also, Rosa and Maisy have been munching on something near the farm that makes them immediately drool and then vomit. Repeatedly. I'm hoping this is the cause, and getting it off the farm with also get rid of the dog antics.

The plants were ready for drying, so I cut them this afternoon, and hung them on my porch on a makeshift line. Yes, I use package wrapping ribbon for all farm projects. It's just a thing with me.

Then, I carefully crafted some highly technical, farm-specific devices to catch the seeds that fell. The one on the left wasn't dry enough to need a catcher (technical term) yet.
Now I just have to hope my neighbors don't think I'm up to some illicit activity and call the cops before these plants are done drying...

Somebody Call a Doctor.

2008-08-15T11:17:00.005-05:00

I hope you're sitting down for this, because it's going to come as quite a shock. Not only has the Farm blog been somewhat neglected over the past week, but so has the Farm. The even more shocking part is the reason for the neglect: I have been working. Like crazy. See? I told you to sit down.

Well anyway, I went to the Farm this morning to do a closer inspection of things, and folks, it was not pretty. The zucchini plants have developed an unfortunate case of powdery mildew:

And not to be outdone by the fungus, squash borers have invaded the stems. I know it mostly looks disgusting in there, but see where it's kind of orange and looks a bit like sawdust? That is where some ginormous moths laid their eggs, which then bored into the stems and now gross grub-looking caterpillars are growing inside and making a mess of things. Rather than gross you out with the details, here's another link you can click on to get a closer look if you're not in the middle of eating. Though I will point out that the "surgery" I need to do on the other plants is kind of like my two dreams, combined into one thing. Surgery! On the farm! It's going to be so much better than Wii surgery, I can't even tell you...

The powdery mildew, as it turns out, is not that big of a deal for the plants. It mostly slows down their growth, which is not a problem around the Farm because N's taste for zucchini can't keep pace with the plants. What's the solution to preventing it? Surprise, surprise. Spacing, people. Spacing. Mildew doesn't like airflow and direct sunlight.

However, the squash borer situation is more serious, and that plant was in rough shape. Not to mention the fact that it had completely plugged up the entrance to the farm. So if you'll all join me in a moment of silence (see how I placed my flipflop in there for scale?)...

Pour one for the homie.

And now, a farmer can get into her farm without risking death or muscle injury.

That's not the end of the diseases. The beans, as you can see here, are in rough shape. I'm pretty sure the holes are from flea beetles that used to feed on the unstaked pea plants (do not follow directions on the seed packets re: not staking!), and moved once the peas were staked and later pulled because of the heat. And after a bit of google research, I can tell you that rusty-looking stuff is just that. Bean rust. Yet another fungus.

At this point in the summer, and since the beans are still making beans, I'm going to leave it untreated. Next time I have a farm, though, I'll have to keep a closer eye on things.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 79F
Yesterday's low: 57F
Warnings: We're in a drought, and the average first frost is exactly one month away. *Ahem* if you're a tomato plant, especially one with yellow fruit, please get your fruit in gear and ripen stat.
Mood of the farm: Sickly, much like its farmer.
Reason to consider a new career: Farmer has been earning perfect 10s, except for the occasional dozing-off-deduction, watching Olympic gymnastics, which if you've watched at all, have heard Elfie Schlagel et al explain four million times is no longer possible. If I hear them explain the A and B score one more time, I'm going to kill someone, and I hear it's real hard to get access to farmland from prison.

Say MiniChuck, How's the View?

2008-08-13T09:05:00.003-05:00

In all honesty, we haven't seen the Chuck Family in weeks. But that doesn't stop me from asking it questions, apparently... Without further ado, here's the farm, complete with the most out of control tomato plants on the planet:

In other news, even the albinos are starting to ripen!
(No this picture is not upside down--they're really growing like that)

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 78F
Yesterday's low: 62F

Catch Up

2008-08-11T20:49:00.004-05:00

Since I last posted, I did this:

Maisy did this:

And the farm did this!

More thorough details coming soon...

Tomatoes!

2008-08-06T22:00:00.002-05:00

I'm not the only one excited about the tomatoes on the farm. N and I tried a couple of red ones. They were full of flavor, but not quite as sweet as they should have been. I think a couple more days on the vine would have helped. We're circling in on how to do things on the farm, slowly but surely.

The Farm is fending for itself for a few days while I'm in CA. And believe it or not, I'm not even taking my computer with me. Copious updates, of course, when I get back. Hopefully involving news of bright yellow tomatoes!

Say MiniChuck, What Does the Farm Look Like From Your Side of the Fence?

2008-08-06T08:37:00.004-05:00

Here's the view. A few things to point out.
1.) The Wando peas have moved on to greener pastures due to the August heat. Next year: more Wandos planted closer together (shocking, I know) and much earlier, and staked right away. The watermelon has happily slid over to use some of that area. Check out the weird little watermelon thing that's growing. I'm not really sure what its deal is, but it's there. None of the others are growing. Odd.
2.) The Romaine is gone (and some of the leaf lettuce too) except for one little head, but you really can't tell because the cucumbers have grown right into that space. Next year: more Romaine and less leaf lettuce, all planted in a shadier part of the Farm and maybe not in rows. Gasp, I know.
3.) The zucchini is huge and flowering like mad as you can see. Next year: DO NOT PLANT ZUCCHINI RIGHT IN THE ENTRANCE TO THE FARM. It takes some acrobatics to get on the farm, and everyone who knows me knows that acrobat is not a word that describes me.

Today, you're also getting a close-up of my albino tomato plant. What, you've never heard of an albino plant before? Me either. I have no idea what the deal is with this thing, but all the tomatoes it's growing (and there are many) all look like this, and it's from the same Super 100 seed pack as the rest of the cherry tomato plants. If you have ideas, let me know, because I'm really stumped. Speaking of the cherry tomato plants, I'm not sure how it happened, but it appears that no early girls made it onto the farm or in the pots near the farm. I'm really sad about this, but glad the lemon boys are at least growing some bigger tomatoes that could start getting ripe in the next week or two. Guess I can stop worrying about how the tomatoes "stopped growing." They're just all cherry tomatoes...

And now, in order from least to most ripe, I give you the excitement of the farm this week!

Cucumber beetles are a real Trial for this farmer in so many different ways:

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 85F
Yesterday's low: 65F
Warnings: Harvest alert.
Mood of the farm: dodging beetles left and right

Yellow Striped Cucumber Beetles Relive the 70s

2008-08-05T21:49:00.005-05:00

Well, yesterday I was on the farm to check on the yellow striped cucumber beetles. I haven't really worried about them much because we're certainly not short on cucumbers or zucchini (since N is the only one that eats a lot of zucchini, and she can't keep up with what we're growing as it is). But I was curious. The collective wisdom of the internets say it's time to do something about these guys once you get five on a single plant. So imagine my surprise when I look into the following flower. What's that you say? There's only five in there? Nope. Look closer. Those are all *ahem* pairs of yellow striped cucumber beetles, apparently making more friends to hang out with. Great. Maybe it's good that the first average frost around here is September 15th...

In entertaining news, here's a little trick of nature that resulted from all the feeding the cucumber beetles have done on the zucchini leaves. A flower grew right through one of the holes!

And finally, the carrots are basically spaced out, and as you can see from the ones that I thinned, growing if not with gusto, then at least slowly but surely.

Stay tuned tomorrow afternoon for a very first and extremely anticipated harvest! And of course, MiniChuck's Eye View of the Farm in the morning.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 83F
Yesterday's low: 68F
Warnings: Excited farmer coming to the farmer tomorrow!
Mood of the farm: Working up its patience for the farmer's undoubted exuberance tomorrow.
Reason to consider a new career: all this exuberance...

You Will Not Believe This

2008-08-03T18:26:00.003-05:00

Things are going crazy on the farm, people. And the farmer clearly has not been paying enough attention. Take, as a prime example, the following thing I "noticed" this afternoon:

Yes, due to the magic of lack-of-perspective, this looks like any old zucchini. But have a look at this:

It was a monster! And I didn't even know it was growing in there! As big as a size 7, which is a completely "average" size for a foot (N would kill me if I didn't include that detail), but an enormous size for a little old farm zucchini. The real question is this: How could I have missed it???

Green Thumb Sunday: You Could Go to Vegas On the Farmer's Dreams Edition

2008-08-03T10:32:00.002-05:00

Green Thumb Sunday: You Could Go to Vegas On the Farmer's Dreams Edition

Friends. Last night, I had a dream. And in this dream, I went to visit the farm, and all the tomatoes were bright red. Just the day before (in the dream), I had visited, and everything was green as could be. So imagine my excitement upon waking up after this dream to go check on the real life farm. Of course, I checked the biggest and best looking plants first, because those seemed to me to be the most likely to ripen. Disappointment was starting to set in when I checked the potted tomato plants just in case. Guess what! It was the ugliest, wiltiest plant I have that has managed to start ripening its fruit. Who would have thought? Greatest news of the weekend = tomatoes are actually getting some color besides green.

Also, here's the mini watermelon (with my coffee cup for reference...):

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Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 86F
Yesterday's low: 55F
Warnings: Threat of thunderstorms, people!
Mood of the farm: Weaseling its way farther into the farmer's psyche.
Reason to consider a new career: When you're dreams are predictive, I think you should stick with farming.

Cucumber Envy?

2008-08-02T14:56:00.004-05:00

Recently, people I know who read the blog have suggested that my cucumbers (and other edibles pictured on the blog) may be unnaturally large. I realize this is probably because I photograph them without anything in the pictures for reference, or the reference thing is out of proportion, like this potato, but I don't happen to tell you that. If you saw this picture, you'd think my cukes are each a foot long, right?

...WRONG. That's a mini-potato I got at the farmers' market today for roasting at breakfast with H&N tomorrow morning. Here's a more accurate marker of size:

That's right folks, chapstick. My cukes are pretty small. The seeds are not for gigantic cukes, and the soil isn't so rich where they're growing anyway...
Just like everything else, there are a million varieties of cucumbers to grow, and we picked a small-ish, bush-type cuke that doesn't vine very much, since the Farm was already pretty crowded. That sentence makes it sound like H, N, & I had that very discussion at Linder's when we were picking seeds... In reality, I'm pretty sure we said "Growing cukes would be good!" and grabbed the closest thing with a picture of a cucumber on it that we could reach.

For variety references...here are my cukes (middle), a farmers' market cuke (above) and part of the farm box cuke (below, a special greenhouse variety).

Also, if this delicious Fellowship beverage I just mixed up (thanks for the recipe, Dr. J!) doesn't make you thirsty, I'm pretty sure we can't be friends.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 85F
Yesterday's low: 62F
Warnings: The nights are getting chilly. If you are *ahem* covered in unripe tomatoes, you better allocate your resources accordingly.
Mood of the farm: happy to be fed yesterday
Reason to consider a new career: well, I'm pretty sure I'm a better farmer than photographer, so none today.

Aftermath on the Farm

2008-08-01T09:54:00.003-05:00

Well, here's some of the wreckage from Wednesday's antics. I know the zucchini looks giant, but before antics, it didn't really rest on the ground like that.

A closeup of the damage. But also, luckily, of lots of new flowers and leaves ready to go.

The watermelon, too, seems to have suffered a few torn leaves, but all in all, survived just fine.

In some good news, here are the Lemon Boys. The first picture is from the plant with the smaller tomatoes--the second picture has the big ones. Is it just me, or if you squint your eyes just right can you see the slightest hint of yellow in that second picture......

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 85F
Yesterday's low: 64F
Warnings: Dog owner can't keep her dog on a leash
Mood of the farm: Healing
Reason to consider a new career: I'm thinking I should be focusing my energy on dog management...

Anticstravaganza

2008-07-31T20:33:00.003-05:00

Folks. There were antics on the farm last night. In a matter of roughly 20 minutes, the following things happened:

1) Maisy tried to run away, and not only that, but entice Rosa to come along with her.
2) Maisy and Rosa sniffed out a seriously dead rodent and had their faces covered in rotting animal smell. I'm not going to lie. Maisy led this charge as well.
3) The "naughty dogs" from down the street, so named because they claw at the windows in an attempt to bust out of their house whenever anyone walks by, escaped from their yard and appeared at the back of the farm, strongly considering catapulting over the fence.
4) I went to get the naughty dogs to take them back home.
5) In response, Maisy impersonated SuperDog and flew through the air OVER THE FARM FENCE with such force that she popped the safety latch of her gentle leader.
6) Then, she ran through the zucchini, through the lettuce, through the carrots, and through the watermelon to give the naughty dogs a piece of her mind regarding their presence on her farm.
7) Finally, I had to drag Maisy back through the entire farm, launch her over the fence, reattach her to her tie out, and make it clear that she would be finding herself in time out for the rest of life.

All in 20 minutes, folks. Why am I telling you this, oh lovers of Farming and not necessarily of dogs? Well I'll tell you. All the Romaine had to be pulled because it was torn (luckily much of it was still edible), one of the zucchini plants may be gone for good, and the watermelon plants were kind of torn up. All in all, not too much was lost, but some harvesting was done unexpectedly last night... You won't believe what the farm looks like when you see it next MiniChuck Eye View Wednesday.

And a few things were harvested today, mostly for Suburban Gardener, who won the volunteer contest. Note: it's a tiny carrot because I was thinning them, and the cukes clearly need to be fertilized...

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 87F
Yesterday's low: 65F
Warnings: Apparently Flying Dog Alerts need to be issued
Mood of the farm: In need of first aid
Reason to consider a new career: Did you read those antics? No answer necessary here...

MiniChuck's Eye View of the Farm Wednesday

2008-07-30T09:48:00.003-05:00

Well, friends. It's Wednesday, and you know what that means (don't know what that means? Get the update here): It's time for another installment of MiniChuck's Eye View of the Farm. This time, I labeled the whole thing for you, so if you click on the picture, you can get a close up with notes about what you're perusing. The watermelon especially has made quite a bit of progress since last week...

An added bonus this week is MiniChuck's eye view of H&N's back door last night.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 92F
Yesterday's low: 72F
Warnings: Still with the air quality, heat, humidity, etc.
Mood of the farm: Once again carrying suitcases...
Reason to consider a new career: none today

It's Getting Hot in Here

2008-07-29T16:03:00.007-05:00

Way back when, BF (Before Farming), I would be complaining on a day like today about the heat, humidity, air quality warnings, etc. However, AF (you know, After Farming), my primary concern is water. It is dry dry dry! The last time we had an inch of rain in one week (which is the bare minimum for farming) was way back to the week of June 8-14th. June, people!
Here's what I happened upon when I visited the farm this afternoon:

Maisy, also, was wilting in the heat.

But luckily, she learned a very important skill: how to drink water out of the hose!! When Rosa does this, Maisy looks at her like she's lost her mind and the world might end, and quickly backs away from the scene. However, today something clicked, and Maisy realized that drinking water out of the hose is not some kind of medieval torture. Great timing!

The farmer also busted out the sprinkler and gave the farm a good long soak. We'll see how it looks tomorrow!

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 87F
Yesterday's low: 63F
Warnings: Hot hot hot!
Mood of the farm: sweaty
Reason to consider a new career: continuing anxiety regarding the tomato situation...

It Ain't Heavy, Ma. It's My Neighbor

2008-07-28T17:11:00.002-05:00

Prosocial acts on the farm: Wando peas trellis themselves

And by the farmer... Farmer Gower farm box delivery for H & N (plus some beans and peas I didn't take pictures of). Everyone eats cukes this week!

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 81F
Yesterday's low: 62F
Warnings: There might be a slight threat of hail on the way...
Mood of the farm: I'm sorry to report a bout of stubbornness on the part of the tomatoes. As in, stubbornly growing many tiny tomatoes that aren't getting very big (though they are many)...
Reason to consider a new career: Powerless in the face of tomato defiance

I Ate Cucumbers for Breakfast. No, Really. I Did.

2008-07-27T10:40:00.004-05:00

Well, it is official. I am swimming in cucumbers. Just to give you a sense of it, about two cucumbers a day need to be harvested because they're on the verge of being too ripe. H & N are not in town, Dr. J is in charge of eating all the cukes from the farm box, Dr. Corncobb doesn't eat vegetables, and Anonymous K, who would eat the most cucumbers of all, is getting settled into her new home in the greatest state on earth that is too far for Farmer Gower's delivery service.

In the meantime, I'm trying out different ways of eating them since there appears to be no slow down in cuke production on the horizon. Not that I am complaining, mind you. This seems to be the best Trial to have as a farmer. Too much bounty is a good thing!

My current favorite recipe came from a tip from Anonymous K:

Cukes
Thai basil
Salt (Kosher or Sea)
Fresh onions (either fresh from a farmers market/farm box, or scallions)
Rice vinegar

Mix to taste and eat fresh or from the fridge once chilled.

Anybody have any other ideas? Anybody need any cukes?

Green Thumb Sunday: I Can't Believe I'm Growing All These Veggies Edition

2008-07-27T09:59:00.004-05:00

Green Thumb Sunday: I Can't Believe I'm Growing All These Veggies Edition

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Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 83F
Yesterday's low: 60F
Warnings: The tomatoes are going to run out of summer if they're not careful...
Mood of the farm: Playing a trick on the Farmer by growing so many cukes a person could not possibly keep up
Reason to consider a new career: Today I wondered if there was such a thing as too much bounty...

You Say Potato, I Say Potato...

2008-07-26T14:08:00.005-05:00

I promised a post about the Top Five Failures of the Farmer, and here it is, finally. You could call them failures, I suppose, but I prefer to think of them as Learning Opportunities. I mean, I certainly didn't know any better when I got the farm into these messes, but here we are all the same...

1.) Overcrowding. I have already explained my mistaken ideas about the percentage of seeds that actually grow, but there are plenty of other reasons why the Farm is too crowded. Generally they involve the farmer thinking, "I know this watermelon plant says it needs 15 feet, but I'm sure I can wind it around somehow and squeeze 3 plants in 5 feet." Surprisingly enough, there are places where the farm is not crowded enough, like the Wando pea area. Next time I have a farm, more Wandos in the same amount of space.

2.) Tomatoes, once in cages, need constant monitoring to stay in those cages. Otherwise, you have to rig them up Whomping-Willow-After-the-Car-Accident style.

3.) Maisy's antics are getting out of control. She barks at the neighbors, digs holes in H & N's yard, loses her mind when squirrels walk by, etc.

4.) Tomatoes that grow in pots need sterile soil, or else they will get wilt and die a slow and painful death. I'm only hoping the tomatoes on the plants now will ripen before the leaves all die...

5.) The onions... Well, I planted them thinking it would be a long shot if they were ready before winter. But it turns out that something went very wrong once the seeds each had two leaves. They just fell over. I have no idea why (animal, insect, lack of nutrients, etc.?), but there will clearly be no onions from the farm this year. Here's where the onions used to be:

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 86F
Yesterday's low: 69F
Warnings: Fellowship Alert
Mood of the farm: Growing, growing, and growing some more
Reason to consider a new career: If this post doesn't answer that question, I don't know what would

Look What A Good Sleuth Can Find on the Farm

2008-07-25T17:10:00.003-05:00

The first three zucchinis

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 82F
Yesterday's low: 65F
Warnings: Tomatoes Growing Out of Control Alert
Mood of the farm: Unclear, though some plants (esp. the Wandos) were holding suitcases when I arrived today