Anticstravaganza

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Join

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

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...

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

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

Why Visitors Are Good For the Farm (and the Farmer)

Anonymous K made her last visit to the Farm before her great adventure back to the land of Dunkin Donuts, the Patriots, the Red Sox, Mary Lyon, and generally speaking All that is Right with the World. Lucky that she did, too, because she picked these delicious treats, and also spotted the very first zucchini of the season (picture tomorrow--I didn't have my camera). And I thought I was kidding when I wrote yesterday the farm was growing to impress her...


Maisy was on hand for the whole thing, of course, because she can't get enough of her Anonymous K. From the farm blog, Bon Voyage! And don't forget to post any New England farming tips you run across in the bliss of the Pioneer Valley.

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 83F
Yesterday's low: 57F
Warnings: Extreme Thirst Alert
Mood of the farm: Thinking of packing up its roots and moving to MA.
Reason to consider a new career: nada

Who Needs Modesty?

And now, because everyone likes to brag occasionally, I'm bringing you the Top 5 Victories of the Farmer. Don't worry, it's still me--tomorrow I will bring you the Top 5 Failures of the Farmer. :) Bragging and I are not the best of friends.

1.) The carrots are somewhat spaced and actually growing!

2.) The Lemon Boy tomatoes are growing like champs, and they have the heirloom irregularities in shape that I love.

3.) This is a watermelon. No really. And there are four more just like it growing in the watermelon's expansive area. Not the expansive area I carved out for it mind you, because spacing is totally overrated. But the watermelon plants sure are thriving on all the bare earth they can find.

4.) The Romaine is growing! In July! In heads! Without bolting! After I almost pulled it in late June!

5.) This one is more a victory of the cucumber plants than of the farmer. But still. With the giant infestation of yellow striped cucumber beetles, who especially like to eat the flowers off before they're pollinated, this is a victory on all counts (and look at all the promising baby cukes around this bigger one).

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 80F
Yesterday's low: 62F
Warnings: The nights sure seem to be getting colder already...
Mood of the farm: Growing as fast as possible in an effort to impress Anonymous K on her final visit to the farm
Reason to consider a new career: Farmer's secret has been found out. She waters the cukes with vinegar and dill instead of actual water to grow dill pickles instead of boring old cukes. But now that H made that secret public, what's left??

MiniChuck-View of the Farm

Announcing a new feature here at the blog... MiniChuck's Wednesday View of the Farm. That's right. Every Wednesday, I will be venturing over the back fence and onto the MiniChuck Highway to bring you an update of how things have been growing over the past week. As always, you can click the picture to see a larger version and Judge me for all of the weeds I did not pull. But I hope you'll just look for MiniVeg, Where's Waldo style, or marvel at all the Growth and Bounty. Too bad I didn't start this sooner...

Somehow I Thought Peas Only Grew Frozen or Canned

I've been avoiding the urge to post pictures of every last harvest because really, who wants to see a million colanders of lettuce? But since this is a Harvest involving the very first cuke and the very first Wando peas, I couldn't hold back. Farmer confession: not only have I never grown my own peas, I have never ever eaten a fresh, never-frozen pea in my Whole Entire Life.

I've read a lot about growing Wando peas the last few weeks, and I can tell you one thing. The fact that I even have a few to eat is one gigantic miracle. Peas like to be planted when it's cold, they can withstand frost (not only threat of but actual), and their growth slows to a crawl in the July heat. So here we are on July 21st, a full two weeks before these peas are even supposed to be ready, temps in the 80s and occasional 90s, and lo and behold, the peas are delicious, if few in number!





Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 85F
Yesterday's low: 63F
Warnings: Hungry Farmer On the Loose (no really, that's an official weather system warning)
Mood of the farm: growing, quickly and surely
Reason to consider a new career: None, at the moment. Suburban Gardener dropped by the Farm this weekend, and she has pronounced it Officially Not Wrecked. At least for now.

Green Thumb Sunday: Get Your Zucchini Recipes Ready Edition

Green Thumb Sunday: Get Your Zucchini Recipes Ready Edition

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

The Farm Is Huge, People.

It's official. The Farm has reached giant-size, and it's only the middle of July. In addition, I managed to crowd the thing all up like the novice farmer that I am, and so not only is it huge, but it's hard to walk around without stepping on any of the many tendrils trying to attach themselves to anything nearby.

Here's the whole crazy mess, including the tomatoes as tall as my Belief in Boston:






































I did several hours of weeding on Wednesday, but there's still a lot more to do...

The lettuce is still going strong, thanks to the cayenne pepper. Whether the pepper keeps the rabbits away or it makes thieves think there's something wrong with the lettuce, I have no idea. But whatever it is, it seems to be working, because this is what the lettuce looked like after I harvested a massive amount for H's taco salad-stravaganza.














And now your latest installment of MiniVeggies.
MiniCuke:















MiniWatermelon:















MiniTomatoes (which are less Mini than when I left!):






























Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 83F
Yesterday's low: 69F
Warnings: Break from Humidity Alert
Mood of the farm: Fearing actions of the Farmer
Reason to consider a new career: With the most crowded Farm of all time, I am considering "Fall Plantings." No really.

More Harvesting

Hey look. Chef H, assisted by Chef N, used farm lettuce (a whole ton of it) for taco salad dinner. Note: picture taken on new phone.



Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 89F
Yesterday's low: 68F
Warnings: Cucumber beetle attacks in progress
Mood of the farm: happy for rain
Recent Question: Suburban Gardner asks: "What's the 'farm box?'" Well, the farm box is my term for the community supported agriculture (CSA) share Dr. J and I share from Rock Spring Farm (see link on right). It's a weekly delivery of veggies and herbs from their organic farm.

Harvest Day 7/16

After a full morning of farm work, today was a Harvest Day. There were so many green beans the plants were starting to fall over. Between the Farm Harvest and the Farm box, my whole dinner was covered!




On the menu: salad greens (my farm) and spinach (my farm) with lemon-olive oil-garlic dressing, sun gold tomatoes (farm box), shaved raw beets (farm box), green beans (my farm), cucumbers (farm box), and baby shallots (farm box).

I'll get y'all an update of the Farm soon (some of the tomatoes are up to my shoulder!?).

Farm Vitals
Yesterday's high: 92F
Yesterday's low: 69F
Warnings: thunderstorms. maybe.
Mood of the farm: trying to perk up