CSA Harvest - Week 7

Good morning! 

Hopped up on coffee and raindrops here. Mmmm. Fingers crossed more is on the way. 

We flipped a lot of beds this week. Out with the old and in with the new. Salad, spinach and carrots are all germinating. I have a few beds ready for seeding this evening... radishes, turnips, beets and cilantro. More head lettuce, kale and some fall brassicas are all ready to be transplanted as well... soon enough :).


The weeds are getting a little crazy (err really crazy) in the Montrose garden. So we spent several early mornings in the field with the stirrup hoe this week. The melon patch is looking gorgeous and we started tucking the melons in with a thick layer of mulch yesterday...  in hopes of keeping them happy and the field a little less weedy. 

Ooooo! Exciting news, I harvested kale seed yesterday! So much fun. I loved the sweet jingling of seeds in the dry seed pods.  This seed saving project happened by accident really... as most great things do. A section of kale overwintered in the garden and before I had a chance to harvest it this Spring it bolted and started flowering. The honeybees were enjoying the flowering kale... so we let it hang out for a while and now we have freshly harvested seed. Whoop! 

We also harvested chamomile and calendula flowers to start drying for future cups of tea. The scent is heavenly.

Harvest Details for Week 7:

Salad Greens
Kale or Chard
Basil (Italian, Lemon or Thai)
Carrots
Garlic Scapes
Mini Onions
Fava Beans!!
Asian Cabbage or Kohlrabi
Edible Flowers

Herbs (Chives, Oregano or Parsley)

Sourdough Flavor of the Week: Whole Wheat with Flax and Sunflower Seeds

CSA Harvest - Week 6

The past week was filled with a lot of fun, dancing and fireworks! We procrastinated a bit in the garden, spent few days goofing off and even snuck in a hike. Mmmmm wildflowers! 

The recent afternoon cloud cover is amazing! The dramatic temperature drop feels so good. Just when the heat gets to be a bit much the beautiful clouds roll in with a strong breeze and cool everything off. I imagine the plants enjoy this as much as I do. We have had a couple sprinkling rains here but nothing major yet. The suspense is building though... come on downpour! 


A few Sungold cherry tomatoes have been ripening! I squeal with excitement and pop them in my mouth like a kid in a candy store. So... tomato harvests are coming!! Maybe a few weeks out? 



Harvest details for Week 6: 

Salad Greens
Head Lettuce
Kale or Chard
Bok Choy
Basil or Cilantro
Carrots
Turnips
Rhubarb
Garlic Scapes
Edible Flowers

Sourdough Flavor of the week: Seeded (Flax, Sesame, Quinoa, Oats and Sunflower)

YUM!!! 

I look forward to seeing everyone this week. Until then... sending smiles and hugs. 

CSA Harvest - Week 5

July! Here we go. 

The veggies are growing like wild. I think if I sat still long enough I could actually watch the tomatoes grow... I pruned and trellised more yesterday morning. The first planting is setting fruit heavily and the second succession is catching up quick. 

The peppers are looking gorgeous and setting fruit and the eggplant have started flowering.


We spent a couple mornings weeding the gardens this week and finished planting the pickling cucumbers, flowers and seeding the next round of greens. Next up, fall brassicas!

Harvest details:

Salad Greens
Head Lettuce
Chard or Kale
Bok Choy
Chinese Cabbage
Turnips
Carrots!!
Green Coriander
Basil or Cilantro
Green Garlic
Edible Flowers (Violas and Nasturtiums)
Herbs (Lemon Balm, Mint or Chives)

Sourdough flavor of the week: Plain

CSA Harvest - Week 4

Happy Summer!! 

Wonderful and quick week here.

The sweet peas started blooming and are intoxicating. Oh my gosh. Note to self, grow many more of these next season. 

Melons went in on Sunday morning, we pruned and trellised more tomaotes and seeded the next succession of root crops. Grow veggies grow!

Who is getting anxious for the first tomato of the season...? I can feel it coming. Maybe in the next few weeks?! 

OK, here are the harvest details:

Salad Greens
Chard or Kale
Head Lettuce
Turnips or Radishes
Basil
Rhubarb
Garlic Scapes
Bok Choy
Green Coriander
Edible Flowers
Green Garlic?

Sourdough flavor of the week: Rye with Caraway Seeds. Oh yes. 

CSA Harvest - Week 3

 

Good morning.

Mmmm, the sky is calm this morning. It feels so relaxing compared to the wind that has been ripping through for the past couple days. I think it is supposed to get breezy again later... but I am going to enjoy the calmness while it lasts. 

Lovely week here. My little brother is in town so there has been goofiness and laughter filling the days. The to do lists in the garden are endless in June and it's wonderful to have him here to pull me away from the garden. Thanks Jim!

I noticed the honeybees returning to their hive with purple pollen earlier in the week. Purple! I was curious to see where they were collecting it and after a little searching I found tons of bees on the  flowering cilantro. So gorgeous!

We have one last big push of planting this week. Melons, late summer greens, eggplant and... flowers! Sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds, pansies, cosmos. I can see the garden overflowing with color now.

OK, I'm off to harvest. 

CSA Harvest - Week 3:

Salad Greens

Spinach

Kale or Chard

Bok Choy

Broccoli or Garlic Scapes

Basil?

Turnips or Radishes

Scallions

Herbs (Oregano, Mint or Lemon Balm)

Edible Flowers

CSA Harvest - Week 2

It is starting to feel as though all the pieces are coming together. The gardens are almost planted, veggies are growing and the harvests are in full swing.  Completing the first harvest and sharing the Spring bounty with everyone last week was wonderful.  I hope you enjoyed the first dose of greens and are ready for more!

This week included a lot of weeding, seeding the fall brassica trays and bed preparation for hot crops. We seeded dry beans on Sunday and transplanted the winter squash and summer squash yesterday.  Next up, melons, the second round of green beans and a few outside tomatoes and eggplant. 

There are a few hiccups along the way though... for instance yesterday I noticed some bugs on the winter squash,  which I think may be thrips. Eek! We are going to try combatting them with some beneficial insects and a couple tricks I read about last night. Fingers crossed we can get them in check so the winter squash can thrive!

The first planting of tomatoes were getting pretty wild in the greenhouse and are now pruned and trellised. While pruning I discovered quite a few tomatoes already forming. Yum!

CSA Harvest - Week 2
Salad Greens
Spinach
Bok Choy
Kale or Chard
Radishes
Scallions
Edible Flowers
Micro Greens or Baby Kale/Chard
Herbs (Lemon Balm, Oregano or Mint)

Sourdough flavor of the week: Seeded (Quinoa, Oats, Sunflower, Sesame and Flax)

Have a lovely day,
Mindy

Harvest Time

Hey hey. Its June... how did that happen?! CSA Harvests started this morning. Yay!

Greens greens greens. 

The past week was a blur, we accomplished a lot but I am having a hard time remembering the details... I planted a block of peppers in Montrose to keep the fava beans and onions company. We seeded a patch of corn, a lot of beans and the first of many watermelons. Mmmm, the heat and wind yesterday made me so thirsty for watermelon.

The third hoop house is complete and already filled with tomatoes and peppers. 

We took advantage of the beautiful early morning hours  yesterday and seeded arugula and the next succession of salad greens. The second round of bok choy, asian cabbage and kohlrabi are now in the ground as well as the celery. 

Enough rambling... onto the harvest details. 

CSA Harvest - Week 1:

Salad Greens

Spinach

Scallions

Asian Cabbage
Bok Choy

Kale or Chard
Mustard Greens

Edible Flowers

Herbs (Lemon Balm, Oregano or Chives)

Have a beautiful day!

Beautiful

A few nights ago it was overcast, drizzling and quite chilly outside. I was procrastinating about heading outside to close up the garden for the evening. After getting bundled up I opened the door to see... this gorgeous double rainbow!!! I squealed (and maybe jumped) with excitement, then ran around taking pictures with a huge smile on my face. Suddenly I had a huge burst of energy and closing up the garden was delightful. Mmmmmmmmm.

The following morning brought it's own surprise, we woke up to an inch of slushy snow on the ground and it was pouring rain. The day before I was getting organized and grabbed my snow gloves to put away for the season... but something made me hesitate and I set them back down thinking, 'not just yet'. Sure enough, I played in the snow a bit on Sunday morning and was glad to have these gloves handy. Fingers crossed we are done with snow in the garden until Fall? I am loving the Spring moisture though, keep it coming! 

We are busy busy here. Planting, seeding, weeding and... building a third hoop house! The ground is very soggy after this last storm, so we need it to dry up a little before we can build and plant new beds. 

The gardens are really starting to pop. Greens are growing like mad, radishes are starting to fill out and the tomatoes are flowering and beginning to set fruit. 

We have a small patch of kale that overwintered and is now going to seed. The plants are several feet tall and covered with stunning yellow flowers that the honeybees and other beneficials seem to be enjoying.

The first CSA Harvest is right around the corner! I will be sending out an email to CSA Members in the coming days with details. 

Enjoy the sunshine! 

Mindy

Return of Spring

Hello Friends! 

Dreamy morning here today. I am motivating with pancakes and enjoying the sunshine, slight breeze and birds singing. Such a difference from last Tuesday... when I woke up to snow and temperatures in the 20s. 

Last week was... exciting! Winter made a very real appearance, honeybees arrived, we planted sweet peppers, more tomatoes and scallions. And we seeded a lot of trays to feel productive while the snow was falling :). 

Planting craze from now until middle of June. Whoop whoop! 

Construction of the third greenhouse has begun. Hoping this baby will be up and ready for planting in 10 days?! 

I think we will be amending beds, transplanting head lettuce, seeding and repotting a few things today. 

Yay Sunshine!!! 

Have a lovely day,
Mindy

Feeling Grateful

Good morning. It is cool and overcast outside and the perfect day for catching up in the barn. Paste tomatoes, eggplant, hot peppers and basil all need repotted. Looks like we'll be cozy by the fire for a few hours tending to these plants... which I must say is a bit overdue. 

So, the garden can start to feel very overwhelming this time of the year. The long and growing to do lists compounded with the anticipation and unknowns of the season to come start to feel a bit crazy and stressful. My mind has been racing in so many directions. And... I start to doubt myself, which makes decision making hard. Then I remember to breathe and allow myself to absorb the beauty surrounding me. I am so lucky to spend every day outside playing in the dirt. It feeds my soul on many levels and my face hurts at the end of the day from smiling so much. 

 Let us stop stressing and doubting and try to find some balance and focus. Let us believe, trust, plant, seed and smile. Yes! 

OK, thank you for listening :)

So much has happened in the gardens this week I'm not sure where to start?! Here is a picture of peppers hardening off in the greenhouse. These babes will be going in the greenhouse beds tomorrow, once these cool nights have passed. Peppers of many flavors, shapes, sizes and colors. Oh my gosh, I can hardly wait to bite into a blocky sweet red bell pepper. 

Yesterday I started seeding trays of cucurbits. We started with winter squash, pumpkins and melons. Melons! My mouth was watering as I seeded the melon trays. Needless to say it got a little wild and I seeded too many, if that's possible. We are growing a lot of french heirlooms this season and trying several new varieties. Taste tests will be in order come August and September!

The first round of chard, asian cabbage, bok choy, kohlrabi, cabbage, broccoli and mustard greens have all been transplanted. 

Here is a slideshow of a greenhouse bed getting turned. 

Mustard cover crop growing...

Then being chopped up by hand with a sickle. We were brainstorming and going back and forth about how to best handle this task. We thought about using the mower, a weed wacker, etc. then my Dad said, wait I've got an idea. He came out of the garage with a freshly sharpened hand sickle. 

Here they area all chopped. 

And after a couple passes with the rototiller. 

Boom! Ready for planting. 

The first CSA harvest is only four weeks away! I will keep the updates coming and look forward to seeing you all very soon. 

Have a lovely day,
Mindy