We planted all of these seeds in the last week and a half, and guess what???? They are all coming up. No matter how often I plant seeds, I am always amazed when they show themselves. Little seedlings, popping up out of the soil, me checking in on them like newborns.

Carrots are like little, tiny blades of grass. Beets are long leaves but still small, some red in color. The lettuce is tiny too, but round in shape. They are all under cover, to keep them warm and moist. I am not sure what to plant next, but that will have to wait until next week. We need to make a trip to the nursery too, to purchase plants and more peatmoss. The rain last week soaked the soil and compacted it a bit, so we need to top off the soil to the top of the raised beds.

We haven’t started selling shares yet, as we’ve been so busy with other things in life that take priority. I’ll work on the 2009 Questions and Answers soon and will send them to all of you on our email list. We know we will be scaling down this year, at least at first. Once the summer kicks in, we can take on more subscribers.

We finally bit the bullet and hired someone to build the fence. This will help us out tremendously. All of our acreage will be fenced, keeping the deer out, so we can plant everywhere. This will allow the farm to grow and expand, something we’ve been wanting to do for some time. Lots to look forward too.

We’re moving along, getting boxes built and making soil. Sunday was our first volunteer day for our farm. Up to 15 volunteers came out to help us make Mel’s Mix and learn a little about Square Foot Gardening. This was such a success and everyone had fun, that we will probably have another. We’ll keep you posted via this email newsletter. There is always something to do in the garden.

The potatoes are growing tall and so are the onions and garlic. I’ve covered the kitchen counter with seeds, choosing which ones get planted next. Yesterday I planted 3 varieties of carrots: Cosmic Purple, Purple Haze and Scarlet Nantes. Four varieties of beets were also planted. Red Ace, Chioggia, Golden Beet, and Forono. All a variety of colors; red, candy cane stripped, gold and a Cylindrical, deep purple.

Ok, I hear some of you sneering at the thought of a beet, but believe me, once you have tasted homegrown, fresh picked beets, you’ll wonder why you hated them in the first place. Most of us were raised on canned beets and no wonder we don’t care for them. Fresh beets are like candy, full of sugar….yummmmm!!! They can be grated raw for salads, juiced, steamed or boiled. Any way you have them, they are wonderful. This is one of the veggies we grow that people tell us they don’t like and then once they try them, they are converted. Give beets a chance. :)

Roasted baby carrots, beets, red onion and purple potatoes, with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Yum!!!

(This pic is prior to cooking.)


Sunday was our first harvest for our subscribers. Although the bounty was light, as it normally is at the start of the season, it was a big success. We met new subscribers and reconnected with past subscribers. It was great to visit with all of them. Sundays naturally turn into a sort of social day, which is fun for us. We really enjoy talking to everyone and sharing garden stories. Watch the table as the season progresses.

Carrots, Garlic and Beets


I was invited to a potluck on Monday and hadn’t made it to the store. I had surveyed the garden and thought I probably had enough to make a salad. Gathering the makings was going to take a while, since everything is still small. I needed to thin out the carrots and beets anyway, so I thought, “Why not make a salad.” Note: I don’t usually thin the veggies, I sort of let the strongest survive, but I really planted the carrots too close this time around and they need to be thinned.

Aren’t the colors of the garden pretty?

Salad consists of all baby veggies: carrots, beets and lettuce.

Hi Veggie Lovers!

Isn’t this weather wacky? I’m not sure if we should plant or not! We are moving ahead anyway, and taking our chances. With the row covers, the ground should warm up enough for the seeds to sprout.

Row covers on beds
 
Last year, although our tomatoe plants produced very well, they had issues. I think it was either Fusarium and/or Verticillium Wilt. The fungus enters the plant through young roots and then grows into and up the water conducting vessels of the roots and stem. As the vessels are plugged and collapse, the water supply to the leaves is blocked. Kinda like plant cholesterol, plugging up the arteries. I’ve done some investigation and it seems this fungus can now be in the ground. Great!!! This means we can’t grow tomatoes, or any of that family of plants, in that spot for 4 – 5 years. The tomaotes were going to be rotated anyway, but I’m a little skeptical about planting anything else there now. My research indicates the fungus is only suppose to affect the solanaceous crop plants (tomato, potato, pepper, and eggplant), or as we like to refer to them, “Deadly Nightshades”, (you have to see the animated movie, Nightmare Before Christmas to really hear the way we say it.) So we’ll take our chances and plant some of the summer and winter squash there this year. If you want to know more about these diseases, check out The Ohio State University site at <http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3122.html>.

This means we need to build more beds for the tomatoes and peppers. But it’s more than building beds, it means getting water to the beds plus fencing the beds from the deer. Essentially, we are creating a third garden. Sort of stresses me out a bit, but it will work out fine. We have a spot picked out, we just have to start.

GARDEN NEWS: I can feel good about having planted sugar snap peas, a first for us; bush beans; pole beans, cilantro; basil and lemon and armenian cucumber. This week we’ll plant three varieties of asparagus yard long beans, gold beets (I found my seeds!), purple carrots and turnips. Arugula and radish will be planted much later, as they only need about 3 – 4 weeks to grow to maturity. Other seeds in the wings: maybe lettuces, a variety of summer and winter squash, melons, peppers, tomatillos and peppers.

Today, I planted seeds (4 varieties of tomatoes, the purple tomatillos and 2 varieties of peppers) in a mini greenhouse, to get them started. I feel like we are late in doing this, but I think once the weather warms up, these seedlings will catch up. We will purchase tomatoes and peppers from the nursery too. We usually go to Front Yard Nursery, because they are closest to us, and we will buy from them again this year. We are also going to take a field trip to another nursery, The Golden Gecko Garden Center, in Garden Valley. I especially liked the “In the Spotlight” section, highlighting plants for our area of the foothills. <http://www.thegoldengecko.com/> And check out the blog too. Owner, Trey Pitsenberger, writes about very interesting subjects, most recently about when to plant tomatoes and about how it does matter where you purchase your garden supplies. <http://thegoldengecko.com/blog/>

The first carrots and beets are up! Yippee!! Never thought I’d get so excited about seedling carrots and beets. But it’s always a thrill to see something you’ve planted, grow from a seed. It still amazes me. (Hey…I’m easily amused!)


Tuesday, April 22 was Earth Day. But lets make every day Earth Day. Take the simple test below to see your carbon footprint.

What does the Ecological Footprint measure?

The Ecological Footprint measures the amount of natural resources an individual, a community, or a country consumes in a given year.

We use official statistics tracking consumption and translate that into the amount of biologically productive land and water area required to produce the resources consumed and assimilate the wastes (predominately carbon emissions) generated.

Because people use resources from all over the world, and affect faraway places with their pollution, the Footprint is the sum of these areas wherever they are on the planet.

Ecological Footprint Quiz: <http://www.earthday.net/footprint/>

I took the test and I scored 12 acres. In comparison, the average ecological footprint in the USA is 24 acres per person. Worldwide, there is 4.5 biologically productive acres per person. If everyone lived like me, we would need 2.7 planets. Take the test for yourself and see how you do.

Stay warm, it’s 49 degrees right now and it’s suppose to snow in Tahoe on Wednesday.