Fall Garden and Initial Prep for Winter

Production wise it was one hell of a summer for the Food Patch. Cooler summer temps and adequate rainfall meant only having to water the plot at most two or three times so far although it is now starting to dry out a bit more. Nearly all of the spring plantings have been pulled (except for a few beets and herbs) to make room for the fall crops. It really helped this year to move the tomatoes and peppers outside the rabbit fence to make more room for crop rotation. This will continue next year. Late season plantings of yellow squash, zucchini and cucumbers were started inside in late July so that they could be put out and get established before the days started getting shorter.  They are just about to start yielding. Late summer kale and Swiss chard are coming on as are the fall brassicas that were started inside along with the squash and cucumbers. That leaves one large area in the middle of the plot that I am holding in reserve for the winter tunnel (about where the blue bucket is sitting in the pic). I've got a small poly tunnel on a wire frame that I can move around but I also plan to put in a full-length agri-bond tunnel down the middle to see just how long into winter I can continue some kale, spinach, beets and bok choy. With lower temps and shorter days, things will definitely slow down but anything would be preferable to the foreign crap that is in the produce section of the stores in the off season. I figure as the temps decrease I can overlay the agri-bond with clear poly to get a little more protection and also slide in some gallon jugs of water to absorb heat during the day and radiate at night. I might even use some straw bales to seal up the ends depending on how things go.

.

The other big news this week was the final bottling of the raspberry mead that was started way back at the end of March. It was made with berries from the Food Patch and local wild honey (Hays Apiary in Smithsburg). Technically it is a "Melomel" which is mead made with a fruit other than apple or grape. It is very light and dry (very paleo) with subtle hints of the honey and fruit. In retrospect it would have made an excellent sweet champagne if supplemented with sugar and carbonated. But I wasn't ready to tackle a sparkling wine just yet and sweet is definitely not paleo. With all of the excitement surrounding the History Channel's Viking series and in anticipation of season-2 in early 2014, I am calling this concoction "Blood of Ragnar". It is not super high in alcohol and makes a nice accompaniment to food.

Mid Summer Abundance

It's that point in the summer where the yields are high, the bugs are still under control and we are suddenly in a state of abundance mainly due to more than adequate rainfall. The key is how to maximize use while minimizing waste. Easier said than done. The tomatoes are just starting to come in but the squash, cucumbers, chard, beets, and onions are really rolling. That means lots of stir fries, salads and what ever else we can whip up on short notice.

The lettuce is on temporary hiatus having been in constant production since Memorial Day weekend until just this past week. The 50% shade cloth made a huge difference in the summer heat so we are starting new seedlings to establish a new system for mid summer under that cover. It was not until we had to buy a few bags of so-called baby gourmet lettuce at the store this week that we realized just how well we have had it and just how sub-par the commercial offerings are compared to home-grown! In the next week or so we will be starting seedlings for our fall crops and believe me we will be pulling out all of the stops this year to extend our harvest into the fall and early winter. There is just no substitute for home-grown produce. 

The other big news this week was the long-awaited laying of the keel for the chicken tractor. The design of this thing has been under development since February. There is still a lot to do and much of this project is design on the fly and quick-fix engineering. We really needed the frame to be constructed in order to see how to flesh-out the rest of the structure. Right now it is looking like we will have a hen house of approximately 36" X 45" with a back slanted roof 64" at the front peak and an external set of nesting boxes so we can easily collect eggs and maximize interior space. The open forage area will be 4' X 12' and we plan to devote most of the back yard to this contraption. Once the grass goes dormant for the winter, we will park the tractor in the garden; seeding a section in winter rye just for it. The big unknown will be whether to attempt getting pullets for the fall or wait until spring before establishing the chickens.

Summer Solstice 2013

It seems like just yesterday we were scrambling to cover everything against a late spring frost and here is it is the day after the summer solstice already. Time is definitely flying.

We've been able to stay in fresh lettuce and mixed greens for over a month now and we are getting really spoiled having our own salad mix every night especially after a long winter of the bagged stuff from CA. It has taken a lot of work keeping seed packs sprouted for succession planting. Things are getting a bit tricky now though with the summer heat. Things like the spinach and chard are beginning to bolt and set seed. We'll do the best we can to cope most likely going the micromix route until fall. Attention will now go more toward the squashes, melons, and getting a row of carrots in for the fall and early winter.

The black raspberries are just beginning to come in and today was the first initial pick. I also said good bye to the strawberries until next spring doing the very last pick of the stragglers. This was the first year that we've had about a week overlap of both berries. Definitely a hoot having a bowel of both for desert tonight.

The new tomato and pepper bed is going well. Everything was caged up last weekend and the varmint fence was taken down. Tomorrow the chard is coming out of the main garden to make room for a carrot row and the cucumber fence is going up. This year I am going to try the Johnny's pruning regime to see if I can keep the jungle under control and hopefully limit the blight that always seems to hit later in the season.

I spend most of my time concentrating on edible landscapes but the one bed that has the bird bath is mostly Echinacea and ornamental grass. The echinacea is just about ready to bloom.

Oh Shit!!!!

One of the joys of growing your own is being able to harvest at the peak of perfection and not be concerned with all of the designer chemicals that may come along for the ride. But you also have to be willing to drop what you are doing to harvest and eat, freeze, can, dry, etc. when the opportunity presents itself.

Yesterday was the first full plot pick of the strawberries. It looks like the partial bed restoration last summer was well worth the effort. Yields and size this spring are incredible; getting just under a half bushel. Looks like a long evening/night of freezing.

Oh Yeah!!!

June berries are here so let the gorging and freezing begin !

Spring Update

It is almost June by the calendar but looking at the thermometer the last few mornings its more like October. Needless to say its been one of the best seasons for spring time greens. The strawberries are just starting to come in, the raspberries and peas are blooming, the batch of mead is bubbling in the basement, and  the new tomato and pepper bed is complete. What's not to like?

I planted the melons, zucchani and yellow squash today and with warmer weather predicted for later in the week it can only get better.

SPRING FROST WATCH; May 14

Got to love this global warming (or is it climate change?). In any event the last frost date for western Maryland (90% confidence interval) is usually around April 3 but to be fair it can go out as far as the first week in May. Tonight we have a major frost warning and it is May 13th!! Luckily I didn't get around to setting out the majority of my tomatoes and peppers this past weekend so they will be safe and I can cover the three early tomatoes as I've been doing for over a month now anyway. My real worry are the strawberries (already setting fruit) and the raspberries (just now starting to bloom). I suspect the strawberries will do fine since they can take light frost, the ground is warm, and most of the open blooms are below the leaf canopy. The raspberry blossoms are an unknown since this will be year three for the bed and they haven't had to go through this before. The canes are way up in the air and will get the blunt of the cold air. It should be interesting.........