Whiteley Creek Homestead Bed and Breakfast Brainerd Minnesota

first csa box of the season

Today I picked up my first CSA box for the 2010 season. Each pickup is so much fun to see what in-season produce will determine the week's menu, but this box was especially exciting because of its long-awaited arrival.

The CSA deliveries to our drop site at the Crow Wing County Food Co-op in Brainerd (Minnesota) were to begin the week of June 21st, but it was delayed until this second week in July through no fault of our growers. This spring's abnormally cool temperatures and lack of sunshine kept the soil cool, so the conditions were not optimal for plant growth. We are off and running now.

Look at the size of this one head of leaf lettuce that I dug out from underneath veggies piled on top of it. It fanned out to fill the entire box's dimensions!

Boy, the recipe requests for the Raspberry Icebox Pie have been pouring in! It is now up. Sorry to keep you hanging...  
  

KLKS and The Circle of Life

When I drive, I listen to KLKS 104.3 FM Breezy Point (Minnesota). When I wash dishes, I listen to KLKS. When I'm blogging or doing office work, I listen to KLKS. In my housekeeper role when I'm cleaning cabins at my bed and breakfast, I listen to Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Luther Vandross, Harry Connick, Jr., and Barbra Streisand on KLKS. On Mondays at 12:25 p.m., I listen to Lunch with John on KLKS. The only time I'm not listening to KLKS is when I'm really in a hurry, then I crank up The Lion King's theme song Circle of Life. That song, and others from the movie, gets me movin' like no other. I saw firsthand an example of the circle of life in my kitchen garden today.   

 
A seedling making its way out of a seed is like a baby chick forcing its way out of its shell and into the world.

I removed this seedling from its newspaper pot so that I could see the root system. What's going on below the soil line is just as amazing as what can be seen above ground.

planting tradition

My father, who died five years ago, was born May 20, 1910 so he would be 100 years old today. I always plant potatoes on his birthday in honor of him because when I was a kid growing up in a family of 14, we planted huge crops of potatoes that we stored in our root cellar to carry us through the long, cold winter months. May 20th was also when we began planting our vegetable garden because it was an appropriate date for our central Minnesota's northern climate. My chitted seeds that I soaked yesterday sent out roots in record time, so I had more than enough to get started with my spring veggie garden planting today... potatoes, onion plants, beans, peas, radish, and leaf lettuce. I planted my "chitted" (presprouted) cuke seeds in newspaper pots because the soil hasn't warmed enough. In the early part of June, I will transplant the seedlings into the garden. The zucchini seeds have begun to sprout inside the folds of the moistened paper towel, but they're not far enough along to plant. I will plant them in newspaper pots as I did the cuke seeds because they need warmer soil temps, too.

scarlet runner beans and 'dwarf gray' sugar peas

'pink beauty' radish

'encore' lettuce mix

'diva' cucumber

chitting

A funny term... but so very useful. "To chit" means to presprout seeds or potatoes so they have started making a root prior to planting.  

 

To chit peas and beans, soak the seeds in lukewarm water. In this photo, I am soaking 'old spice mix' sweet pea, 'dwarf gray' sugar pea, and scarlet runner beans in wide-mouth quart jars fitted with plastic sprouting drainage lids. Alternatively, you can attach a piece of fine-mesh, fabric-type window screen or natural unbleached cheesecloth to the mouth of the jar with a rubberband. After 6 to 8 hours, drain the water, rinse, and drain again. Set the jars at an angle in a dish draining rack to finish draining. The room temperature should be at least 65°. Gently rinse and drain the seeds twice a day. Roots will emerge in 3 to 4 days and they are ready to be planted in the ground with the root pointing down. Plant before the root grows longer than the seed.

Here is my "chitting station". A textbook in my Gardening For Good Nutrition class, an elective course I chose to take last term as I work toward earning my Bachelor's Degree in Holistic Nutrition, suggested chitting smaller seeds as well, so in the dish drainer I have jars containing lettuce mix, tatsoi, spinach, radish, and buttercrunch lettuce.

To chit cucurbits, which include melons, cucumbers, squash, gourds, and pumpkins, dip a paper towel in lukewarm water and allow excess water to drip out. Place seeds in between layers of the paper towel and slip into a plastic storage container with a lid or a sealed plastic bag and put in a warm place. I slipped a plastic bowl cover that looks like a shower cap over top of a plate. Cucurbits need a temperature of 70° to 85° to sprout, so place the seeds in a warm place. Monitor to be sure the paper towel doesn't dry out. After 3 days, check the seeds 2X/day for signs of roots emerging. Plant before the root grows longer than the seed with the root pointing down in the soil. In this photo, I am sprouting zucchini and cucumber.

To chit seed potatoes, spread them out on a tray in a brightly lit room that is not too well heated for about 6 weeks before planting to encourage shoots to emerge from the eyes. (Over time, mine sprouted left inside the bag they were shipped in from the seed company.) Prior to planting in the ground, cut the potatoes so that each chunk has two sprouts. Plant with the shoots pointing up. Note: Large potato farms use machinery to plant the potatoes, so the surfaces of the potato chunks are usually treated with fungicide so they don't rot in the ground before the sprouts emerge from the eyes. The home gardener is able to hand plant the sprouting potato so there is no need for fungicide.

Because chitted seed is already growing when it is planted, there are several advantages over planting seed directly in the ground. Seeds require moisture to germinate, so ones planted in the ground are dependent upon the gardener diligently keeping the soil moist or upon rainfall. It's easier to monitor moisture level in a jar on paper towel. Secondly, chitting allows control over germination temperature. Spring soil is slow to warm, so seeds often fail to germinate or they rot in the ground. Another advantage of chitting is that you can observe the germination before planting so that you aren't putting dead seed in your garden.   

 

this girl is a woman now

 
In the words of Gary Puckett and The Union Gap, "This girl is a woman now. She's found out what it's all about. She would never be the same again." One of my three 19 1/2 week-old hens (Flossie, Olga, and Phoebe) laid its first egg this morning! It is small. as first eggs are, but I am more than thrilled because there will be more to follow and it was plopped right where it should be... in one of the nesting boxes.

garden planning tool

I created this diagram of my garden layout with a new garden planning tool that I discovered. You can easily move the plant symbols around to a different location until you have it just right. It's so easy to visualize what your garden will look like. To determine placement, I first decided upon what I wanted to grow. Next, I grouped the plants into families for the purpose of crop rotation and determined companions. I considered each plant's horizontal or vertical growth, its height, colors, texture, and shape for visual appeal, fragrance to attract or deter insects and provide scent along walkways, and spacing to allow for succession planting. For example, to protect a late sowing of lettuce from summer sun, I will grow it in the shadows of taller tomatoes. By allowing proper spacing for each plant, family members will not compete for the same nutrients. In areas where rows will be used, I positioned them in an east/west direction to maximize sunshine. Using my plant list, I devised a five-year crop rotation plan because a crop that is grown in the same area year after year can deplete the soil's nutrients and cause the buildup of soil-borne diseases and pests. Plants in the same family should not follow each other in rotation, so I identified five distinct areas in my garden space where I could group plant families together. I labeled the areas Site 1, Site 2, Site 3, Site 4, and Site 5. Each year, crop rotation will be a simple procvess because the entire plant family will be planted in a new area. After you complete your plan, the garden planning tool site allows you to print out a personalized guide that tells you when to sow, transplant, and harvest each crop determined by your planting zone. It tells how many of each crop to plant based upon the size of your garden space and each plant's spacing requirements. (Note: This feature is ineffective if you don't insert the exact number of symbols in the ruled grid to accurately depict the number of plants you will sow/transplant in your actual garden space. If you attempt to fit the correct number of symbols into the plan, it creates a very jumbled diagram causing difficulty visualizing the aesthetic component of your plan. Instead, to determine spacing, I will refer to the book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.) The site has helpful information on companion planting, crop rotation, natural pest control, etc. You can use the planning tool free for 30 days, then it's $25.00 a year if you decide to continue.  

March 28, 2010

Today's Mileage: 2-mile walk 

Total Mileage for March: 37.5 miles

Bible reading? Yes

 

March 29, 2010

Today's Mileage: 2-mile walk 

Total Mileage for March: 39.5 miles

Bible reading? Yes

 

March 30, 2010

Today's Mileage: 2-mile walk 

Total Mileage for March: 41.5 miles

Bible reading? Yes

 

March 31, 2010

Today's Mileage: 2-mile walk + 4.25 mile bike ride  

Total Mileage for March: 47.75 miles 

Bible reading? Yes

gardening supplies giveaway

 

 

Imagine Childhood is having a giveaway for an Organic Gardening Gift Set worth over $75.00 to one lucky winner, but you must act fast! You must have your comment submitted onto their site by 2 p.m. MST today. Here's a time zone map, so you can see how much time you have left to get your submission in. The winner will be announced later today. I love the retro-looking canister that houses the Grow Your Own Seedling Starter Kit! According to the company's web site, the kit includes "biodegradable seedling starter cells, high quality soil, re-usable greenhouse bag, eco-friendly water tray, decorative, canister, and instructions. Each kit can start up 10 seedlings that will easily transplant to your garden." Seed options are organic heirloom tomato, organic carrot, or organic zucchini. The lovely zucchini blossom in the photo collage is such a nice addition. 

While you're on the Imagine Childhood web site, stay awhile and browse their other items like this stainless steel two-tier lunch pail and many products conducive to old-fashioned child play that do not require a television or headset.

There are even recipes... such lovely photos and craft ideas and a link to a Barn Sories blog that transports you out of the city and into the country. What a fun site to visit!

March 22, 2010

Today's Mileage: 2-mile walk

Total Mileage for March: 14 miles

Bible reading? Yes

hydroponic farm and green drink

This morning, my friend Sharon and I toured the Urban Oasis Farm in Tampa where veggies are grown hydroponically in a sterile soiless growing media. Since the purpose of the "soil" is for root support and not for nutrients, such material as pebbles and mulch are sometimes used. Urban Oasis chooses to use a growing media consisting of coconut fiber and perlite. I surmise that this particular mixture has an added benefit of absorbing moisture from the water soluble fertilizer applied to provide the plant's nutrients. The farm's owner explained that the fertilizer they use is OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) approved. 

 
The styrofoam planters are stacked in sets of four with a plant in each of the four corners, thus allowing sixteen plants to grow in each vertical unit. The corners of each planter are inserted in notches to hold the pot above the "soil" line of the one beneath it. An irrigation system on a timer supplies liquid fertilizer to the top planter which then runs into each planter beneath it.   

Florida soil is less than ideal for vegetable gardening, which was a reason given during the tour for using this method. I will not be convinced that this is a good alternative to gardening in soil that has been enriched with good quality compost, cover crops, and mineral amendments along with utilizing crop rotation until I investigate further. My research will be part of a project I am working on in my Gardening for Good Nutrition class that I am taking this present term.

At the farm, I bought tatsoi, dandelion greens, and flat-leaf parsley which I blended to make a green drink. 

   

tatsoi

 
dandelion greens

To prepare the green drink, I roughly-chopped a handful of each the three kinds of herbs (tatsoi, dandelion greens, and flat leaf parsley), added 1 cup water, 1/2 cuke, 2 stalks celery, and an apple and whirred it up in a blender. If you happen to be out of apples, I sometimes add apple juice (preferably raw unfiltered). I have also prepared the green drink using my juicer. You can drink it as is or strain it. Straining the mixture makes it prettier for serving, but the pulp adds fiber. 

 

gardening course

Yesterday marked the end of my first term towards earning my Bachelors Degree in Holistic Nutrition. I completed all tests, projects, and exams in my two courses Fundamentals of Holistic Nutrition and Basic Herbology. That is why my posts have been so few and far between the past few weeks. I have been one very busy student! Today, I began anew with my second term's courses of Gardening for Good Nutrition and Vegetarian (and Vegan) Diet and Lifestyles. The spring gardening bug has already bitten me, so I began the day with my gardening studies.

 
If I follow the method that the author suggests in one of my three gardening textbooks, I won't be spending the winter months dreaming about spring planting. I will be harvesting instead. In simplistic terms, he explains it this way. "Only the harvest season and not the growing season needs to be extended." This distinction is important because the harvest season can be extended by planting cool-weather and cold hardy crops using succession planting and crop protection. Extending the growing season involves greenhouses, grow lights, etc. It's about not fighting the seasons but working with them by choosing appropriate plants for each season. If you haven't read the book Animal Vegetable Miracle A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, I highly recommend that you do. It is about how a family challenged themselves to eat only food raised on their own property or from their locality... even throughout the winter months. I don't recall that they used four season gardening, but it certainly would have been useful in their challenge. They put up food to carry them through the winter months by utilizing a root cellar, canning, and freezing. The idea in both of these books is to plan meals around what is fresh and in season. It just makes simple sense. 

roosters and hens

This afternoon, I discovered a set of dishes while sorting through some boxes we had stored in the attic of our pole building. (The design looks black in the photo... at least it does on my computer's screen, but it is really a very pretty green.) I remember boxing them up. The newspaper pages, that I had wrapped around each piece to protect them, were dated March 1998.  Eleven years is long enough for them to feel fresh and new again and ready for another go round, so into the dishwasher they went. I switched them out with ones I had in my cupboard which I boxed up to take to the local thrift shop. 

 

After digging through six more boxes, salvaging a few beverage glasses, and loading the remainder into the trunk of my car to donate, I grabbed a flat shovel and my wheelbarrow and headed to the chicken coop for some fall cleanup. It was sad and lonely there... no hens clucking, no hens at my heels anticipating veggie scraps, no freshly laid eggs to gather because a couple weeks ago we transported our hens to a neighboring farmer who will care for them over the winter months.

But the coop is cleaned and ready for their return in the spring...