like peas in a pod

There once was a fellow named Lance,
Who decided to give peas a chance.
But with nary the space
Of a gardening place,
The vines grew right from his pants. 


Sno-Peas are on! 

Froggie Went a Courtin'

This garden toad was hanging out with me at Hattie's while I sowed some seeds of TOADily cool veggies.  I couldn't resist whipping out my camera & chasing him around the bed. I am sure I was stressing him out, but he lived to croak another day.

The toad lived in harmony and mutual benefit with the gardener for hundreds of years.  Changes in gardening have been at the expense of the toads. Not only with machinery but also from chemicals, such as  atrazine, banned in Europe, but widely used in the US, is an endocrine disruptor and can cause toads to be hermaphrodites among other things.

Toads serve as indicators of environmental health. They are natural predators of bugs and are a food source for birds and mammals. It is our duty as humans to protect these small creatures.

This guy has some interesting color & markings, I was unable to make an ID, but generically I think garden toad with cool marks, works. Check in if you have knowledge of what he is.

My friend JenZ, had some ideas for a caption contest....

‎"Go ahead, kiss me. But I ain't makin' no promises." 

"I'm an Aquarius...you?"

This time its on my mind, yes it is.

Get your soil ready because our beautiful transplants are looking for a home. We had our first official sale Saturday, and it was a success! MANY plants found new homes.  No delivery next weekend so we can get the garden planted up, but we will have the 2nd plant sale.  You can check out our offerings here:  Plant List

The rain came just in time Sunday, Its been so dry even irrigating was not doing the job. Powder keg dry. Got about 3 inches! We love you Motha Nature!

This rain will make next weeks transplants happy, wet soil=happy plants. We just might be doing it right this year, or getting lucky with some skilz.

The winter rye is mowed down, the pea tendrils are trying to bloom. The snow/snap peas are reachin for the sky, tomatoes are snug in the hooper, lettuce & radishes & turnips are poppin, The garden looks pretty nice, maybe you should come over next weekend for the sale & visit!!

Austrian Winter Pea Bloom...

We barely knew ye....

Not much to look at from this angle but the tomato plants are GOIN IN! This will be the 3rd turnover in the hooper. and now will be all maters all the time until October.

What a winter its been. If you blinked you missed it. Enjoyable it was to harvest & deliver all through it. Its just turned spring officially and I've seen the dreaded needle head skeeter.

That my friends will be the payback for the mild winter, but I will keep the groanin to a min.
( no I won't ).

We are already plantin the outside up with arugula & lettuce & sugah snaps & snow peas & carrots and and and we are off to a good start.

Keep yer eyeballs peeled for our upcoming plant sales at the farm, we'll sell produce too. And on those days the delivery will not happen, After all it's just the 2 of us, and the clone machine is on backorder.

enjoy the weather!

because yer werth it

I honestly have been kinda mute lately, nothing much is exciting me. "They" tell me it's winter and that's why I'm slothy. I never buy that, it's just an excuse if you ask me. Not that I do anything to prove them wrong. I'm a pisces, waddaaya want?

I am excited about the new tables Andy built. Thanks Andy! We are using them a lil bit so far. Aint they purdy? They will be in full swing in about a month or so.


So here are a couple blogs / websites / whatnots that have caught my eye. And sointantly not ALL. maybe I'll use this blog entry as the link page... maybe.

Carrot Pie - I heard about this from Mary Janes farm we will have them again...

'Cause we ALL need a little more flexibility and I just want to do yoga all the time.... Garden Yoga

Growing in winter is a new concept for many. This is what we been trying to manage all winter... because Fresher is Better. And local beats supermarket organic anyday. Don't get me started.

I am incredibly intrigued by this man's legacy... farmer & philosopher

There are lotsa things going on in the activist realm... Specifically 'they who shall not be named' there are steps being made in the courts, and I think the cloak is slowly being dissolved. If they can't be squashed permanently, then level the field. Label it.

I can't help but promote Marc Steiner and his NPR show On Delmarva , when I am late to work, which is absolutely NEVER! ahem.. anywho... I catch him interviewing and presenting stories that are important to us here in this wunnerful place we call delmarvalous. And when I miss it of course there is always the podcasts.
The website says it best : "On Delmarva will showcase the multitude of voices that call this land home. It will tell their stories and tackle the issues. It will bring together individuals that may disagree on many points yet are united around one point – their passion about our Peninsula."

Our Faithfuls:

We'd also like to thank you all for supporting our delivery service all winter with your orders. The local farmers and vendors we present weekly on the off season certainly would thank you too.

Other thank yous & misc. whatnots

There has been some 'organization' goin on at the farm. It's put a few years back on my life. Knowing where things are & having a place for everything feels good. It's an endless battle, but I started the fight... I'd like to thank all the hoes for hangin 'round.

Boxing Octopus... AKA, coat rack. I call this carpentry.

One thing I am not so thankful for: A BUSTED PUMP HEAD. We had a freeze maybe once or twice so far this winter, and one of 'em I was the shutter downer, and big FAIL, lawd bee. I hear a Good Samaritan farmer pal might give us a hand to fix it. Lesson learned.



And when you are done with this blog please compost or recycle it.
A fav blog of mine with some tips .

Here's hopin the arugula grows and we get no snows.

what is winter for?

Dreaming of pest free farming
Dreaming of the seed order
Dreaming of planning sessions
Sleeping and dreaming
Sleeping and eating
Eating and feeding
Oh yeah! wake up & harvest!!

We have had a very mild winter thus far. We are prepared with plastic & hoops & all manner of protection. Up until this week the cold came & went. Replaced by temps that belong in the spring.
I am not complainin mind you. I'm enjoying harvesting without the fingers going numb. And there it is! we still have food we are harvesting! And the people are hungry! For that we are grateful. Its been steady cold for a few days now and we are okay with that too. The sun seems to come out just as we need it.

The not farming part of farming
There is time for a few other things, such as, a new email system, so everyone gets the winter delivery email, and its fancied up with pics and links. Overall it is more friendly to the user. Nice goin Hattie! And I was able to fancy up the old website template with some new photos and hopefully more useful information, check it out.

Returnin' Super Special Guest
We were lucky to enlist a real live master to handle a few of the pesky tasks we didn't know how to tackle.

Andy Shaw, master rot chaser, who usually works with an ever-rotting wooden boat, came by & chased some away from our outdoor shed/ veggie cooling unit. He knows what he is doing.


Then we had a return visit , when he made 3 amazing & spectacular tables for the hoophouse.
No more ( well, less) back breaking bending while we grow the bedding plants! Super Special!


Thanks Andy for your much needed work and your charming presence on the farm.

Since my extent of 'carpentry' is hammering a few nails into the wall...
It was for a good cause to get the tools organized. Added a few years to my life.
Thing of beauty, ain? I like it.
There is a lot more to do than we have done thus far. But that's another day. Time to sleep & dream.

Cat is Lion at Home

ROAR! Bubba loves his Hattie's Garden Grass



Yes, we did get the plastic back on the hoophouse. Thanks to a couple Freemans, and a calm warm day this fall. We planted it up & I'd have to 'check our records' to tell you when we planted, but I tell you it grew so fast & furious, the produce is a little ahead of schedule. Well a lil bit maybe who knows. But I do know it has been a gracious fall as far as temps go. And since it all grew & is near done I think we are going to try some replanting. crazy tawk!


Who you ask is that person in the background? Well, I know its my signature color, but its not me, I'm not that graceful. Its DEB! and next time I will ask her permission and actually put a pic of her face in the blog if she lets me....She is our SUPER VOLUNTEER!

And this is the AMAZING VEG of the week. so sweet & tender. Kinda seems like a cross between Pak/Bok Choi and Broc Raab. You will not be disappointed if you got in under the wire to order this lil guy. Well, what was left after the harvest snacking.....



MERRY HOLIDAY TO YA'LL. HAPPY SOLSTICE....

the secret life

I know you imagine the baskets of fresh produce & us skipping through the rows, plucking a leaf here & there as the birds chirp.... (Queue Edelweiss)

Sometimes it's not very glamorous or romantic, this farming thing.... But it is an honorable way of living. ain it? Today I was weeding the spinach and realize how simple a thing that sounds like and yet, how important it is too. Such a simple task. But it can take all day. Spinach is a testy veg to harvest. Leaf by leaf. tedious some say. Much easier when it's weed-free. So we must. we must. Just try to find the zen.

You can see my fancy new 'tool' there in the foreground, The tines of the rake are adjustable to fit the width of the path between the rows. genius I tell ya! I like me tools I does.

Cheers!

-----THE END

Our bees died.


This most likely happened because someone sprayed a chemical on the lawn or around their house or possibly one of the conventional farms sprayed something creepy. and the bees got it and it killed them. It is really heartbreaking. Dave ( our bee man) said that it was one of the really healthy hives. I'm not sure if he has been back to open it up & take stock, but we hold onto hope that they are raising a queen, and we'll see them again. I really miss them. The garden is not the same.

Please consider all the beneficial insects before you decide to kill one that you don't like or feel you need. thanks.

Frightful Farmer Face Fluctuation

Please read the following graph with your BEST Vinny Price impression/accent:

So with the impending Nor'easter "scheduled" for our final market day at the HLFM , we had a hard time gauging who would come out & how much to harvest. It's the eve before the eve before all hallows eve, so what are we to expect? A stirring of the weather cauldron is what! MWAWHAahahHa...HAH.

you may return to your previously designated Deny Accent:
This being an October Nor'easter, it's bound to be a cold one. Dang arctic bidness. I think we have used all our 'hold until tomorrow' cards. All we needed was one. more. day. Actually we didn't have to use any cards, before now, really because just about every day that we were at market, it was absolutely perfect, sometimes it rained as we drove home. OH YEAH, once it lightnin & thundah'd during the opening bell. We wuz lucky dat time, and so with this sendoff from Mother Nature Her Highness, I'm feeling a bit blessed. kin I git an Amen.

We will layer up & hunker down and be waiting with all of our wunnerful produce. Please c'mon out and pick up enough to last ya. This is it.. of course , unless you are on the special off season delivery list... and if you don't know bout it & live in the Tri-Town Area, please ask...

BRRRR
Yes today was a forewarning of what is to come, seems we forget the chilly feeling after a summer of heat & humidity & temps you can be naked in & not notice.... You better believe I had the longhandles on today as I will in the morrow....

Since the harvest was in flux, so to speak... we had some time to fiddle around ( not really but pretend with me for a moment ) so Hattie & I decided to try on possible Halloween Costumes!
Here we are in our best garden attire... whachutink?

SKERRY SPINACH FACE

Instead of John Travolta and Nick Cage in Face Off..... a less scary (I hope) me & spinach mask... also note the covered rows behind me....

Can you believe we have spinach leaves
as big as our faces!?!
come get some at the HLFM on saturday!!!



This is Hattie as CAP'N SPINACH HOOK.
( captain hook... get it? I probably didn't need to point it out)

Anywho, thanks for a great market season and we are ready to deliver your goods starting next weekend... Costumes negotiable.... ;) wink... nudge...

See you in the mornin!!!!!!

orange you glad?

It's fall and I know this not only because of the temps at night ( and the fuzzy socks on my toes) but because I have been eating winter squash!! how I love them. at first I eat them just roasted, later I will get interesting. This Kabocha from Greenbranch awaits the knife.... how do you eat yours?


As promised and only a month later than promised, here is a shot that doesn't quite get a good angle on all the plantings in the field.

Take our word for it, there is lotsa food in that thar gard'n.
Them's carrots in the lush center row ...

Ya'll come out to the market this weekend. It's a long one & gawjuss too. We'll have lotsa food.

jimmy cheezy cocopoof

I know its hard to believe, after the 8+ inches we had with Irene & family, but I have to tell you that we realized it was dry today! This time instead of the burnin hot sun and what not, ( but I don't have to tell you that the sun is at a crazy angle.) The Wind, had a little to do with sucking the moisture outta ...ever ...livin ....thang ...on tha... earth.

Chapped lips, tumbleweeds, dust bowl.

There was much watering of seedlings today. No I wont complain. Because this summer when it was a hundred thousand degrees I was dreamin of a wind, even a hot dry wind. Blow-dryer-wind is what we called it in the SW.

Yes I have no photos this week. I hope I don't bore you. please write & tell me if i do. actually write & tell me anything. any ol thang.

So... I can tell you that we have a fall garden planted. AND that is why I have been somewhat silent. The heaping spoonfuls of soil and seed I am hauling around the garden, yes, me, alone, all me, solo, sans hands..... Oh HI HATTIE!, Oh I was just joking... ha ha, hee... heee? ha? ho? hello?
I'm of course being silly, that happens I am told. We do everything by hand so the brain starts to get giddy.

Hattie plowed her bootie off, making amazing raised beds for planting. Then we compost & level each bed for seed. And then the seeding, by hand mostly. yadda yadda.water, yadda, Its really amazing.

Its a beautiful thing. I am gonna take a photo for you, this week. I AM! i will! I SWEAR!

This is all for you my winter denizens! Never fear ! The Cornucopia of Nourishment is at your door just for the asking. So easy. I bring you yummyness. just ask.

oh Irene!

Irenie, you caused a lot of hullabaloo, about 8 inches of rain & plenty of wind. And in this neck of the woods we were lying prone all night in fear of tornadoes.

The garden fared pretty well all of our pre-hurricane precautions seemed to have paid off. The naked hoophouse is not an Irene tragedy, it's getting a facelift this fall so we decided the hurricane was a good reason to release the old plastic, rather than wake up to a bent hooper.


Hattie said the row covers barely budged in the gusts.


Since we didn't have the market on saturday we decided to have our own, Post Hurricane Sale
we had lots of wonderful customers come out & shop. THANKs YA'LL!!!!!

volunteers, squatters and earlybirds

Not the truest title but hey, it early, so sue me. or give me a better title.

Around the garden there are amazing things and some just a little inspiring.

Out around the compost bin there are lots of 'volunteers' this one has been out there blooming for a while now. Its eye catching because there is either green or brown out there and a shock of pink is always welcome. She doesn't care that Hattie tried to dispatch 'er. I think she is trying to attract the bee's who live back there...



Another grandstander is the perfect, no disease, lush cherry tomato poppin up by the back door. She's hidin some little gems under those leaves. Dunno if she was dropped as a seed or if a tiny start was tossed. But here is our fall crop! well not so much, can't bear to cut her down, but against all odds I'd say!


About a month ago after all the drama with the bee hives, I discovered the spare & mostly abandoned bee hive shaped like a house ( Dave told me the name of that type of hive, but guess what I forgot it.) had some action! Oh yeah, they are in & outta there all the time and there is a queen bee. imagine that. We aren't even mad that the hive is in the MOST inconvenient spot.

These little fuzzy green pointy hairs on the dirt were expected sometime this week but not as soon as they showed. Do you know what they are? I think they had all the perfect conditions, lots of rain warm temps but not too burnin hot, and of course lots of expectant eaters... Baby carrots comin! We are happy to have you.
cheers! off to cut arugula!!

our parasitic pals

Since the very first time I grew tomatoes I knew about the Tomato Hornworm. ( Actually I called Molly back then & said what the.....) What a crazy creepy GAWjuss critter! They are masters of disguise. Even after you find one, once you move your eyes it is easy to lose it.

First you think, ooo cool, then you see the munching & decimated mater plant. Then you get mad, then you google. Well it turns out that the hornworm turns into a moth, kinda normal except it kinda hovers like a humingbird. Yeah a hummingbird moth. kinda cool. And if you have plenty of maters & you aren't trying to make a living off of them.... you might let it live.

I mean, whats so great about tomatoes? I'm sure there are some delish weeds out there. what up? Git ooouuuuttt. Don't MAKE me kill yo arse... please... I'm a lover not a killer.

Like I said though, they are easy to lose sight of.... UNLESS!

...............tune of underdog...................
..........here I come to save the daaaaaaaaay.....

I confess that this week is the first time I ever heard of, let alone saw with my own eyeballs the hornworm's natural predator. And boy was it excitin! It actually happened just before that latest thunder boomer & I was torn between carrying it out with me to get a photo and running to shelter to save my personal electrical system from potential zappage.I think I made the right decision.

SO here I share with you , in case you ever see this... You should know, it is creepier than the hornworm its own bad self and even more GAWjuss in its own ultimate way...

Ladies & Gentlegardners I give you Cotesia congregata .........


A Braaconid wasp (pupae)... A Beneficial!!!!!
The female wasp lays eggs just under the skin of an unlucky hornworm. As the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the hornworm–literally eating a hornworm alive. Larvae chew their way out through the host’s skin when they mature. Once outside, the future wasps pupate, spinning tiny oval cocoons that look like insect eggs along the external back and sides of the worm. These fellows–and ladies–are not just innocently hitching a ride. When the adult wasps emerge from the cocoons, the already weakened hornworm will soon die, thus preventing any further defoliation on tomato plants. So, if you see a bright green hornworm carrying what looks like a clutch of white-colored insect eggs on its back, leave it there! The hornworm is not only feeding its own destruction, it is also carrying potential destroyers of hornworm brothers, sisters and descendants. The braconids get a meal and a future, and the hornworms get…GONE! ( this information was summarized from Betty Gray - a Galveston Master Gardener)

If you enlarge the photo above, by clicking on it, you can see the little larvae are like little cotton swabs. We found numerous Hornworms with this 'affliction' and they will remain. Think of how many wasps are here on this ONE caterpiller they must live on. No spraying anything that will hurt the waspies, and i guess that means BT cause the worm would no longer be able to survive thus giving the wasp its much needed nutrients.... right hattie?

Now that you know what I know, feel free to fill in any blanks. I'm a novice. Loud & Proud.
oh & come on by the booth Saturday at the historic complex, 'cause damn the worm we got maters.


Eat Local!!

rain dance

So last week I had my post all ready, blabbering on about the drought. How dry it was. Our main task was to keep the garden watered. And since that was not really all that interesting I decided to do a little profile on a curious water feature that is in my neighborhood.
I guess it was the raindance we needed since we got somewhere near 2 inches in just a couple days. Weatherbug says 2.69 for the month. It was sure a nice respite for the week. And the weather has been pretty nice since then. But the dryasabone forecast will be back, it is after all only July.

First I saw one, and thought it must be an ancient artifact. Then they started popping up all around, 2... 3, and then a red and white one showed up. I gotta tell ya, I'm easily amused. especially on my day off. I am much more serious when working....much...


Here in my hood there is an army of little john deere's (and one International Harvester) merrily watering the lawns. They are just so darn sweet. Apparently they follow the hose & wrap it up when done! crazy, the tires have little spikes !

I googled john deere yard sprinkler & found one at Ace Hardware... but of course... Ace is the place!! I was shocked at the cost. I certainly wouldn't leave it out in the yard!!

Here is a little video to take you to commercial break... think the end segment of CBS sunday morning.... with poor lighting.... and no tripod..

Little Shoppe of Horrors

As we approach the July 4th weekend market, where there will be tons of folks scrambling for everything we can possibly load into our booth. People who will want melons ( i think its a little early) and wonder where are the apples? Not that we sell either of those, but other folks at the market do; when they are in season.

Some folks don't know what the difference between conventional and organic produce is, and why organic can be more expensive. There was a time when I didn't know. And when I thought local meant grown in Pop's back yard. And Pop surely wouldn't use chemicals to grow. right?
Farmers Markets are not only a point of sale but also an opportunity for education. Some folks don't know where, when or how. Just FEED ME. Some do. Some already know.

Last week a middle school aged girl was at the market with her grandmother and the girl was amazed "you grow all this stuff yourselves? Everything? Wow, that's cool" .
I realized that she was offering a compliment to us. She really cared that it took a lot of work to do this and was thanking us. I proudly said "thank you very much, it is a tough job and it's people like you that make it worthwhile." and that was mostly it. but I think that she understood it was hard & there were lots of veggies. Maybe she grew a squash for science class and saw the constant care needed.
But I created a happy thought that she would be one of those future grownups who asked where & how it was grown. I was so surprised by her interest that I didn't engage her as much as I wish I did. I would have asked her if she ate beets or if she wanted to try some arugula. Maybe she will be back.

I guess my soapbox moment here is that if you know about organic farming; help those who aren't aware to understand what it takes to be a farmer, and if it's your thing, how organic farming can work. It might have to be administered in small doses.

Some topics to begin talking about food:
• what is seasonal eating
• why eating local is good for our economy
• how to cook a particular item from the farmer
• books that are fun to read about eating locally
• the dirty dozen - fruits and veggies that are best when organic
• and if you are feeling brave, chat about GMOs and CAFOs

And don't forget that it is okay to do your best and not do everything.


The best advice is to KNOW YOUR FARMER.

See you at your local Farmers Market

just a quick howdie

Here is a bee of some sort ( anyone know?) trippin on natures fractals.

market mania and whatnot

Saturday will be our 3rd market of the year. And I have to say the garden is RAWK'n. It's become a little tough to make an entry every week since there is so much I want to share that I get overwhelmed and then get paralyzed by inaction. I will try to be better and pick maybe one thing to blog about.

I have an amazing dinner made from last weeks finds from the HLFM . The first market we were chained to the booth, it was an incredible week. So I made up for it last weekend.

But First The News:
We also have our version of crop circles appearing in the Sunflower patch. I saw a few layin over, and with the heat I figgered, hey heat exhaustion. Upon further inspection it appeared SOMETHING or SOMEONE systematically walked through the patch down the center and took a few spoonfuls at the base of every flower!


EVERY SINGLE FLOWER. so first my mind goes to the weird bugs that always show up for happy hour. No bug is that big. well maybe but still.
So next it's oh no voles? moles? anteater? well possibly, maybe & no.
Then it's decided that there might have been an incredibly interesting critter that the neighbor kitties just couldn't resist. Now I have seen Ol Sammy go in shoulder deep after a vole. So my guess is that he woulda had that foolish critter in no time. His pal LELO tho, poor widdle, he works with no claws so I'm thinking maybe he was intrigued by something and kept at it. I honestly have no idea what happened, only that we lost a few but I was able to sturdy up & redirt what was left and the patch stands. And they will be coming soon to a market near you!!

NOT Enough for a mater pie:
but you can be assured they are coming....


AND now what you have all been drooling for:
here is a broad photo of the dinner:
WHAT WE HAVE HEYAH is achievement of a local meal.


Grilled Roasted Chicken ( pure harvest farm) Sourdough Bread (Koglers Old World Bread) with some Parm (First State Creamery) Grilled Napa Cabbage ( greenbranch farm, thanks Julia Wycall for the recipe) Arugula, Beet Salad (hatties garden) with Chevre (First State Creamery)
And a glass of Namaste from dogfishhead.
To all of you in our dinner ... NAMASTE...
and because the foodie in me has to take detail shots....


Chicken Grillin tastieness. Special brining & roasting by Andy ( our special guest at last weeks market booth)


Roasted Beets, arugula and goat cheese, YUM



Grilled Napa!!



Sourdough with PARM!


This is just a smattering of what you can do with market goodness. Come on down and check out the tasty business we have for you this weekend.

If I am feeling extra rested after tomorrows siesta, I will post what I did with Calliope's Peas and Davidsons mushrooms!!

Oh heck, why wait?
PEAS AND SHROOMS and a spot of dill....



okay so .... SEE YOU AT THE MARKET!!

pretty big stoof

As you can probably tell, we've been busy in the garden and I haven't been blogging.
fo shame fo shame.

There is one more plant sale at the garden this coming weekend before the HLFM opens for the season. We are also selling veggies we've harvested.

I HAVE been taking photographs of the garden. so you can get a little idea of what we have!

the blooms of snow peas on their way:


Out REDgeous lettuce!:
Our lettuce mix:

Swiss chard:

Speckled Trout lettuce: Forellenschluss:

The garden is bursting at the seams and its only May. We've had lovely rain so far, but its never enough. so we hope for an inch a week for the whole summer. And of course pest free would be nice.... well the spring is pleasant anyway... you don't come here to hear about bugs... but stay tuned for some rants later on in the season... you know it has gotta happen.

stop on by saturday for the plant sale!