Farmers Market Season Ending

It looks like this Saturday is going to be the last market day of this year. If the weather permits I am hoping to set up our roadside stand after the market. I am also hoping to set up the roadside stand on Saturdays once Valley City Farmers Market is over. I will be sure to post here when I plan to have the stand set up so check back before stopping by. Also once the market is over I will continue to update the availability list to the right (and on our website), so if there is anything that you would be interested in, you can send me an email or give me a call, and you can pick up your produce on days other than when we have our roadside stand set up.

Since the growing season is going to be slowing down soon, planning for next year will be beginning very soon. So let us know if there is something you would like to see us grow next year. We love growing new and unusual things, and are always open to suggestions.

So let us know what you would like us to grow next year.

How Things Are Growing

Well I just thought that I would let everyone know exactly how things are going here at BA Farm. We had a great start to the year with our lettuce mixes, which made me excited for the rest of the season to come. I but quickly became disappointed, as the weather this year made things difficult, slowed down a lot of our vegetables. Even though our vegetables did not like the weather the weeds did (not good).

We ended up tilling under our first planting of zucchini and summer squash, since it never really grew very much. It killed me to see it go, as I had planted some unusual varieties that I was very excited about. Luckily we planted some common zucchini and yellow squash at a friends property, which is were the above, header photo was taken (I will tell more about the property in another post, and will post more pictures). I think the reason why the zucchini did so well was because it was planted around a month later than we normally plant our zucchini.

Our peppers had a rough start and are finally starting to produce, but still not anywhere close to like they should be by now. They were previously dropping blossoms like crazy, and are still loosing a bunch of blossoms, although I have been seeing more and more that are actually developing into peppers.

My tomato plants look beautiful, even thought they are way behind and a few plants are finally just now getting tomatoes that are starting to change color. The only problem is I seem to have misplaced the paper that I had written down what varieties were planted where, and I can not find it anywhere. So I can not tell you what exactly is going to be available when, very very frustrating. I hope I can find it soon, actually let me rephrase that, I BETTER find that soon.

On the positive note my herbs are doing really well, although they do not seem to be selling, for some reason. So that means everyone needs to come to the market and buy some herbs:)

The carrots are also doing very well, and I am hoping to finally pull some not this Saturday but next Saturday (and maybe some for Strongsville Farmers Market, more about that in another post also). The only problem is there is a rabbit that knows how and were to get over our fence and into our garden (have seen him do it) and he has been munching on our carrot tops, and that needs to stop.

Anyhow to sum things up we have been having a bit of a rough time this summer, but things seem to be finally getting a little better, and are finally coming along.

First Valley City Farmers Market of the Year

The first market of the year at Valley City will be on Saturday June 5th.

I was hoping the market would start early this year, but did not expect it to start till around the middle of the month, so I am not exactly as prepared as I would like to be. I am not sure exactly what we will have available for the first market.

For sure we should have the following things ready in time for June 5th:

~Mustard Greens- many different colors and varieties to be sold in bunches
-we many also sell a variety of mixed baby greens to be used in salads
~Radishes
~Scallions
~Lettuce mixes- hopefully our lettuce will be ready in time for the first market, right now they are very slow growing, I believe it is because it has been so cold outside
~We should also have some plants available- will post what kinds closer to market time
~I also hope to have some type of bread available- most likely a berry bread

Hopefully I will have some other things available also.

The market season is finally almost here! I knew the first market was getting close when I picked some mustard greens for dinner yesterday.

Vegetable Varieties 2010

Artichokes
~Green Globe (1st time growing artichokes so I am not sure how it will go.) (Green variety)

Beans
~Chinese Red Noodle Yard Long (Red yard long beans) (keep their red color when cooked, best when cooked as in stir fry rather than boiled)
~Blue Lake (Regular green variety)
~Rattlesnake (Green with red stripes)
~Purple Podded (Purple variety) (change to green when cooked, acts as a timer for when they are done being cooked)
~Dragon Tongue (Yellow with purple stripes)

Broccoli
~Broccoli Raab
~Early Purple Sprouting Broccoli (kind of like the broccoli raab (small) but purple)
~Windsor Broccoli (Regular green variety) (is suppose to be very heat tolerant)

Cabbage
~Red Acre (red variety)
~(Cone shaped variety)

Cauliflower
~Purple of Sicily (Purple variety)
~Cheddar (Yellow variety) ~Possibly a common white variety

Carrots
~Dragon (Purple variety)
~White Satin (White/Light yellow variety)
~Amarillo (Yellow variety)
~Tendersweet (Common orange variety)

Celery

~Zwolsche Krul (Stem Celery) (Thinner that regular celery, with a stronger taste, will be sold in bunches)

~Red Stem Celery (Common celery with red stems)

~Also a common green variety

Corn
~We will be growing the same variety of bi-color sweet corn as we did last year
~We will also be trying a new white sweet corn variety (will only be growing a small amount since it will be the first time trying this variety)

Cucumbers
~Mexican Sour Gherkin Cucumber (very, very tiny cute little cucumbers that I will be using for in salad mixes)

Eggplant
~Blush (Long white with
~Black Champion (Long purple)
~Thai Green (Long green)
~Lao Green Stripe and Lao Purple Stripe (Tiny round eggplant)
~Mix of four different varieties

Greens
~For bunches: Red Russian Kale, Dinosaur Kale, Collards, Swiss Chard (many colors), and a mix of 4 or 5 Mustard Greens
~There are so many other different kinds of greens we plan to grow, some spicy for salad mixes others to be sold as a bunch

Herbs
~We have plans add a whole new section for all of our herbs. Hopefully we will have a very large selection of herbs available to be sold in bunches. We will also be selling all the different kinds of basils we had available last year plus some new exciting varieties. At some point I will post a list of all the different kinds of herbs we plan to sell with descriptions.

Kohlrabi
~Early White Vienna (Common green variety)
~Early Purple Vienna (Purple variety)

Leeks
~Licolyn Leeks (Used for baby leeks, ready to pull early)
~I will also be growing a couple of regular common leek varieties

Lettuce
~I have many different kinds of lettuce seeds, I probably will not be able to plant them all at one time, but I can tell you one thing, I should have a very good selection available

Okra
~I think I over did it when it came to ordering okra. I may have ordered more varieties than I should have. We will see how many I get to plant come spring, all of them would be nice :)
~Eagle Pass Okra (A green and red fat variety)
~Pitre's Short Bush Red Cowhorn Okra (A skinnier longer green and red variety)
~Burmese Okra (Green variety)
~Cow Horn Okra (Green variety)
~Red Burgundy Okra (Red variety)
~Milsap White Okra (White variety)

Parsnip
~Hamburg Rooted Parsley

Peas
~Golden Sweet Snow Pea (Yellow sweet snow pea)
~I will be growing a normal green variety also to go along with the yellow peas

Peppers
~Bianca Bell Peppers (Yellow variety)
~Islander Bell Pepper (Purple variety)
~Purple Beauty Bell Pepper (Purple variety)
~Chocolate Beauty Bell Pepper (Green maturing to chocolate variety)
~Gourmet Bell Pepper (Green maturing to orange variety)
~King of the North Bell Pepper (Green maturing to red variety)
~Alma Paprika Pepper (Yellow maturing to red sweet/mild paprika pepper, small round bell variety)
~Feher Ozon Paprika Pepper (Yellow maturing to orange sweet paprika pepper, long variety)
~Shishito Pepper (Green sweet/mild Japanese pepper)
~Jimmy Nardello Italian Pepper (Long skinny green to red, looks like a cayenne but without the heat)
~Sweet Banana Pepper (Long yellow sweet pepper)
~(Green sweet pepper, same kind we had last year)
~Red Ruffled Sweet Pepper (Round ruffled look, green to red)

Pumpkins
~I do not think we will be selling any pumpkins this year for market but we will be growing some to be used for baking (pies, breads, etc.)

Radish
~French Breakfast (sold last year, long white and red variety)
~Shunkyo Semi-Long Specialty Radish (long red variety)
~Easter Egg Radishes (Small round, mix of beautiful colors)
~Saxa2 (very quick to mature red variety, (18days))
~Crimson Giant (very large red variety)
~Rat Tail Radish (excited about this one, it is actually the seed pod that is edible, does not actually form underground)

Shallots
~Will be growing some shallots this year for the first time, will be a common variety

Summer Squash
~Common green zucchini variety
~Bush Baby Zucchini (Small striped variety)
~Magda Zucchini (Similar size and shape to Bush Baby but with light green color)
~Green Patty Pan Squash
~Bennings Green Tint Scallop/Patty Pan Squash

Tomatoes
~IsIs Candy Cherry Tomato (red, yellow striped cherry)
~Black Cherry Tomato (Purple cherry)
~Dr. Carolyn Cherry Tomato (Yellow cherry)
~White Current Tomato (Smaller yellow cherry)
~Sungold Cherry Tomato (Orange cherry)
~Aunt Ruby's German Cherry (Green cherry)
~Pearly Pink Cherry Tomato(Pink cherry)
~Mr. Stripey (Yellow, red, orange striped slicing tomato)
~Black Prince Tomato (Purple slicing variety)
~Cherokee Purple Tomato (Purple slicing variety)
~Amish Paste Tomato (Red paste)
~Opalka Tomato (Red paste)
~Wapsipinicon Peach Tomato (Fuzzy like a peach, yellow cherry)
~Yellow and Red Pear Tomato (Cherry sized, pear shaped)
~Japanese Black Trifele Tomato (Purple and shaped like a bosc pear, will be sold mixed with yellow and red pear)
~Striped Cavern (Red, yellow striped stuffing tomato)
~Reisetomate Tomato (Is like a bunch of red cherry tomatoes fused together, that pull apart easily)
~I will be growing a red cherry tomato as well just not sure which one yet I have a few different kinds that I can grow.
~I also have a couple of other striped tomatoes that are slightly larger than a cherry tomato but I am not sure if I am going to have the room for them, will have to wait and see.

Turnip
~Common variety

I think that is everything, hopefully I did not miss anything.

Once I get the website done this list will be there also, plus I plan to have pictures of the vegetables we have already grown and when the season begins I will take pictures of the new varieties and add them also.

Planting inside will begin this weekend, I probably should have already started, but come on do you really expect, me, to be right on schedule? As long as I start planting things this weekend I will not be to late, just not early.

Our Plans for Fall

Sadly were not able to get any of our fall greens and lettuces planted, but there is a reason for that. We are planning on building a hoop house in the location where we plant our greens. Yes we had to sacrifice planting our fall crops but it will all be worth it in the long run. We will not only be able to start our greens earlier, but it will also protect our crops from bugs. Which should make it possible to grow things that were either impossible to grow (pak choi and mustard greens) or very hard to grow (arugula, beets, radishes, and a lot of other greens) before.

I am very excited about our plans and can not wait to get started with them.

We are still hoping to sell at the Valley City Farmers Market, hopefully till the end. The following is what we plan to have available after a frost stops us from harvesting anymore warm weather crops.

• Pumpkin Pie
• Pumpkin Bread
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Apple Bread
• Apple Pie
• Pecan Pie
• Collards
• Kale
• Leeks
• Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Corn Stalks
• and possibly some other things

------------------------------------------------------
This year has been a really big challenge, the temperature for much of the season has been much cooler than normal. Making it difficult for crops such as eggplant, okra and caused most crops to be harvested much later in the season than normal.

We have also had issues with bugs that we never had before. We have always had trouble with flea beetles but this year was the worst yet, posing a problem for eggplant, radishes and our spicy greens. We also had major problems with beets and spinach which was something we never had a problem with before, leaf minors. In the past we were always able to pull beets with beautiful tops with hardly any problems, but this year was very different.

Another problem that we had this year was with rodents. Never before have we had our bean plants just cut off from the ground by rodents. The monsters also whipped out our beets overnight.

Considering how difficult of a year it was I am also very grateful for what we were able to harvest and the support of all our wonderful customers. Even though the year is not yet over, I can feel it coming to an end, since many of our warm weather crops are ending and the weather is getting cooler. So I just wanted to say thanks, to everyone.

Next market- What's available

This Saturday July 4th, there will be no market at Valley City, due to the holiday. The next market at Valley City will be on Saturday July 10th. Here is what we are expecting to have available:

~Beets- Regular and Forono (longer than regular beets
~Radishes- Regular and French Breakfast
~Bagged Salad Mixes- I will post what types of mixes when it is closer to the market date
~Loose Leaf Lettuce Heads
~Head Lettuce- Should have some ready for next market
~Red Russian Kale bunches
~Collard bunches
~Sweet Basil bunches
~Red and White Scallions
~Red Cherry Tomatoes- may possibly have some ready for next market, if not we will have them soon after
~Bell Peppers- coming very soon, not sure if we will have any for next market, but will be coming soon
~Zuchinni and Summer Squash- coming very soon

Summer Greens

This year I hope to have bagged greens for salads and stir fry mixes available throughout the summer. Right now I have spinach, butterhead lettuce, baby romaine, collards, red russian kale, swiss chard, and radicchio planted. They are all suppose to be heat tolerant, so I am keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping I will have a nice selection. I also plan to plant some dinosaur kale and Tatsoi (a type of mustard green). I think I will also replant some mizuna and possibly some arugula. We will see how it goes.

So hopefully I will have salad mixes and mixed greens available all summer. I will let everyone know how all my summer greens are doing and of coarse will have to post some pictures.

More Pictures!

Have you noticed that I like to take pictures?

Just a few of my many dahlias

I think that I forgot to mention, in my post about the plants that I will have for sale this year, about my dahlias and geraniums. So I just wanted to mention that I will have many kinds of beautiful dahlias and geraniums available for sale around the start of the Valley City Market. I will be sure to post pictures once they bloom, which still will not be for awhile yet, but I guarantee that we are getting closer.

Some of my geraniums



Mixed Salad Pot

I am not sure if I mentioned this before or not but I will have available for sale a potted salad mix. This is just a sample one for me that I made up as an experiment. I wanted to find out what grows best together and taste the best together so I can make up some different combinations to sell. In each pot I plan to have a couple different kinds of lettuces, arugula, at least a couple kinds of greens and a flower that is edible and can be used in salad mixes (Nasturtium or Violas). In this pot I planted Endive, Arugula, Black-Seeded Simpson Lettuce, Red Sails Lettuce, Spinach, Salad Burnet, Corn Salad, Sorrel, and a rather large Nasturtium. Of coarse the ones that I will have for sale will probably not be quite this crowded, again this is just an experimental pot. I plan to grow these under lights indoors durning the summer. Since I will not be able to have actual lettuce available durning the summer since it is too warm and they would become bitter, I figured that I could have these available instead. So you can grow your own lettuce mix, and of coarse once you pick it it will grow back again so you should be able to get quite a few nice salads for your salad mix pot.

I also plan to have some mixed herb pots available. I am not sure yet exactly what kind of combinations I will make up, but each pot should have atleast 4 different kinds of herbs in it. I will probably make up some pots with the four kinds of basils that I will have available this year, and will most likely have some with herbs for cooking that go well together.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

And here are some more pictures:

Violas and some peppers

Some of my larger Fairy Tale Eggplants

Four different kinds of Basil:
Sweet Basil, Lemon Basil, Opal Basil and Cinnamon Basil

Zinnias

Some of my tomatoes that are in desperate need of transplanting!

If you plant you tomatoes in flats like this, I would not suggest that you let yours get to be this size before transplanting. They will be ok though, once I get them transplanted. I just finished transplanting another flat of tomatoes yesterday, for some reason I do not like transplanting tomatoes very much. I will be very glad when they are all transplanted, which I hope will be very soon!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just thought that I would mention that it is not positive yet but it looks like we will probably be selling at the Strongsville Farmers Market on Thursdays in addition to the Valley City Farmers Market. We are also still looking into other possible locations to add to Strongsville and Valley City. Strongsville Farmers Market does not begin until July, acutally they told me it would be the beginning of August. Which seems a little late, hopefully they made a mistake. I would like to add another location that we could sell at earlier than Strongsville, but am having trouble finding one.

I will be sure to post further information, about where we will be selling this year, when it becomes avaiable.

For now I guess I should get back to transplanting, because I have alot to do.