Anyone interested in a CSA?

We have been thinking about starting up a CSA for the past couple of years now, but I think next year just may be the year that we actually start offering CSA shares. I have not yet got all the details together yet, but it will probably run beginning of June (possibly sooner) through early/mid October. I may even have a fall/winter share available. I am not sure what size I plan to make the shares, but they will probably not be extremely large shares, will probably be average size. I have been debating about the size and have not decided exactly how much they will be yet.

So, let me know if you would be may be interested in receiving more information once we decide how much a share will be, when it will start, for how many weeks it will run, and other information about our upcoming CSA!

Valley City Farmers Market has come to an end for 2010

Last week was sadly our last week to sell at Valley City. Since it is getting colder out now all of our warm weather crops are now coming to an end. I have been picking the last of many things the past couple of days, before we get a frost and everything comes to an end.

Soon now it will be time to start my planing for next year. Although I have not started to pick out the actual varieties, I have started to think about what I would like to grown and what I probably will not be growing next year.

I will be growing most of the same cherry tomato varieties that I did this year and will probably try some new varieties also. I also plan to try many new varieties of larger slicing tomatoes. I will be growing the Striped Cavern Stuffing Tomato again and may even grow another variety of stuffing tomato such as a yellow stuffer.

As far as peppers go I will probably grow most of the same varieties as I this year plus some new ones.

I should also have a lot of beans next year since I am planning on planting almost one entire garden area with beans to add some nitrogen to the soil.

Of course I will be growing all my different colored carrots, plus I plan to have other different varieties available also.

This year we have lots of acorn and butternut squash, but next year I will be trying a bunch of different varieties of winter squash, many different colors, sizes and shapes.

These are just some of my plans for next year. When I have decided what varieties of everything I am going to grow, I will be sure to post it here and update my list on the website. I also have lots and lots of pictures and information to add to my website, and will probably start doing that very soon. I just have not had the time to update my website during the summer, but will have a lot more time during the winter (winter, that word made me cringe).

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.

Soil Mixes Experimenting (Part 1)

Ok, so I have finally came up with my soil mixes that I will be experimenting with. I have also bought the seeds that I will be using in the experiments. I will be using Tomato Costoluto Genovese by Thompson & Morgan. I got them from Gales Garden Center, and choose these particular tomatoes mainly because they had a lot of seeds in the package (450 seeds), they were also pretty cheap ($2.69 -20% discount). This tomato is a beefsteak with a cool ribbed look to it. 450 seeds should hopefully be enough for me to experiment with, hopefully :) For each soil mix I will be planting 10 seeds in each, that should be enough for me to get some accurate results.

So now you know what the seeds are, and here are the seeds starting mixes. Most of the mixes I got from a good site with Potting Mixes for Certified Organic Production (site by ATTRA) on this page not only do they have many, many organic soil mixes but they also describe the ingredients used in all of them, good info.

Seed Starting Mix #1 This mix is a very simple mix that I have wanted to try myself for a while

2 parts Peat moss
1 part Vermiculite

Seed Starting Mix (+Fertilizer) #2
This mix will actually be the same as mix #1 except I would like to experiment with fertilizing these seedlings soon after they have sprouted. Normally I do not fertilize seedlings till after they have been transplanted if I am going to do so. But since I am experimenting I will be trying things that I don't normally do, why not, right? I am not exactly sure what I will be fertilizing with yet, but will figure it out soon.

2 part Peat moss
1 part Vermiculite
Fertilize after sprouting

Seed Starting Mix #3
This one I found on the ATTRA site linked above (Titled- Sowing Mix).

5 parts compost
4 parts soil
1-2 parts sand
1-2 parts leaf mold
1 part peat moss

Above is the exact mix recipe from the website, I may end up altering it when I mix it, will see.

Seed Starting Mix (+Fertilizer) #4
The next recipe will also be for the ATTRA site (Titled- Tipi Produce Recipe).

2 parts Sphagnum peat moss
1 part coarse vermiculite
1 part coarse perlite

+fertilizing mixture of:
3 parts steamed bone meal
2 parts kelp meal
2 parts blood meal
1-2 parts dolomitic limestone

The original recipe called for larger portions but I cut them down since I will not need to mix such large quantities for experimenting.

Seed Starting Mix #5
Not sure what this mix is going to be yet, most likely I will just use one of the above mixes (maybe mix #1 or #4) and try fertilizing the seedlings with another fertilizer mix that I come up with.


I almost forgot I will be starting some in the normal store bought mix that I normally start my seeds in, so that will be Seed Starting Mix #6.

So those are my mixes. I will be starting the seeds probably some time this week or next weekend. I have to get my regular seeds started first and I also must get the mixes ready and I also plan to do soil tests on all the mixes first before planting.

I can not wait to actually get started with the planting and start to see some results, it should be interesting.

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Just thought I would give a little info on the different ingredients that my mixes will consist of.

Peat Moss
Description- comes from (bet you couldn't guess) the sphagnum moss plant
pH- Acid
Nutrients- does not contain any itself, but will absorb them very well
Benefit- light weight, can hold water well if not allowed to completely dry out
Other Info- Some love peat moss and others hate it, I am kind of in between. If allowed to completely dry out it can be extremely hard to get wet again evenly. On the other hand if it is kept wet it can be better for a potted plant than regular soil (texture wise).

Vermiculite
Description- A mineral similar in appearance to mica
pH- near neutral
Nutrients- contains calcium, magnesium and potassium
Benefit- aids in air circulation
Other Info- It is very light weight, if the soil you are planting in is heavy or more compact adding vermiculite can allow the soil to breathe. All plants need some are circulation, and if you have a problem with that, vermiculite may be just what you need to help.

Compost
Description- Decomposed leaves, grass, plants, vegetables, the list goes on and on
pH-
Nutrients- A very nutrient rich source
Benefit- A lot depends on what is in your mixture, but compost is one of the best nutrient providing substances that you can add to a soil mixture.
Other Info-

Soil
Description- Regular topsoil
pH-
Nutrients- May also be a nutrient rich source (a lot depends on the quality of the top soil)
Benefit-
Other Info- Some say and believe that regular soil is not good for potting mixes because it tends to become to compact and not allow optimal air circulation, of coarse I am determined to find out how true that is. I myself want to believe that regular soil can be a good part of a potting mix if mixed correctly along with other ingredients, we will see. I could be wrong or I could be right.

Sand
Description- coarse sand is best, fine sand can become to compact for plant to grow
pH- neutral
Nutrients- Does not hold water very well, thus nutrients tend to drain through along with the water
Benefit- Drains very easily, also warms up very quickly (just think of how hot a sandy beach can be on you bare feet)
Other Info- Sand can be good and have benefits, just not all by itself

Leaf Mold
Description- Decomposed leaves
pH- on the acid side
Nutrients- calcium and magnesium
Benefit- Increases moisture in the soil
Other Info-

Perlite
Description- A volcanic rock
pH- neutral
Nutrients- Potassium
Benefit- aids in air circulation and improve water drainage, also will hold 3 to 4 times its weight in water without causing potting mix to become overly wet
Other Info- When heated perlite expands to as much as twenty times is original size, and becomes very light and kind of puffy, much different from its original rock form

For Fertilizers:

Bone Meal
Description- crushed and ground bones
pH- alkaline
Nutrients- phosphorus, calcium
Release Rate- Very slow, coarse grade will last longer than fine grade will
Benefit- Promotes good root growth (which makes them good for root crops such as carrots and onions) and is also good for plants that form tubers and bulbs.

Kelp Meal
Description- Dried and ground seaweed
pH- neutral
Nutrients- potassium, and good source of many micronutrients as well
Release Rate- slow
Benefit- Aids in seed germination, contributes to good plant and root growth, and can aid in control against plant diseases

Blood Meal
Description- dried powdered blood
pH- may raise the acid level in soil
Nutrients- one of the best sources of nitrogen
Release Rate- slow
Benefit- Use to add nitrogen to soil

Limestone
Description-(also known as Lime)
pH- will lower acid level in soil (more alkaline)
Nutrients- calcium and magnesium
Release Rate-
Benefit- (Wood ashes and eggshells could also be used instead of lime)

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In doing research on the above components of my soil mixes I also learned that both vermiculite and perlite can be used alone by themselves to help start root cuttings. Sounds like a good experiment for the future, doesn't it? Starting plants from cuttings using different methods. Ok, sorry, one thing at a time, right? But it is something to keep in mind for the future :)

When I was searching around on the web I also ran across this tread on the Garden Web, What is a substitute for Seaweed or Kelp Meal? I thought it contained some good info and thought it was worth mentioning, and may also provoke some more good experiments in the future.

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Just in case you would like some more useful info on the subject, here are some more good sites with lots of info on fertilizers, soil amendments, and soil mix ingredients:

Contains charts for what to use for what problems
Organic Fertilizer and Soil Amendment Guide

Here is a link to the ATTRA site again, but this page is a list of soil amendments
ATTRA- Alternative Soil Amendments

More soil mix recipes
Potting Soil Recipes from Backyardgardener.com


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Well I think that is enough for now, wow what a long post. Now I have to get to work with planting my seeds. I know, still have not done that yet, really need to get that done. Off to work.

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.

Summer is closer than you may think!

Well, I pretty much have my seed orders all ready to go. I should actually already have them in by now, but I am always behind. I have been spending so much time lately looking through catalogs, searching vegetable varieties online, and adding more and more things to my list of seeds to order. Probably way more time than I should, but oh well. Anyhow I have started planning when everything needs to get started inside and outside. In doing this I suddenly realized how close summer really is. The first things that are going to need be planted are going to be the leeks, which I will probably be starting as soon as 2 weeks from now. The tomatoes and peppers are going to get started in just over a month and a half from now. Then in just over 2 months we will be starting our cool weather crops outside. Can you believe that? Just about 2 1/2 months till we can start planting outside!

I can not believe that everything is going to be getting started in just 2 or 3 weeks. Once I start planting the first seeds then every week after that I will be starting seeds, then before I know it transplanting seedlings begins, then things start moving outside into the hoop house and finally things start getting planted outside. And it will all be beginning very, very soon.

I am so excited for this year. I can hardly wait to try some of the new exciting vegges I plan to grow. There are so many different unusual things we will be trying this year. I am working on a list of what we will be growing this year and hopefully will be posting it soon.

I still plan to experiment with seed starting mixes and potting soil mixes but I think it will be best if I wait until I begin starting my regular seeds for this year. Before I begin my seed starting I am not really consistent with turning on my plant lights and it stays kind of cold in the basement also. Unless I have good growing conditions I do not know how successful the experimenting will be. Anyhow, tonight I am going to work on getting my soil mixing recipes together that I plan to try. Then I will get everything together and ready to go so when I start planting seeds I can start my experimenting also.

Off to do more planning.

What to Grow Next Year?

I have already started making plans for what to grow next year, and I would love everyone's help. What would you like to see us grow next year? Is there something that you love but you can never find anywhere? Is there something that we grew this year that you really liked? We would love to know what you would be interested in.

As I have mentioned many times we love growing different things. I already have plans to grow many different things next year. Such as okra, yard long beans, kohlrabi, and many different types of greens.

I have had several people ask us about okra and even though I did grow some okra plants this year I did not have enough to sell. But next year I have plans to plant much more of it, I will also be planting it in a different location since I do not believe the location it was in this year was the best. I also believe it was just a really bad year for okra. I am not too familiar with okra, since this was my first year growing it, but from what I have read about it it likes it quite warm. I t seems to like temperatures similar to eggplant, and our eggplant did horrible this year due to the weather. So if you are an okra lover check back with us next year and hopefully we will have a better year for it.

I also grew a small section of yard long beans this year and though they were pretty cool myself. So I do plane to grow enough to be able to sell next year.

I love growing greens and lettuces, and there are sooooo many different kinds out there to try. Next year I will be growing many new kinds and hope to have a lot of greens and lettuces available throughout the season. Especially if we get our hoop house put up (which we need to get working on).

So let us know what you like.

Vegetable Pictures

Just thought I would take some pictures of some of the things we have available. Here they are:

Picture of some of the different kinds of eggplant we have available this year. We will also have some other types available, and will have to take another picture when the other kinds are ready.

Fairy Tale Eggplant
They are so cute, only about 3-4 inches long. It is a beautiful mini eggplant.

Baby Bush Zucchini

These are also a mini vegetable. They are only about 6 inches long, and barely have any seeds. They are great if you wish to add some zucchini to your meal, and do not wish to use an entire regular size zucchini.

Cherokee Purple Heirloom Tomato

We have just started picking a bunch of these, things had a late start because of all the cold weather. Some of them are a really good size.

Baby Romaine Lettuce and Butterhead Lettuce

I am planning to pull some Romaine Lettuce heads for Saturdays market.

I know it does not look like much but these are the first two purple beans that I finally got to pick today. They are so beautiful. They are also very very long, in fact they were too long to fit in a quart container, so I think I am going to have to sell these in bags instead of quarts, like I usually do. I think that these beans also have a really good taste to them also. I am very excited about them and can not wait till I have enough of these to sell, hopefully soon.

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Right now we are in the process of getting our "greens garden" ready for our fall plantings of lettuces for salad mixes. Right now it is a disaster, and we need to get it tilled and planted within the next week.

We are also in the process of making plans for a hoop house, that we are planning on making for our greens. We had some really bad problems with flea beetles and leaf minors. The hoop house would keep the greens protected from these bugs. I hope it works out, because if it does I should be able to grow some nice pak choi, since they normally get completely destroyed my flea beetles. If everything goes well with the our plans we should have lettuce and greens for spring, summer, fall and may be a lot of winter.

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.

Plans for our first market on June 13th

Our first market this year will begin on Saturday, June 13th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. And will be at Valley City Farmers Market located on Center Rd. in Valley City. It seems like so far away but market season is getting closer than you may think.

Here is a list of what we plan to have available to sell for our first market:

• Red and White Scallions
• Beets
• Carrots
• Broccoli Raab
• Bok Choy
• Dwarf Pak Choy (Bok Choy)
• Bagged Salad Mixes
• Head Lettuce
• Individual Lettuces
• Leeks
• Collards
• Peas
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Swiss Chard
• We should have some kind of bread available also, not sure what kind yet though, maybe carrot bread or mulberry bread and muffins.
• We should have some plants available for sale also but will post what kinds when it is closer to market time.

This is just a list of what we are planning so far to have available for our first market day. We will post a new list just before our first market day.

Right now we are pretty much doing the same as you probably are, just looking out the window waiting for the snow to melt, wishing is was spring already. But, spring is coming soon, we know because starting next week we will begin starting some of our seeds inside. It seems like winter drags on and on until we start planting our seeds. That is when all the work begins and soon after that, before we know it we are tilling the gardens and planting everything. So for those of you that just can't wait for spring, it will be here soon.