Yellow Stuffer Tomato

Almost Ripe

Almost Ripe

Yellow Stuffers are a new variety of Tomatoes that I’ve added to my garden this year. I’m trying to build a collection of Heritage tomatoes, and I hope to grow many varieties each year to preserve them for future generations. There are many people who are involved in this project, each acting independantly, and some acting in huge groups. I figure I may just get a bunch of types which grow well in my area, as I will be selecting seeds based on how well they grow.

In the photo you can see the tomato a few days before I picked it, as it still needed to ripen a bit.

Hollow Cavities

Hollow Cavities

Once cut open, you can see how it resembles a pepper. The seeds even cling to the center as a pepper’s would. I was amazed that there were large pockets of air. It makes me wonder how the plant gets the air inside with a sealed exterior ? The taste was a bit different then a normal red tomato, but agreeable to my taste buds. I’ll be sure to add these seeds to my collection for next years garden.

If I find any recipes which showcase this oddity, I’ll be sure to post them in the future.

Posted in Tomatoes | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Photos by Nate

Pepper Leaves

Pepper Leaves

My nephew just got a new Iphone, I believe it’s the 3GS version, but I can’t be sure. This phone has an amazing camera, and I asked Nate to take some pictures for my blog with it. Above he got a very nice shot of some pepper leaves with the greenhouse out of focus, too cool if you ask me.

My Sister Kim

My Sister Kim

There’s my sister Kim. She came over for the morning to help pick the Zucchini which is growing like crazy. Everytime I come out of the garden, I either have an arm full of Cucumbers or Zucchini.  In the past I had good yields, but nothing like this. I decided to plant more seeds to increase the amount of produce. Once again, all of the effort invested last winter spreading fertilizer has really paid off.

Cucumber Leaves

Cucumber Leaves

Finally, a shot of some cucumber leaves. There are four rows of plants in this spot, but walking between them has become nearly impossible. Next year I really need to space these plants out much more. The rows are about 20 feet long, and with 3 additional rows in another part of the garden, the cucumbers need to be picked daily. Not a bad thing, I love Pickles.

Posted in Cucumbers, People, Peppers | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Market Mix-up

A Fridge full of Cucumbers

A Fridge full of Cucumbers

Bet your wondering why I have a fridge full of Cucumbers….. It all started last Thursday, when we were preparing our first market offering. I delivered the produce to my neighbors house as we had agreed. No one was home at the time, so I stacked the produce on the porch, and left a note on the door. In hind sight, I should have taken the day off. My neighbors had left for vacation earlier in the week, and didn’t think I would have anything ready yet, so they neglected to tell me. I even stopped by earlier in the week to confirm our plans, but they were not home then either. I really should have known better, but if there is any chance of miscommunication in the world, I will find it…..

It’s not all bad though, a few friends have relived me of some of the cucumbers and zucchini, and I’ve placed the rest in my fridge. I’ll save them for the next market, this Friday. This time I’m not dropping it off without face to face communication with the seller. I’ve also received permission to set up a small stand on a major road running near the garden. I plan to run the stand with the honor system, something I think will work in this small town.

So the outcome of my first market offering lead me to help some great friends, sell some produce to co-workers and I now have a place for a market stand. As the british say “Cheary-O”. That worked out well….

Posted in Cucumbers, Farmers Market | Tagged | Leave a comment

A Day in the Life of ITFarmer

Youtube was promoting a feature /production movie about a day in the life of people. The idea is that many people from around the world would submit a video of themselves, and what they were doing on this particular day. I thought it was a really cool idea, so I got my camera, and with Nate’s help, put together a video featuring my garden. I’m hoping it makes the final cut, and is shown in the movie, but even if it doesn’t, producing the movie got me interested in Video Logging, or Vlogs. I may start posting more videos here, as they show so much more then a picture and a paragraph.

To view the video, please click this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcCllHapffM

Posted in Videos | Leave a comment

First Market Offering

First Market Offering

First Market Offering

So here it is, my first market offering. I’ve very excited, and can feel the added electricity flow through my veins as I prepare. This is the point where I find out just where this gardening hobby will go from here. Will it become more then a activity I do for relaxing, and an actual source of income, or will it remain a way of saving money ?  Either way, I will continue to grow massive gardens, hopefully for the rest of my life. I’ve grown quite fond of feeding myself on a whim, with food that’s super fresh, and abundant.  It’s also quite humorous to watch the kids give tours of the garden to their friends….

I sit wondering how it will all turn out. I delivered my produce to my neighbors home; they were not there, so I piled the produce up on chairs on their porch. They are Amish, so I couldn’t call to double check the plans, I had to make a choice: Either drop it off and hope for the best, or wait for next week. I figured since I rarely gamble, I’d try my luck and see what happens. Worst case scenario: ground hogs, rabbits and vultures eat it; I’m not worried though, this is simply the start of the season. I’m sure with all this rain that has suddenly found it’s way here, more cucumbers will pop out of the ground.

Here’s hoping for the best !

Posted in Cucumbers, Farmers Market, Onions, Peppers, Zucchini | Leave a comment

Melons, Squash, and Zucchini Continue the Amazement.

Watermelon

Watermelon

I’m suprised again ! This watermelon has been hiding out of sight, and I just noticed it last evening. I placed the pepsi bottle next to it to show just how big this melon has grown. There are a few more like it, but slightly smaller. I talked to the little gardener that started these amazing plants. He tells me they are more of a round watermelon then the traditional elongated melons. I still have a hard time believing my four year old nephew started all of these, with very little help. It was his idea, his timing, and his determination that made this melon a reality. I’ve simply watered them from time to time, that’s the only contribution I’ve made !

Melon

Melon

The melons (Cantaloupe and Muskmel0n) continue to multiply, but each melon seems almost stalled in growth. Maybe I’m looking at them too often to notice the change in size. I’m temped to pluck one of these, and see if they are ripe enought to eat yet.

Zucchini Harvest

Zucchini Harvest

Here’s the take from the second area of zucchini grown from seed. I have two locations in the garden where I’ve grown these from seed. The produce above came from the second planting of two rows. Tonight, I’ll take my duffle bag through four more rows looking for more of these beauties. I’d love to post of picture of me trudging through the tall leaves carrying a duffle bag full of produce. If I had a ski mask on, the photo would convey the odd feeling I get while picking these versatile food sources.

Before Side-Dressing

Before Side-Dressing

Finally, I wanted to show off the power of “Side-Dressing”. Above are some winter squashes just after adding a very small amount of Rabbit Manure. The plants were very small for the time of the year, and the heat was overbearing, so I had been watering them daily. The photo above was taken July 7. You can see just how dry the soil is in the very top of the photo. It almost looks like a sand trap, or desert.

After Side Dressing

After Side Dressing

Here is the same area on July 20. In 13 days the plants have mushroomed in size. This was due to daily water, lots of composted goat manure added as a side dressing, and plenty of hot sunny days.  The squashes include Baby Blue Hubbard, Table Ace, Waltham Butternut, Spaghetti Squash,  and a light tan colored winter squash that I saved seeds from last year. I’ve also learned these rows are too close as well. I think the plants will be alright, and produce a heavy crop, but it might be quite hard to harvest them without damaging the vines.

Posted in Fertilizer, Melons, Zucchini | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Late Garden is Doing Quite Well.

Chickens and Corn

Chickens and Corn

The late garden has really started growing now that rain has returned. Above the corn is just now clearing knee-high, and I still think it will grow to fruition. You can see some of the free range chickens pecking around. They haven’t yet discovered the cucumbers, so they aren’t yet destructive. I’ve even watched them rip up weeds on occasion ! I thought it was quite odd, but they seemed to differentiate the corn from the pig weed. Perhaps it’s natural selection, as past gardeners retaliated against the destructive chickens….

Cucumbers

Cucumbers

The cucumbers are setting small pinky sized cucks, and there are quite a few plants here. The chickens will have to be rounded up soon, as they will certainly decimate the garden after their first taste of a cucumber.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers

The sunflowers have grown very well lately. This garden is a very dry one on the surface. Now that the plants are starting to cover the black dirt, the sun will suck less water from the soil, and this should cause the plants to grow even faster. 

Chickens, a Horse and Corn

Chickens, a Horse and Corn

Some shots are just meant to be, and jump right out at the camera. Here we see chickens, cucumbers, corn and a horse. The chickens didn’t like me watching them, almost as if they knew this garden was off limits to them.

Posted in Chickens, Corn, Cucumbers, Horses | Tagged | Leave a comment

Putting the Cart Before the Horse

The Field that Holds the Garden - Left View

The Field that Holds the Garden - Left View

In the photo above, my garden looks tiny in comparison to the field which surrounds it. Lately, I’ve been thinking about expanding the garden to twice it’s current size. I know, It sounds good on paper, by the realistic part of me screams “Why, you have too much already !”.

Here’s the part where the cart is fastened snuggly to the wrong end of the horse: I have yet to sell any produce at all at the local market. I’m running a unprofitable venture thus far, and I’m thinking about expansion ? My head says it’s a bad idea, but my heart knows it’s right.  This Friday will be my first taste of market plans, and all involved seem quite eager. So I may wait and see before tossing more fertilizer around. I don’t mind hard work, I just hate working on the wrong things, when there are plenty of other things to do.  

Right View of the Field

Right View of the Field

Above is the right view of the field. The total lenght of this field is 1600 feet. I refuse to measure it again, as My Father, George and myself have measured it at least three times. I made it a point to remember it the third time.

The soil is good, and the slope is wonderous. The field leans into the morning sun, and the slope provides excellent drainage. I can already see in my mind the entire field covered in veggies, with neat rows running hundreds of feet in length. This vision would require more work then I alone can muster, so I know it must be profitable in order for it to become a reality. A garden that size would require a massive customer base, and many hard working hands. I’m sure I could manage the production, but sales would be something else. For now, I’ll leave this vision in the cloudy world of my dreams.

Let’s see if I can make a buck before I spend many more chasing something that might make a better postcard then production.

Out Of Control Vines

Out Of Control Vines

I do know the garden must be expanded at least a bit. Above the vines can be seen growing over the pathways we left between them. There is simply not enought room in the garden for the current number of plants. They have been placed too close together, and need more room. The tomato patch is barely passable, and may require pruning before the harvest which should really take off within the next two weeks.

So Expansion it is…. Now what to do if I run out of manure…..

Posted in General, Planning | Leave a comment

Rain !

As the Clouds Moved In

As the Clouds Moved In

I haven’t been so excited to see rain clouds move in since I was a little kid. It’s been a very dry year in NW PA, and patches of my yard have lost all color. To keep everything growing well in the garden, I’ve been lugging around the hose, and a small lawn sprinkler. It’s not much work, but it requires constant attention. From time to time the sprinkler will freeze in one place, and require a bit of finagling to get it moving again. I’ve tried all manner of watering devices, and they all seem to fall short. My current setup includes several buckets strategically placed throughout the garden. I place the sprinkler on the bucket to add height, and allow the water to fly over the plants, rather then spraying into them.

I may soon invest in some heavy duty sprinklers, that come on a telescoping tripod. These must surely work better then the current system.

Melons and Corn

Melons and Corn

After the rain, the garden took on a beautiful glow, almost in appreciation to Mother Natures kindness. In the front are melons, and cucumbers, with a volunteer Mexican Husk Tomatillo marked with a stake. In the background corn grows. You may notice the ground covered in grasses. It’s nearly that point in the growing season when it becomes impossible to remove weeds. I’ve been pulling up the invasive ones, such as pig weed, but other then that, the garden plants will soon over take everything else.

Root Crops

Root Crops

Here is the section of the garden where most of the root crops are planted. These include carrots, beets, turnips, and potatoes. They too seem to glow in appreciation of the rain. In the background are more cucumbers, zucchini, peppers and lots of tomatoes. If your wondering just how many tomato plants are shown, I planted 361, and 4 have been removed due to an unknown ailment. There are also well over 100 pepper plants near the end of the garden, but they aren’t shown. You may ask “Why did you plant so much ?”, and my simple answer would be “Why not ?”.

Posted in Corn, Melons, Tomatoes & Peppers | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A “Double Dog” and Fried Zucchini

Double Dog and Fried Zucchini

Double Dog and Fried Zucchini

One of the things I love about a garden are the endless possibilities for variety. Today, we thought it would be great to eat some zucchini, and since that wouldn’t quite be a well balanced meal, hot dogs were added to the menu. So here is how the zucchini was cooked:

Grill or fry the zucchini in butter till it starts to brown, flipping occasionally. Once crispy, add cheese, and continue heating till the cheese melts. Season to taste.

The “Double Dog” is basically two hots dogs on a wide bun, with Pickles (freshly made a few days before), Onions (also picked this week), and some ketchup.

All in All, a very low cost meal, that’s absolutely delicious.

Posted in Cooking from the Garden, Zucchini | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment