December Growth

Posted on December 20, 2011 by itfarmer
Elderberry Growth

Elderberry Growth

Most of the plants in my garden have long ago succumbed to the cold weather, but there are still a few hints of life around the farm if you know where to look. When I set out with my camera to document these hardy plants, I was pretty surprised to notice that my elderberry bush is beginning to set new shoots, in December. While I would have never expected this plant to begin growing when the sun is far away and the tempuratures are even lower, the whole process may hold some secrets to cloning elderberry bushes. I’ve tried in the past to clone the bushes in the spring, and now I’m thinking it may be best to attempt cloning while the canes are very cold.

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts

When I got to the garden, I was hoping to see thriving Swiss Chard plants, but none were found. In fact most of the cool hardy plants in my winter garden are going to seed, with only my garlic, a few turnips and Brussels Sprouts left to display to green colors that keep me planting. I’m very happy to have the brussel sprouts doing so well, but I must admit these are my first plants, and I’m not quite sure what to expect from them, and even more importantly when to expect it.  There are lots of little sprouts on these plants, and they taste good, but I don’t think they should be eaten just yet.

Garlic

Garlic

Moving away from the garden, I walked down to my rock garden, where I planted a second batch of garlic. I had planted an early crop of garlic in July (As Good a Time as Any), but I wanted to plant an additional batch at the correct time to ensure a healthy supply of garlic. I’m a huge fan of garlic, and this will hopefully be the best results I have with this tasty plant so far. To prepare the ground, I dug up some garden soil, mixed in some sandy silt from a nearby stream, then added lots of manure, epson salt, bio-char, and pot-ash to make this one of the most fertile beds of soil on the farm.  After taking this picture I spread an inch thick layer of hay and straw to protect the bulbs from the bitter cold in February, and help block weeds from growing in the spring.

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Ladder and Lights

Posted on December 5, 2011 by itfarmer
Ladder

Ladder

I only have a few major components to finish before I can call my shed complete, but before I totally enclosed the second story, I figured it would be a good idea to add a ladder and some light.  I decided to use some left over 2 x 4’s as the ladder base, with 2 x 3 rungs. After nailing the whole thing together, I added some railings that I made from some left over facia boards.  I plan to hang a piece of plywood on some hinges and attach those to the railings to produce a very accident free ladder system.

Fluorescent Lights

Fluorescent Lights

When the ladder was complete, I hung the first of three large lights. Hanging a light by yourself can be very frustrating, so I cheated a bit by using an extension cord as a pully system to hoise the light into place. Once I was happy with it’s location, I tied the cord around a nail to secure it in place, and used the screw gun to permantely attach the light. After adding three lights, I ran some electrical wire and installed an On/Off light swtich.

Switch - Made in America

Switch - Made in America

After turning the light on, I saw that the light switch was made in America, which made the accomplishment that much sweeter.

 

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Spreading Manure

Posted on November 15, 2011 by itfarmer
Rob uses the John Deere to fill the Spreader

Rob uses the John Deere to fill the Spreader

Over the weekend, Rob and Maurice were cleaning up the horse pasture, and piling up the manure. After seeing the pile, I rushed off the get my tractor and connect the manure spreader. The manure spreader is a fancy wagon that is capable of carrying about a half truck load of manure from the field to my garden. The machine saves a great deal of manual labor, as in the past I had to shovel the manure into a truck, then shovel it back out. With this spreader, Rob could load the manure with his tractor, and I could use the flinging capacity of the spreader to apply a thick layer of organic fertilizer to the garden without touching a shovel.

On our first use of the machine, Rob loaded it up so that the manure towered nearly a foot over the edges. We all assumed that the tractor could pull the wagon heaping full of manure, and it worked with some rough driving.  In order the steer the tractor I had to use the rear brakes, as the front end tended to lift itself off the ground. Then just as I passed over the small rock wall on the edge of my garden the manure spreader experienced a mechanical malfunction: The hitch separated from the spreader.

Hitch Assembly

Hitch Assembly

The spreader was constructed with a hitch and a handy built on spacer that keeps the hitch from laying on the ground.  The whole hitch assembly was held together by four very rusty bolts which snapped as I tried to pull the wagon over the small rock wall.  Luckily we found four bolts in the barn that fit the assembly.

Hitch with New Bolts

Hitch with New Bolts

After reconnecting the hitch it was time to try out the spreader. At first the machine seemed to be working with all of the gears moving but no flying fertilizer. Soon we found a mechanism which advances a track system in the wagon. The tracks force the load back at 1/2 inch intervals, and when the manure moves back far enough, the rotating spikes in the tail end fling the manure in every direction.

Tire Issues

Tire Issues

We all decided after the first load to fill the spreader only half way, since the tractor had trouble negotiating the hill with such as heavy load. The lighter loads helped smooth out the whole process, and before I knew it I was gaining confidence in this new tool. All was well until I noticed the tires inner tube bulging out the side of the wheel. I knew this could be a show stopper as flat tires don’t tend to turn well, but I kept on driving and kept constant watch. After nearly half of the work was done, I noticed the bulge in the tire missing, and curiously the tire was only about half flat. If the inner tube was punctured, the tire should have lost all of it’s air, but it did not. I decided not to wonder why it was still inflated, and figured I’d just be happy and keep working.

One-Half Acre Covered in Manure

One-Half Acre Covered in Manure

When the whole garden was covered, I took this picture which shows the layer of fertilizer covering the garden. The garden begins along the row of trees on the left, and runs behind the greenhouse out to the edge of the field where the poles are sticking out of the ground.

Posted in 8N Ford Tractor, Fertilizer, John Deere, Tools | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Storage and Seeds

Posted on November 7, 2011 by itfarmer
Canned Tomatoes

Canned Tomatoes

While the warm season harvest may be over, there is lots of work pertaining to the warm season left to do. One of the biggest challenges is organizing all of the food that was packed away. The canned items should be stored in a way that allows the cans to be inspected from time to time.  A few cans will not properly seal, and if left to sit unsealed they are capable of making a real mess. You can tell the cans are no longer sealed when the center portion of the lid pops to the up position, as opposed to the downward position created by an internal vacuum. When the lids pop up, the contents should be discarded either in a compost pile or in the garbage. Out of over 100 jars of canned tomatoes only three have become unsealed.

Giant Speckled Lima Beans After Drying

Giant Speckled Lima Beans After Drying

The harvest may be over but it’s now time to collect seeds for future planting. I’ve found that the hot greenhouse makes harvesting and storing dry beans pretty easy. I start by collecting the bean pods and spreading them out on my tables in the greenhouse. The sun will then dry out the outer husk making the process of removing beans fairly easy, simply apply pressure to the outer husk and watch the pod crack along the seems. The dry beans inside can then be stored in a glass jar for planting next spring.

Lettuce Seed Pods

Lettuce Seed Pods

Lettuce seeds are also pretty easy to collect if they are allowed to dry in the sun. The plants will grow to about three feet in height, and will grow tiny seed pods after setting small flowers. I’ve been experimenting with the quickest way to harvest the seeds, but for now the best advice I can give is to collect each pod individually, and press the pods between your fingers to release the seeds within. You will then need to separate the seeds from the pods, or simply plant the pods with the seeds in the spring.

Pak Choi Seeds Not Ready

Pak Choi Seeds Not Ready

It’s nearly time to collect Pak Choi seeds as well. I didn’t get a large enough harvest to cook with this Asian vegetable, but I did try it raw, and it wasn’t bad, so I plan to save lots of seeds for next year. The plants seemed to put all of their effort into seed pods, so I may have planted them late in the season, but there will be plenty of seeds for next year.

Pak Choi Seeds Ready

Pak Choi Seeds Ready

Before collecting the seeds, wait till the pods turn a brownish color, and crack open easily.  A few of the pods have already turned brown, but the majority are not yet mature.

Posted in Beans, Canning, Lettuce, Pak Choi, Seeds, Tomatoes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Halloween; A Transition to Cool Crops

Posted on October 31, 2011 by itfarmer
Bright Lights Swiss Chard

Bright Lights Swiss Chard

As I observe more and more of the subtle hints of seasonal change, I’m starting to find dates on the calendar where changes become permanent transition points. Halloween has become my new marker on the calendar for the absolute end to warm season crops, and the transition point to the cool season.

I’ve made a conscious effort to extend my growing season by incorporating new plants which can tolerate cool and downright cold weather. The most cold hardy plant I’ve got in my arsenal thus far is Swiss Chard. These colorful leaves are willing to grow straight through our harsh winter months if given a simple plastic cover to keep the snow from burying the leaves.

Lettuce Under Snow

Lettuce Under Snow

I was surprised to see some lettuce also growing through the snow. The lettuce above is from my sister’s garden, as my lettuce is not very photogenic due to a recent pass through the garden with the finish mower. Even thought the tops of the plants were chopped off, the base began to grow new leaves pretty quickly.

Cool Season Salad

Cool Season Salad

I wasn’t sure how long this collection of greens would last, so I decided to pick a good deal of the lettuce, chard and endive and enjoy a cool season salad before these greens turn to brown.

Cauliflower Under Snow

Cauliflower Under Snow

While I was looking around, I noticed that one of the cauliflower plants had grown a very large white head, so I made an attempt to pick it. I tried using scissors without much luck, then I moved onto some hand pruning sheers, also without luck. I finally decided to pull the whole plant out of the ground, and found that a hammer was needed to break the stalk. I then cut off all of the leaves, and brought it indoors.

Cauliflower Ready to Cook

Cauliflower Ready to Cook

Cauliflower has never been my favorite vegetable, but I decided that since I grew it, I might as well give it a try. The process of cooking it was very easy. Start by cutting the large head into many smaller pieces, then place them into a microwave safe bowl, with water nearly covering them. The total cooking time is around 15 minutes, but they will need to be stirred every few minutes in order to cook evenly. When they were done, this single plant provided a cheese covered snack for about 10 people. I actually liked it !

Jennifer's Pumpkin

Jennifer's Pumpkin

Later that same day the kids decided it was time to carve their pumpkins.  I should note these were not grown in my garden, as I decided not to plant them this year.

Little Gardener's Pumpking

Little Gardener's Pumpking

Maybe next year I’ll plant a few pumpkins from the seeds I gathered while carving. Either way, I know I will see a few, as the pumpkin guts harvested while cutting found their way to the compost pile.

Jessica's Pumpkin

Jessica's Pumpkin

Posted in Bright Lights, Cauliflower, Climate, Cooking from the Garden, Endive, Growing Season, Opportunity Salad, pumpkins | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Warm Season Wrap-up

Posted on October 24, 2011 by itfarmer
Mowing the Garden

Mowing the Garden

The warm season is almost over, and I decided to mow down all of the nearly lifeless plants that remained. I used the 8N tractor and the finish mower to chop up all of the remaining plants so that they will begin rotting back into soil sooner. If I hadn’t chopped up the stalks, they would not begin rotting until  the plant matter met up with the soil in the spring, so I’m really giving the worms, and everything else that feeds on this matter a jump start on the spring. If the garden was flat I would have it rototilled in the fall, but the slope is steep enough that I worry the soil will wash away.

Garden Mowed, Ready for Manure Spreader

Garden Mowed, Ready for Manure Spreader

When I was finished, I found it hard to believe that dozens of pounds of tomatoes, potatoes, and arm fulls of celery had grown in this space. If not for the black weed blocker that remains spread out along the ground, it would be easy to believe this was simply the back yard that I was mowing. I’m now left with a more traditionally sized garden which contains the winter crops I’ve begun to experiment with. I have an approximately 20 by 20 foot space very close to my house where Chard, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts and Garlic are growing.

Pepper Plants

Pepper Plants

I decided not to mow over the pepper plants because they still looked very healthy, and continued to grow new peppers. It takes these plants a long time to get started producing peppers, but once they grow to full size, the plants sets peppers fairly quickly. I figured that if we didn’t get a frost for a  few more weeks, I could potentially get several extra shopping bags full of peppers in that short amount of time.

Experiment to See If Covering Peppers is Worth the Effort

Experiment to See If Covering Peppers is Worth the Effort

The weatherman called for frost and I wanted to learn all I could while I had the opportunity. I’ve rarely tried to extend the growing season in the fall, so I  thought I would find out just how effective covering plants to protect them from frost would be. We already have plenty of frozen peppers to last many months, so I’m doing this more for the sake of knowing if it will work, rather then trying to grow extra peppers. I only covered one section of plants, and I left the others as they were.

Covered Peppers Survive, But Will the Set New Peppers ?

Covered Peppers Survive, But Will the Set New Peppers ?

I found out the next morning that a simple sheet will protect the plants. You can see just how bad the unprotected plants were harmed by the frost. The protected plants have upright leaves, whereas the unprotected plants look terrible with dropping leaves.

Now, I’ll keep an eye on the protected pepper production, and see if it’s worth the effort in the future.

Posted in 8N Ford Tractor, Fall, Freezing, Growing Season, New Ideas, Peppers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Three Bean Story

Posted on October 20, 2011 by itfarmer
Drying Beans

Drying Beans

I set out to plant five different types of beans in the garden this year, after having a successfull year with Ying Yang beans in 2010. I’ve also been trying to mix up what crops are planted in which portion of the garden, so I wound up with two patches of beans. In hind sight this two patch system might be one of my best ideas, since one patch of beans have been chewed up by deer, and since then overgrown with weeds. The other patch seemed to be overlooked by the grazing deer, and grew quite well. Since the plants were growing well, I weeded them and watched them grow.

My plan this whole year was one of expansion, a year when I’m basically growing seeds for future gardens. You see,  a pack of 20 seeds can run up and over $3, and tends to leave me with about a cup of usable beans. That’s a great return, but not nearly enough for a guy whole eats chilli at least once a week. In order to grow the quantities that I’m hopping to graze upon in future winters I will need lots of seeds, and the only way to do that cheaply is to grow my own supply.

I picked the beans shown while the rain gently fell, and once I had several small bags full of water soaked bean pods, I had to dry them out. (Wet, even moist beans will grow mold). I took a gamble on drying the beans in the greenhouse since it’s generally dry and warm this time of year.

Brown Crowder, Ying Yang and Giant Speckled Lima Beans

Brown Crowder, Ying Yang and Giant Speckled Lima Beans

I’m quite happy with the harvest, even though I’ve only grown three varieties rather then five. I took a picture of the beans next to their pods so that you could see when the pods are “ripe” to have the beans removed. I’ve found it’s easiest to shell them when the pod turns a dark brownish black. The green pod shown to the right still needs some time to dry.

Once out of the pods, I store the beans in open topped cups for a few weeks stirring them around daily. This helps them air out and loose excess moisture. After a few weeks i’ll move the beans from the open top container to a glass canning jar for winter storage. In the spring, those seeds will be ready to plant after the last frost (about June 1st in NW PA).

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A Good Year for Apples

Posted on October 13, 2011 by itfarmer
Various Apples

Various Apples

It’s been a great year for apples in Northwest Pennsylvania. Above is a selection of apples from a co-workers orchard. He’s got a real apple problem on his hands at the moment, with the potential to fill many, many 50 pound bags full. Chad brought in a selection of the apples he has growing, and I thought I’d take a picture, and share it on my blog. You can read more about his apple problem here: Ella and Family Stuff

Not How to Pick Apples

Not How to Pick Apples

Back on the farm we have quite a few apple trees of our own filled with very well grown apples. Davie and Rob took some time out of their weekend to pick apples using the John Deere, in place of a ladder. The trees shown are in the area that I’ve been cleaning up near my Herb Garden. I had pruned the tree in the spring not realizing that it was an edible apple tree. I was hoping to grow crab apples which could have been used as treats for my sisters horses.

Cart Full of Apples

Cart Full of Apples

A single pickings harvest is shown in the cart, but many more have already been processed into apple-sauce.

Recently Planted Apple Tree

Recently Planted Apple Tree.

It’s also the best time of the year to plant trees, and after I found a few on sale for $25 each, I loaded up my little car, and brought three to my mother’s house where we planted them in her front yard.

Fantasia Red Nectarine

Fantasia Red Nectarine

I couldn’t help to purchase a Nectarine tree as well, and I planted it near the area I’ve been cleaning up with the Back-blade on the tractor. I’m hoping to plant many more cherries, berries and trees in the area, and while I had rob and the John Deere digging holes, we also moved a Service Berry plant. I’m beginning to think I should put together and post a map of the farm with each plant and it’s variety marked.

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Celery and Peppers

Posted on October 4, 2011 by itfarmer
Celery after Harvest

Celery after Harvest

After a long summer of hot days, the clouds spread out their reach and allowed the cold air to descend. The weather man predicted frost, which is a last call of sorts for any gardener. The name of the game this time of year is pick it or forget about it.

Picking peppers and celery isn’t that hard, unless the temperature is barely above freezing like it was when we began our harvest. We filled our bags till the weather chased us indoors, which is were the real work began.

Celery After Processing

Celery After Processing

After cleaning each of the stalks of celery and removing the leaves, we used a food processor to chop the stalks into small pieces. These will be useful in soups or as an additive to tuna fish.

Peppers

Peppers

After plowing through the celery, we moved onto the peppers which require a bit more attention.

Pepper Processing

Pepper Processing

First the tops are removed, then the pepper is sliced down the center vertically. Next all of the seeds are removed.  At this point, the pepper halves are feed into the food processor which spits out evenly chopped slices. Slicing these peppers by hand would have taken far too much time, but with the chopper things moved along pretty quickly.

Chopped Peppers

Chopped Peppers

The food processor has a good assortment of blades, but one in particular worked very well on the peppers, leaving the perfect size chunks for soups, salads, or fried peppers.

Celery Packed - Ready for the Freezer

Celery Packed - Ready for the Freezer

When we all got sick of processing veggies we cleaned up our mess, and packed the celery and peppers in boxes. These will help greatly to organize a freezer that is about full 0f veggies from the garden.

Peppers Packed

Peppers Packed

We finished up Saturday, and before calling it a day, we weighted the processed peppers and celery. I was pretty surprised to find we had 34 pounds of veggies ! The next day we finished off the remaining peppers filling an additional box.

This bounty was provided with 36 celery plants and about 100 pepper plants. Next years garden will probably contain fewer celery plants, but about the same number of peppers, perhaps a few more.

Now we just need to survive picking and processing apples and it will be time for some cool weather veggies.

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Tis the Season for Picking

Posted on September 26, 2011 by itfarmer
More Tomatoes to be Picked

More Tomatoes to be Picked

I’ve been trying to keep up with the ripening tomatoes since the first red alert cherries appeared, but somewhere along that timeline I fell pretty far behind, and my garden that used to be a sea of green has been blanketed with reddish orange romas and brandywines.  Davy, Sandy and I spent about 30 minutes to an hour collecting the tomatoes that we hope to give away. You see we are all pretty sick of processing tomatoes, and now that we have 120 jars full, we see no need to continue stocking up.

A Good Harvest

A Good Harvest

Now that I’ve grown more tomatoes then I ever thought I’d see in a lifetime, I’m wondering just how many of these plants I should start in next years garden. While we got far more tomatoes  then we need, none of them will go to waste. I may trim the plant count a bit, but I don’t think 100 plants would be too many.  I can then use the space that would have gone to tomato plants for starting fruit trees in the greenhouse this spring.

Peppers

Peppers

After cleaning up the tomato patch, Jessica and I moved onto the pepper patch, and quickly filled a crate with Chablis, Flexnum and California Wonder peppers. Somehow a Purple Kohlrabi wound up in the mix.

Concord Grapes

Concord Grapes

After a cup of coffee or two, it was time to move onto picking grapes. We picked Concord grapes from three native vines, then sorted them out removing all of the rotten and dried out grapes.

Straining out the Pulp and Seeds

Straining out the Pulp and Seeds

Instead of making wine we decided to try out grape juice production just to see how hard it would be, and how much work was involved. As the photo shows, many hands make quick work. I haven”t yet tried the taste of the juice once it’s been chilled, and if it’s worthwhile, I’ll share the recipe.

 

Posted in Bell, Chablis, Flexnum, Grapes, Purple Vienna, Tomatoes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments