Wasting Food

As I am creating a grocery list in preparation for a cleanse that a group of my friends and I are starting tomorrow, I am thinking intensely about food. What food I can eat, what I can't, how expensive organic veggies are in winter. This leads to thinking about a comment a friend of mine made about the amount of food wasted from restaurants and stores. This topic evokes uncomfortable feelings in me and so to take a break, I started browsing through the January 2012 volume of the magazine "Urban Farm" and there it was, a small note on the bottom right hand corner of page 9, advertising the movie "Dive!" Intrigued, I head over to this website and it is now staring me in the face, directly. I waste too much food and I feel terrible about it. And somehow it seems worse to me given what my intention of the farm is (seen at the top of this blog) and that I actually grow the food.

Watching this trailer made me think about the gorgeous 'organic' food I wasted from the farm this season. The last harvest resulted in an overabundance of beets, potatoes and cucumbers. I was able to sell a good portion of the beets and potatoes to a few customers, with enough of a 'stock' for my own use over the winter. Then I went away for work for three and a half weeks and I didn't have the time to properly store my produce, believing it would be okay for the short time I was away. Sadly, when I finally was able to attend to the food, it had begun to decay and ended up in the green depot.

It has been my intention from the start that when the farm got up and running, part of the plan would be to sponsor a family with a weekly harvest box or provide fresh food to a school lunch program. Because this was a future plan and would take some organizing, I didn't spend any time thinking about what to do in the present with extra produce. Obviously I was aware of the need; honestly, I felt so overwhelmed with my first real year of farming (i.e. actual customers) that I didn't give this intention of donating food time to put something into practice now. And I wish I had.

Given I can't undo my lack of forethought this season, I resolve to do better next season. Wherever I am farming, I will begin the year by locating a shelter, food bank or school that is willing to accept a small weekly donation of fresh food, in addition to the possibilty of a larger donation during harvest time. I look forward to sharing how this works out here in my blog.

Until then, maybe you would be willing to join me in pondering how we can be more mindful of the food we eat--and waste, how much we consume, or perhaps doing one of the ideas listed on the movie website and then leave a comment here to encourage others.

Sometimes life goes in reverse...

It seems as though life is leading me to reverse my course, at least for a time, just when I started to go forward in some new directions. So that got me to thinking about my farm and blog. I was so busy growing and harvesting this year on the farm that I couldn't find the extra umph to blog about it. And I think it is a story worth telling. So, I figure if I can live life in reverse, I can also blog in reverse, too!

So here is what my bestest friend and I harvested from the farm today:










We also brought home some salad greens and kale. I even found one delicious, cold, strawberry that we shared, along with baby O. :) There are at least another 100 carrots and 6 or 7 heads of broccoli to harvest...in November...incredible! I am finding the veggies to be quite flavourful, and I think it's because they've experienced some pretty cold weather for this time of year, perhaps even a frost or two.

As the darkness crept in and the city lights took over, our surroundings began to glitter. It was cold and crisp. And in the middle of November, we are eating fresh, local, 'organic' food the same day it is harvested. Our good fortune. Life, with the mix of beautiful friendship and nutritious food, couldn't have been any better right then. Harvesting in the last hour of daylight today, with someone that I love, is a memory I will hold close for a long time to come.

MacGyver-Farmer

Life at the farm has been fabulous! Up until this past week if you wandered the beds to see what was growing at Ripple Farm, you would have been convinced we were expert weed growers! With a couple of days of dedicated attention to weed pulling (almost all by hand!) you can see food is up and growing.

To the far left you of the first picture you will notice flowering potato plants. Then in the middle picture are some gorgeous lettuces/greens and in the picture on the right are beets, glorious beets! We also have green onions, storage onions, carrots, broccoli, kale, cabbage, sunburst squash, peppers, winter squash, mizuna, mesculuns, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, beans, soy beans, pumpkins, parsley, potatoes and quinoa growing. It is absolutely delightful to see so much food on its way. Although we have missed the first harvest of the season due to the odd weather, we hope to have at least a couple before the winter sets in.



Heading out to the farm tonight I was feeling pretty tuckered. Upon arriving and surveying the progress, I noticed the little marvel peas had doubled in size and were being boxed in by weeds from the past few days of sunshine and heat (which thankfully arrived in the nick of time). Ack! Sprinkle began a weeding frenzy and I headed to the closest store for staking materials. Is it because mercury is in retrograde or because I am exhausted (who's to say for sure), but staking with the florida weave in mind was quite the task, as this first picture shows...



Can you see how messy that is? There was twine everywhere and the stakes were coming out of the ground. This was partly because I didn't have a hammer and was trying to put them in the ground by banging a shovel on top--until Sprinkle determined it was better if she pushed them in with her brute strength :). Then I was MacGyver-farmer (so named by Sprinkle) as I tried a trick (based on my research) where you tighten the twine by twisting a stick in it at the stake. This was a hilarious task as the only sticks at Ripple Farm consist of half decomposed corn stalks!

After about a half hour of trying this "most preferred method" (based on my research, of course), and a few good laughs, we abandoned the florida weave and put one length of twine towards the top of the pea plants and draped them over. Fingers crossed this works. It sure was easier and looks better as you can see...



Ripple Farm--where we research, we try, we laugh, we simplify and at the end of the day, we are grateful for the experience.

One Acre, One Farmer becomes Half and Two or More

Finally I have made it back to the blog! What a crazy farming this year has already turned out to be and we are only in July. By the weather you would think we were just starting April. Sadly, this is what actual mid-April looked like this year(ack--snow!):

Although hopeful, May turned out to be one of the rainiest on record--double ack!!--particularly farming in clay soil. And so no food, absolutely none, made it into the ground at the farm. The one acre farm...

That's right! We've been blessed with one acre on which to grow Ripple Farm. This year started out with one acre and one farmer (me--Farmer Ripple). Since March, the plan has changed to plant food on half the acre and cover crop on the other half to get it ready for the next planting. Then, one farmer turned into two and sometimes more. How delightful! This year Sprinkle has jumped in with both feet and has spent as much time as me at the farm (I have already doubled my total time spent at the farm last year in just the last six weeks and then doubled it again with Sprinkle's help and that of a few friends). Unbelievable really. Generosity abounds.

Here is what Ripple Farm looked like on May 21 (on the left) and here is what it looked like about a week ago, after weeks of tilling, turning in composted duck manure, creating raised beds and laying the irrigation system; plus the beautiful new sign made by Sprinkle and I (goodness how I love this sign). Yup, I know it's not straight. Neither are the beds. No matter how much we tried, nothing at Ripple Farm is straight and we love how it looks! Acceptance is a freeing experience :).







There is so much to learn at the farm, every time I am there. Although everyone said last year was the worst year to start, it now seems that this year is even worse weather-wise. Although I wasn't able to grow a ton of food last year due to weather, plot and lack of experience, I realize now just how much I grew! This year has presented a tremendous amount of hurdles and I have calmly approached and sailed over (most of) them. Some hurdles take a bit more 'umph' to get over then others, some take me a few tries, some require me to ask for help. This year I feel more capable, grounded and patient. I have learned to let go of some control and expectations to better appreciate what is happening right here, right now. It feels remarkable and further deepens my belief that growing food grows humans too.

Please visit us often to see how Ripple Farm grows this year as we endeavour to provide harvest boxes to a small group of customers and head out to some local farmers' markets. Now, if I can just transfer the "capable, grounded and patient" feelings to this part of the business...wish me luck!

And the Rye is in...

As the farming year seems to have unfolded for me (always a few weeks behind) I got the plot rototilled and the fall rye seeded last night. Fortunately I had help from Sprinkle and my bestest friend with her new little punkaroonie [a.k.a. baby] 'O'.

It was hard work as half the plot was thick with weeds and the other half had to be 'stripped' of the remains of some of the plants that would clog the tiller. Then the rows that I worked so hard to build to plant in at the beginning of the season needed to be flattened so all the 'good stuff' would get tilled in. A never-ending circle of beginnings and endings.

Here are some pictures of the last 'big' event at Farm A (tilling the weeds under, flattening the rows and scattering the rye):














The last food to be pulled from the farm were these adorable little carrots (literally no longer than an inch!):



Hopefully the fall rye will germinate with the few days of sun we are expecting. This ground cover will help break up the soil and add nutrients for next spring's planting. In saying goodbye to the season, we are working in anticipation of the next one. This feels hopeful, exciting and responsible.

The next task is to 'take down' the garden at home; although it won't be completely. I have a 3' x 6' window that I am going to make into a cold frame. I am very excited by this new venture! I am intending to grow greens in this throughout the winter and will keep you posted.

For now, it's back to work I go. May this lovely fall day find you well and enjoying the roots of the garden (mmmm beets, potatoes, squash)!

The Long Lost Farmer

When I went to the farm last week, look what I found...



The woman who leases me "the farm" (a.k.a. 'plot') has two new piglets. Look at how easy it is for them to turn up the soil. They are not on the plot with the veggies....yet. We are considering turning them loose on the farm and then planting winter rye to prep the soil for next year's planting. These piglets are such fun to watch! (Can you hear Sprinkle in the background talking 'turkey' with the turkey...so funny!)

A couple of weeks before, this is what the farm looked like:

I must say when I arrived I felt quite downtrodden (and soggy). There had been so much rain and the timed irrigation system was also still working like a charm...which made for extremely wet conditions. Lots of the plants suffered with too much rain and not enough sun (for the second time this season). The peppers just gave in and there were none healthy enough to harvest. I can't bear to show you a picture of them.

Although it doesn't look lush, I did harvest a lot more than I expected...all the red potatoes were beautiful and delicious (probably 30-40 altogether); about 10-12 lemon cucumbers, which when fully yellow definitely taste like lemon; and tomatillos--yesssss--this crop is exciting!! All the crops I recently planted don't look like they will amount to much as the rain is trampling them...altho' possibly the winter squash might give a good fight to come to fruition (fingers crossed).

At home a couple of weeks ago I could not keep this little one from eating the gorgeous tomatoes on this thriving plant...it produced literally hundreds of sweet, rich tasting tomatoes. Now after all the rain the last two weeks there are sadly none left (and with my pup eating as many as she could sneak).



We managed to have some luck with peppers going red (although tiny, they are delightful)



And look how nicely the quinoa was coming along...turning fall colours as expected, just waiting for the seed to be big and strong enough to harvest and dry.

The problem was that the seeds were not developed enough to harvest; by my amateur estimation they needed a couple of weeks of sun to finish their growing. Instead, we got days and days of rain. I came home one night after work to find the tall stalks of autumn-coloured quinoa toppled over. My heart sank. I was so looking forward to harvesting this special crop. What a bummer.

This weekend began the garden clean up. Getting rid of the rotting tomatoes, and clearing the beds of overgrown or undergrown veggies. Trying to bring some order to what was once beautiful and is now a bit chaotic and messy.

Soon will be time to reflect on all the learning and make notes so that it can be used for next year rather than lost. A little melancholy is seeping in...sad to see the major growing season end; feeling disappointed that I didn't have more success in the growing; feeling soggy from all the rain (literally and emotionally). Yet, when I think that it will only be 4 more months before I begin seedlings again, I feel giddy and hopeful. Year two for Ripple Farm will be abundant...I just know it!

Today I spent an hour and a half at the farm...the first time I have been there for more than 10 minutes in two and a half weeks. I was away last week for work, and the week before that was a pretty hectic one. I feel frustrated when life competes with farming...such as when I have too much on the go and I put the farm on the back burner or I am just plain too wiped out to get there.

Sometimes my feelings compete with farming. For example, feeling sad or angry can lead me to the farm, resulting in a lift of the heavy emotions (so nice when this happens, yet it's rare). More likely when I feel sad or angry, I cannot drag my butt to the farm (no matter what), resulting in increased crappy feelings. Sigh. I know I have to get better at this and "go to the farm". It needs to be: "I'm tired...go to the farm"; "I feel angry...go to the farm"; "I feel happy with life...go to the farm." Go to the farm, go to the farm, GO TO THE FARM. Farmers farm.

So, today I farmed. I weeded, planted cauliflower and spinach, relocated some squash plants growing too close together. Today was the biggest harvest ever from the farm...lots of sunburst squash, very tiny (yet adorable) carrots, 3 cucumbers, 2 green peppers and 3 tomatillos (which were eaten by Sprinkle and I in a flash!) Tomatillos have such a bright, fresh taste and crisp texture. Yummmm. It looks like I might get a good harvest of these in a few weeks (fingers crossed).

Other lessons specific to veggies:

>broccoli was planted about two weeks too early and so all of it bolted
>carrots and beets just don't like heavier, clay soil...radishes do
>quinoa prefers sandy soil also (the plants at home are 5 feet tall, the plants at the farm are one inch high :( )
>heat, heat, heat for squash, melons and cucumbers (I knew this but somehow it escaped me for a bit at the farm); once I put the row cover over these plants for a couple of weeks, they began to produce.

And just to reiterate today's life lesson from farming: farmers farm. So get to it.

Potatoes are flowering beautifully, and this lone pepper is daring the rest to show up at the farm. There have been a few sunburst squash come home from the farm, too. Now that the mini irrigation system is 90% set up at the farm along with a digital timer, it has saved me having to show up every day before work (phew) and it has ensured that the veggies are getting the slow drip of water they need in clay-based soil. I was pretty sure that the plants were not getting enough water as it was running off the beds quickly. Thankfully this system seems to be working. The second challenge is that the plants are not growing...I say they're stunted...they are starting to produce a little, but I would like them to get to their full potential and I am not certain this will happen. This will result in a small harvest. The third challenge is that the lower leaves of some of the plants are yellowing...I think it is that they are not able to suck up the nutrients from the soil (which is likely partly the cause to the second challenge above). Their little roots are likely struggling in the chunky, clay soil. I put some fish fertilizer on last week and I noticed that helped. Looks like I might need to do that more often (weekly?)

The yellow onions in the picture above came out of the home garden. They are a bit early but their greens fell over and they were pushing their way out, so it was time! They are in the house on what was once the seedling shelves, curing. Some will be for storage for winter (if they are not all eaten by then). And the quinoa...look at that beautiful little cluster growing. I cannot wait to harvest the quinoa...it looks like this little crop is going to work out. Delightful! As you can see the peas are starting to poke out of the flowers. I love noticing this kind of detail with the veggies and then capturing it on film. Perhaps most people don't care where their peas come from, but I find it amazing that the pod grows out of the flower like this...(click on the picture to make it larger to get a good look at it...come on it only takes 5 seconds!) And tomatoes, glorious tomatoes. Albeit they are small, but their taste is huge! I love the changing colours, the fattening up they do, the fine little hairs on their branches, and the smell of the vine. Makes my tummy gurgle writing about them.

Recently I was talking to "the guy" who has been helpful in getting the farm up and running this year (he helped me secure the land and he is like my personal cheerleader--thank goodness for him) and he said it would be good to put the lessons learned here in my blog. So, keep an eye out for that post, likely multiple posts, as the lessons have been coming fast and furious. It's interesting how much the process of farming has taught me--and reminded me--about life in general. I look forward to sharing these little insights with you real soon. Once again, if you have happened upon this space today, welcome, and if you are returning, thank you for doing so. Your interest and support are much needed and appreciated.

And the food is hitting the tummy....finally

These past two weeks have found me up every weekday morning (except one) watering at home and the farm before work. Wow! The sunny weather that I was singing for also brought a lot of HEAT! This created an opportunity for me to practice discipline, something I knew I needed to work on. And so far, so good.


And two nights ago I got to eat my first sunburst squash of the season...oh my goodness this is like eating sunshine (if this were possible). I LOVE these adorable little yellow bursts of goodness. They are perfectly named.

Also devoured this week was one beet--small but earthy and such a beautiful deep red colour; a variety of lettuces, greens, and green onions, too. Yumm yumm....

Look what I will be eating tomorrow night...

I am delighted that I have been able to grow brocolli this year. This is the first time and I am so excited! This one is from the home garden. I have a whole row of brocolli at the farm and fingers crossed it will produce as beautifully! Did you know that if you left brocolli to keep growing, each of the green buds we eat would flower? You're eating flower buds...many of them! I think I will leave one plant to flower so I can show you. Who knew? Certainly not me.

And right around the corner come the bell peppers that are growing well in the greenhouse (the ones in the ground are struggling a bit more).


So all in all, food is growing and food is getting eaten. I am becoming more disciplined. I am appreciative of the goodness growing. Delightful and yummy.

Here Comes the Sun!

Today was day one of sunshine, glorious sunshine. Apparently all my singing worked because the sun is supposed to stick around all week! I swear the jerusalem artichokes shot up a foot from when I left for work this morning and returned home this evening. WOW!

A visit out to the farm last night found some plants chugging along (cukes and squash), and some proudly displaying new leaves and beautiful colour (potatoes, broccoli, summer squash). I was also able to harvest these beautiful easter egg and cherry belle radishes (the first harvest from the farm!):



I was looking at my pics and I think it's neat to compare where we've come from since actually getting the plants in the ground in May. Here is what the home garden looked like in May (left) and this past weekend (right):












And here is the farm plot in May (left) and this past weekend (right):




It's starting to look very lush around here!


Tonight I went out and volunteered a couple of hours at a neighbour farm. These two women who are working as part of a group of four are incredibly inspiring. It was because of meeting them back in January that I decided to start farming this year. It was much fun to join them in the throngs of mosquitos (I must have a 100 bites all over my body) helping them save their melons from a pesky critter and weeding their carrot beds. They are helpful, insightful, strong, tenacious--inspiring women! Makes me want to head out and plant more food right now...but alas, it is getting dark and time to sleep, so that more farming can happen bright and early tomorrow. I will need to wake myself early to water at home and water at the farm (hopefully) before work begins and the heat descends. This getting up early thing is still a challenge...I am not much of a morning person so it is going to require me stepping up in the discipline department!

Until next time...thanks for visiting.

When Everyone Wants in, It's a Good Sign!

Today Sprinkle and I headed out to the 'farm'. Between getting three new beds ready for seeds and planting some, time was spent chasing the animals out of the plot. It started with this persistent chicken and her three chicks...

Then, these rascals were very interested and chased out by Sprinkle; who fed the brave one a piece of lettuce from the home garden which the ewe happily chewed. It even looked like the horse was going to try and sneek between the truck and the gate to the plot, had Sprinkle not intercepted with a chat.

It also seems that some other curious creature has been visiting. The last two times I have gone to the plot, all the name signs for the plants have been pulled out of their spots. It appears this pesky one is also snapping off perfectly beautiful flower heads of my dahlias...harumph! Today, I found a pepper plant, a melon plant and a cucumber plant pulled out, roots and all, uneaten but dead. In their place were small red petals from my dahlias! Curious. There were also two egg shells, freshly empty. I would love to have one of those cameras there that take photos every few seconds so I could see what delightful things happen when I cannot be there.

The radishes are coming along splendily, as are the potatoes and tiny pumpkin plants. The cucumber and melon seedlings are struggling. They just didn't take well. I have some cucumber sown directly into the beds and they seem to be doing well so hopefully this will make up for it. Today we planted two kinds of turnip, kale and leeks.

From the home garden small amounts are being harvested. Sprinkle asked today, "So what have you got out of it so far?" I proudly said: 15 radishes (white icicle, black spanish and cherry belle); 4 harvests of black seeded simpson, buttercrunch and red salad bowl; two huge green onions; and two picolino cucumbers. Big grin. I know it's not enough to be sustainable or feed others...but the magical word is 'YET'. I am on my way. With all the rain and very little sun, I think it's terrific that anything is surviving. With sun right around the corner (can you hear me big golden sun?), there'll be lots of food in the coming weeks!

Oh yes, and one beautiful, ripe red strawberry...
as you can see in the picture, my dog got a bite out of it before I could pick it!! She is now banned from doing rounds of the garden with me for the time being. It's been a day of protecting the plants from the animals (with me running for my camera to capture the fun!).

Uplifting Video

If you are anything like me, the music, the message and the marvelous people in this video will make you smile and lift your spirits. Then, it will hopefully drive you to buy your next veggies and fruit from a farmers' market or someone you know. Thank you to FarmFolk/CityFolk for working with sponsors and friends to create this video that pays homage to 27 farm and city sustainable growers. (One day that will be me!) Take the time to watch it...it is all of six minutes short. Enjoy and be well.

Ramblings...

Argghhhh, rain again, and again, and again. My garden and farm need sun! Food is growing, but ever so slowly...stunted by the continual rain with only a day or an afternoon of sun. I am calling the sun...can it hear me? Hellooooooo...

An update on the bee situation. I happened to be looking out my front window the other day and noticed a truck pull up at the neighbours' house. In ten minutes bee hives were loaded on the truck and driven away...hmmmmm. I dashed out to my garden and lo and behold, only four bees were to be found...FOUR! My neighbour had 'hired' bees to pollinate his blueberries, and they were visiting my cedar mulch. Bye bye bees.

Cosmos, lillies, dahlias and marigolds were planted all around the garden at home this past week. I cannot stand the smell or look of marigolds, but they are supposed to help the pest population, so they're here working for me (hopefully). It's looking prettier and prettier by the day and I hope to entice at least a few bees back (not the thousand that were here before!)

A visit out to the farm to water and check on things last weekend resulted in me being distracted by this beautiful butterfly which I thought was a Monarch until I was corrected. An internet search leads me to think it is a Painted Lady Butterfly or West Lady Butterfly...what do you think?
It was enjoying the dahlias that I planted to attract bees and sunning it's wings for at least the twenty minutes I spent taking pictures. Beautiful. What a wonderful opportunity to be mindful.

Also, I put a row cover over the broccoli to try and deter the white moths from laying their eggs on my tiny plants. You can see I underestimated the length of the row; guess the ones not covered will serve as an experiment to see which grow better, stronger, and if pests actually appear. The radishes, cucumbers, beets and quinoa planted from seed are all up at the farm. Waiting on the second row of potatoes, pumpkins, and carrots to make their arrival--perhaps this week.














Then I was distracted by this intricate pattern of water droplets on a web overtop of weeds. The second picture is a close up of the water droplets in the first picture, with my camera on the macro setting and I having stepped out of the way of the sun so that it could illuminate these little glowing balls of beauty.

You see, I know I go to the farm to grow food; however, there are so many interesting and pleasing things to look at enjoy. This was one of those days. Needless to say my beans and peas did not get planted and so I will need to trek back out there this weekend to get this important task done.

Tomato Thrills!

The first tomatoes of the season have appeared. There are three plants with these adorable, tiny, green, fuzzy circles of up-and-coming goodness. I can't tell you how excited I was to see them and I squeaked out in my raspy (sick) voice "the first tomatoes are here!!" It seems even my neighbours heard me. (A little embarrassing, given they have a long way to go to be successful and last year's tomatoes ended up with blight). Anyhooo...I am delighted that even though Sprinkle didn't pamper the plants, they are fruiting. YES!! Maybe on one of my next few posts I will share pictures with you of the tenacious tomato plant that I inherited (Sprinkle was throwing it out because it had broken at the base of the plant...I scooped it up because I couldn't bear to not try and save it). For now, the little bundles of potential yumminess are being encouraged to swelll, even though the sun isn't being all that helpful.

And Then There Were A Thousand...

Take the next thirty seconds to watch the home video I took yesterday afternoon:
These are the honey bees that have congregated on mass to my adorable home garden. About 30 or so arrived the day after the cedar mulch got placed around the garden beds. Then there were 50, 100, 200....now it feels like a 1000, at least! You cannot walk through the garden anywhere without stepping on the bees sitting on the mulch, or having them fly all around you. Not one has landed on me, and no human or animal has been stung as of yet. Phew.

I checked with a google group that I am a member of and someone suggested that there is a hive within two miles and that the bees are attracted to the moistness of the mulch (their water source) and that likely they are gathering cedar oils to disinfect their hives after gathering propolis (a substance bees take from flowers to fill small gaps in their hive!). Hmmmm, although that sounds lovely and I am happy to be helping them out, given they will hopefully pollinate my veggie plants and make my harvest abundant...I am NERVOUS! When there were only some (30ish...how do you really count??), I thought I could manage. But now there are just so many...and I am not sure what to do. Any suggestions?

In everything there is balance...

Although most things are growing steadily here at the home gardens, I was dismayed to find many of the leaves being eaten by some pesky pest; particularly the variety of lettuces and greens, although the pest enjoys the leaves of beets and radishes, too. I have some helpful people problem-solving it with me...the trick is to actually SEE what is eating my plant. I have noticed a tiny green worm (looks like a mini inch worm)--could something that tiny and cute do that much damage?? I have also noticed a microscopic looks-like-a-mosquito type of insect...when I saw two of them on the back of the lettuce leaf they looked harmless and almost as though they were enjoying the shelter out of the continual rain we seem to be having. Sigh. Once I figure out what the pest is, then I have to take care of it, pronto. I have a whole bunch of new mixed lettuce plants growing outside from seed and I want to protect them if at all possible. Disappointing in one way...but I have that tiny voice in my head that is saying, "think of all you are learning this year..."

On a happier note, the first cucumbers are peeking into the world...The flower at it's tip looks almost like a crown. Sweet and beautiful. I loved that my camera caught such detail...whoever takes the time to look this closely at a cucumber growing...for that matter, how many people have even seen a cucumber while it is this small (that was me three years ago!) I am delighted by the tenacity of these little plants. Look how strong it is already!

This is the quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) that sprouted after only four days. Amazing really! I love this food. Although many refer to it as a grain (and an ancient one at that), it is actually a seed. It is one of the few foods on this earth that is a complete protein (sooo terrific for us vegetarians). I have eaten it warm for breakfast, in place of oatmeal; cold in a salad with fresh spring veggies and a light olive oil and lemon dressing; hot in place of rice with curry. I just heard that you can also put it in chocolate cake!! Here is a great blog of info (not so much pictures) I found: http://blog.quinoacookbook.org/.

While I was busy cleaning out my greenhouse yesterday, my 10 year old pup decided, for the first time in a year, to play with the rat trap. ARGHHH! Now, I am not one to want to kill animals; however, last year the rats multiplied and multiplied and multiplied. So there is one trap, and since population management was achieved last year, there has been no more bait put in it. However, yesterday found my little dog with her nose stuck as far in the hole as possible and she was clearly very wound up lifting it off the ground. We managed to tear her away and turn a heavy wheelbarrow over it. All seemed well.

Then, about two hours later, she had her stubby tail tucked (if it was full length it would have been between her legs), tremors in her back end and legs and she was trembling all over. She barely moved and kept her head down...oh-oh. We thought maybe, just maybe, there was a small bit of poison she ingested. An emergency trip to the vet, $300 later to make her vomit and give her Vitamin K (what rat poison depletes), and she was spunky and good as new. What this means of course is that when she came home and went back out into the yard she headed right back over to the same spot. I followed her and low and behold, there was a small sized rat...perished! Chaos ensued. I had to hoist my little dog on my hip, grab my big dog by the tail and drag him out of there...then I had to go back, with Sprinkle, to take care of the rat. It took some time to get myself ready and not be too squeamish. As I lifted it gently on the shovel, I acknowledged it's little life.

Remember, the title of my blog is "I WANNA be a farmer"...not that I AM a farmer...yet. However, I think with the lettuces being eaten by pests and my impending pest-hunt this weekend, my dog tracking and possibly killing a rat (and maybe being poisoned herself), an invasion of honey bees that make me very nervous (perhaps a story for next post?), dealing with clay-based and soggy soil, and some lovely food beginning to grow...maybe, just maybe, I'm a little further along the path to BECOMING a farmer.

And so, this week some plants flourished while others are beginning to perish. My intention was to feed people; looks like other beings have got a head start! Wish me luck on my pest patrol this weekend and if you have any ideas or suggestions, I welcome your offerings in the comments section below. Remember, only organic options are needed. Be well and thanks for visiting.

Home, Beautiful Home

While I was away, Sprinkle made me a deck for outside my greenhouse (out of recycled fir flooring I found earlier this year on Craigslist) as well as planted beans and peas. I am so delighted!! It's simply beautiful. The finishing touches are happening around here and it is almost complete, after about six months of revamping what was a dreary eye-sore in the backyard (pictures on the left are before; pictures on the right are now).









Upon my return this week the following were planted in the remaining garden beds at home: quinoa (which sprouted after four days!), turnips, beets, kale, brussel sprouts, swiss chard, eggplant, sunburst squash and cucumbers. That makes for a very full garden and much excitement to come.

Headed out to garden A, which we call "the farm", and I was so happy to see this:






potatoes......................................broccoli

The potatoes and broccoli are all sprouting - YES! We worked five more rows and put all the seedlings in the ground including: cucumbers, sunburst squash, cantalope, four or five different kinds of peppers (some were labelled and some [sheepishly] were not), and tomatillos. It looks pretty green right now and like something is happening, which is starting to feel good. I am bit concerned because I haven't seen any bees around, so I am going to take out some flowers to plant to lure them over. Within a few weeks I'll have a picture up of the development, which I am certain will be lush, green, flowering veggie plants! Grow little plants grow...we're counting on you.