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.