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!).