July 30 Delivery

Still the best garden that we've had in this location! We'll be harvesting for delivery the following:

Onions, leeks, Romaine and leaf lettuce, broccoli, red cabbage, Sugar Snap Peas (no shelling), Green Beans (yellow, burgandy and green), zucchini, parsley and basil. And possibly a picking of Satsuma plums ... oh, and Swiss Chard ...

We didn't think the peas would make it through the heat, but they're looking and tasting great. When we harvest the zucchini we will be stripping the plants - we've got large, medium and small sizes. Hopefully next week we'll have consistant sizing.

The corn is taller than I am, the tomatoes, eggplant and peppers are setting fruit. We did see a lone spaghetti squash ... good grief! This is awesome!

Stay cool ... take heed of the heat warnings. We're on an early morning schedule for the rest of the week and hopefully won't be working too much past 1 p.m. Have a great day!

July 23 Delivery

Wow! Are we ever having the best season! Mother Nature is making up for the last couple of years. The last two springs were pretty wet which made it hard to getting some veggies to grow. Boy, not this year! Yay!

This week's delivery will contain kale, lettuce, peas (probably just one picking ... since peas don't like the heat), green beans, carrots, cabbage (both green and red), small onions, and "iffy" about the zucchini ... We'll make sure that they get plenty of water this week ... and we should have some. Other "iffy's" are broccoli and swiss chard. So, get ready to enjoy this wonderful harvest!

The hoop houses are holding up really well ... the tomatoes are doing great ... the eggplant doesn't seem to like all of this hot weather ... they are blooming, but they are not setting "fruit." Wait and see game for them. The peppers are beginning to bloom as well and they are setting "fruit."

Don't forget about the open house on August 1 - it would be great for you to see how everything is looking. Take care and make it a great day!

July 16 Delivery

Here we are ... going into our 4th week of deliveries and we're looking at zucchini blossoms! We will have a zucchini picking this week. (If we wait til next week, we probably wouldn't be able to carry them to the car! LOL)

Peas and green beans are blooming - so those pickings may need to be divided. So, if you don't get peas, you should get green beans. All depending on the weather.

So, for our July 16 delivery we will have green onions, lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, kale and herbs. (Kale freezes really well. After blanching it, pat dry, put in a zip lock bag, press flat and label with "Kale" and the date and you've just saved yourself some food dollars for this winter. Sara's mom included kale in spaghetti sauce recipe. Sara said it was really good.)

Side note: We made a new cabbage moth net. The old one had a hole in it ... the four that were chased and caught ... got away! So, that was it! We dropped everything that we were doing and made a net twice as big as the old one! July 10 cabbage moth tally (one day) - Doug - "0" (he was at work); Char - "2;" Sara - "8."

Make it a great day!

Cabbage Picture

This is one of the cabbages growing in our garden. Should be just the right size for harvesting in a couple of days. If you look close, you can tell it's enjoying the cooler weather. :)

We haven't been able to catch the little critter(s) that is munching on the outer leaves. We're not sure if it's cabbage moth larvae. Still under investigation.

One of our organic pest control methods is to catch white cabbage moths in a net. (They lay eggs on cabbage, broccoli, most brasicas. Then the larvae munch away.) Cabbage moth score: Sara - 6; Doug - 4; and Char - 3

July 9 Delivery

Please note: After many measurements and consultations, it was determined that the corn is in fact "Knee High by the 4th of July!" Yay! Yay! Yay! AND, the great thing is, it didn't matter whose "knees", short or tall ... there is corn in every size! (The sighs of relief will happen when the corn is harvested, in the bag and delivered!)



Hope you had a great Fourth of July! We spent the evening with family at home, and just plain enjoyed the weather. What a difference a day can make!



And getting to the point: this week's delivery will consist of green onions, lettuce, leeks, kale, cabbage and a variety of herbs. Click here to search for fennel recipes. This is the first year we've grown fennel - it tastes like black licorice - I haven't used it in a recipe yet, but Rob says it's good in stir frys. Let me know what you think.



Also, the roasted kale recipe from Sandra was great! The trick is to have the oven pre-heated to the required 350 degrees and cook 5 min. per side and go easy on the olive oil.


It's a great day! Welcome rain!

Updated Garden Picture - Taken June 29, 2009

Wow, you can sure see a difference from the June 9th picture to the one that was taken today, June 29th. What a difference 20 days makes! This picture was taken looking east. So, from top to bottom, growing well are Winterbor Kale, red cabbage, Red Russian Kale, Lucinato Kale, green cabbage, broccoli and so on. The rows are 60 feet long and we have about 51 or so rows planted.

Tomorrow we'll be planting more green beans, acorn squash, chinese cabbage and transplanting romaine lettuce. Oh, that's after we fix the hoop house that houses the tomatoes. (Tammy, Sara and I were able to put the plastic sheeting back over the green peppers and eggplants... roped it down tight ... we'll see how long it lasts.) Make it a great day!

July 2 Delivery

Yay! We've begun our 2009 Season deliveries! That's two weeks ahead of schedule. (This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago.)

This week's delivery will be similar to last week's, lettuce, green onions, kale, as well as beets, parsley and basil. The basil will be enough to season a few dishes. (The basil was transplanted a bit later than it would have liked ... so it went into shock. It's recovering ... slowly.) We do have more planted ... so hopefully we can provide enough to those of you who like to make pesto.

Sandra G provided this kale recipe to share: Wash and dry kale leaves. Place them singly on a cookie sheet. Brush each leaf with a little olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Place the cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven. Keep an eye on it. When you think it's ready, take the cookie sheet out of the oven. Turn each kale leaf over, put back in oven. Continue cooking until done or crisp without burning. She says it's really, really good! Sounds good, I can't wait to try it!

AND for those of you who would like to preserve some kale for this winter, from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving:

Using young, tender green leaves. Wash thoroughly and cut off wood stems. Blanch 2 minutes and avoid matting leaves. Cool. Drain. Pack into can-or-freeze jars or plastic freezer boxes, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Seal, label and freeze.

Because kale is such a nutritious vegetable, we did plant ... a lot! So, get ready to put some up for your winter enjoyment and hopefully, to save on your winter food bill. Enjoy your day!