Summer is Coming!

What a gorgeous day! I enjoyed a beautiful morning outside. The air was cool, birds singing, goats lounging and one of our spring "hens" crowing! Seems we  somehow end up with a rooster every year even though they are supposed to all be hens!

 Mornings like these make me smile big inside. It has been a couple weeks since I've written a blog. The weeks seem to keep going faster and faster.

This is by far the best our garden has looked since we started! The bugs aren't nearly as bad as predicted, at least here. The plants are vigourous and healthy producing a lot of fruit.

It's a bit of a transition time. The cool weather crops are fading out as the summer crops ripen. Expect turnips and beets to be replaced with tomatoes and blackberries in the next week or so.

In my garden stroll this morning I seen so many bees and bumblebees busy pollinating. (He could have landed on one of the coneflowers that wasn't spent!)

These guys are so important to vegetable and fruit farmers. Planting flowers specifically for them helps yields by attracting them to the area and thus pollinating not only the pretty flowers but also the vegetables. I thought I would share some of my favorite flowers to attract not only bees but also butterflies to your yard or garden.

Argyranthemum - This little flower I just got this year. When I seen it I thought of cotton candy. Maybe because of the coloring. The flowers are small on a compact bush that gets about a foot tall and wide. As with most flowers for pollinating it needs at least 6 hours of sun each day. This variety is called Cherry Red. The flowers turn from yellow to pink to finally a red, so there is a lot of color on this one little bush. You will need to prune off spent blooms to encourage new blooms. I will do a little plug for Bates Nursery on Whites Creek Pike. That is where I got this. They have a huge selection and a friendly helpful staff. I could spend an entire day just looking around.

Alyssum - Also called carpet of snow. I love this little flower. My kids call it the honey flower because of the smell. It does smell very sweet. It makes a great border plant and forms mounds of beautiful white clustered flowers. It is very easy to start from seed. I started all of mine from seed this year so you can plant a lot of it for minmal cost. After you get it going good it is low maintenance. It does not like to dry out so a good layer of mulch will do it much good. This is also used in containers a lot spilling over the edge. Alyssum is just a great multipurpose easy pollinator flower.

Purple Coneflower - (The picture of the bumblebee) By far the best pollinator in my garden is the coneflower. Bees and butterflies just flock to it. The best thing about this flower is it is so easy to grow. Once it is established it is very drought tolerant and comes back every year. The first year it may not get very big, but it comes back with a force the next year. Mine are around three feet tall and full of blooms.

I snapped a few photos of the garden to post how things are coming along.

Blackberries are just beginning to ripen. They should be ready in the next week.

Tomatoe plants are HUGE and absolutely full of tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are just beginning to ripen. I've got to eat just a couple so far and they are tasty!

This is the first year I have grown tomatillos so I am excited they are doing so well. There is always a surprise growing new things. What I didn't anticipate is 7 foot tall plants! Looking forward to salsa verde with these!

The first eggplant forming.

Green Beans about an inch long.

Things at Happy Half Acre Farm are coming along! Most planting is done and now anticipating harvest. By this fall I will begging for the first frost so I won't have to harvest every day!

Week 2 CSA

Here we are with week number 2 of the CSA! Another basket with a good variety of organically grown vegetables! Here's what we have:

Cabbage- recipes on last week's blog
Turnips- recipes on last week's blog

Beets- here's a link for several recipes http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/beets/index.html
My daughter loves them sautéed with their greens. She went on and on about how sweet and yummy they were!

Sugar snap peas- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/sugar-snap-peas-with-parsley-recipe/index.html
As you can see I really like Food Network! We eat them at our house sautéed with butter and garlic and whatever herbs I feel like throwing in.

Yukon gold potatoes- Love these potatoes! Just a really great buttery flavor. The potatoes are not washed. Washing diminishes storage time. Only wash what you plan to use and store the rest in a cool dry place. http://www.food.com/recipe/yukon-gold-potato-gratin-173573
This recipe may be a little fattening, but you have to splurge every once in a while! You just can't beat potatoes au gratin.

Zucchini- Ah, you know summer is just around the corner when zucchini comes in season! What can you not do with zucchini? Zucchini bread, sautee, grill, roast, just about anything!

Also in this week's basket is bunch onions, garlic, eggs and an herb bouquet. In the herb bouquet there is cilantro and parsley. These look very much alike but taste very different! I have cut the cilantro shorter. Rub the leaves and smell before using to make sure you get the right herb.

I hope you enjoy your fresh vegetables and the recipes for this week!

First CSA of the season

Well, today is exciting for me! The first CSA's of the season were given! We had a good basket full of great vegetables. The only question I've had is, "How do I cook these?"  So, in response I am going to put up a few recipes to get you started.

Turnips:
Here is a recipe for glazed turnips - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Glazed-Turnips-104647

My favorite for turnips is the good ole southern way! It's not quite the traditional southern way. You would have to cook them all day. Who has time for that?! Here's my recipe:

olive oil
2 Tbs butter
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 med onion diced
1/4 cup white wine
6 pieces bacon
2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
3 large turnips with greens

Start by cutting the greens from the turnips. Chop the greens just a bit. Slice the turnips into bite size pieces.

In a large skillet add butter and a drizzle of olive oil. Sautee the onion, garlic, bacon and sliced turnips until the turnips are tender. Add the white wine, salt and pepper. Stir just a bit and add the greens. Put a lid on the skillet. Turn on low and leave for 10-15 minutes.

Carrots:
Here is a recipe for herbed carrots: You can substitute herbs to suit your own tastes.
http://www.food.com/recipe/herbed-carrots-250754

Swiss Chard:
Chard is multipurpose. You can use it as a decorative addition served as a bed for meats or use it as a side dish.

Chard reminds me a bit of spinach. You can put it in a salad like spinach, sautee like spinach or use in a quiche like spinach. Here is a link to a crustless quiche using chard. http://www.food.com/recipe/crustless-swiss-chard-quiche-311434  You can throw in some of the bunch onions that were in your basket too!

Cabbage:

My favorite for cabbage is roasted. Remove the first outer leaves. Cut the cabbage in half and then cut the halves in half to make four wedges. If these are too big still you can cut them one more time.

Place the cabbage wedge onto a piece of aluminum foil. Place a Tbs of butter, a pinch of garlic, salt and pepper over the top of the wedge and sprinkle with parmesan. Wrap the wedge with the aluminum foil and place in the oven at 350 degrees. Bake for about an hour until the cabbage is very tender.

Hopefully these recipes will give you a good start on preparing your vegetables.

I am adding some pictures to help you identify what is in your herb bouquet as well.


lemon thyme

sage



cilantro

 

rosemary

 



chives

dill

A girl can dream!

This year has been so much fun for me. Last year we added a new garden site, a greenhouse, an irrigation system, raised beds and brought in 15 yards or more of organic amendments. Whew, a lot of work! That part is fun too, but the backbreaking, blood, sweat and tears kind of fun! I do enjoy hard work. It gives such satisfaction when completed.

This year I have been able to do more planning and studying and making what we did last year work better. As well as make it more pleasing to the eye. That for me is the real fun!

I have been giving a lot of thought to what I am trying to accomplish here. Of course good healthy food for my family and others in my community, but I have a vision for more. 

In this country we are in a health crisis. Cancer and disease are affecting so many people. It seems weekly I hear of someone I know being diagnosed and the list is long for those I know that are suffering now.

My vision is to educate and involve the community. I know changing diet isn't the answer to all of the causes of health problems but I believe food choices play a tremendous part in overall health.  There is a lack of education to our children and parents to the role food plays in our health. I would like to see a new generation learn and put to practice healthy eating habits.

So what exactly is my vision?

First is education. I am planning a garden club for children and their parents in my community. This club will teach organic growing practice, soil and water conservation, and healthy eating. I want them to understand where their food comes from and what makes it a good choice. They will have the opportunity to have hands on demonstrations, grow their own food and learn simple recipes so they will actually want to eat those vegetables they worked hard to grow!

Second is involvement. In the future I hope to have more land to do some of my bigger visions! I would love so much to be able to grow for the Rescue Mission. A large garden plot dedicated specifically to them that volunteers could come tend as well. What an opportunity that would be! To serve locally grown organic vegetables to those who need it most with the help of volunteers from our community!

An even bigger opportunity would be to support local schools. This would be a gigantic undertaking, but it's not a dream if it's not big! Help from other local growers would definitely be needed. Some of our rural community schools really need help with serving nutritious foods. I visited our local school for lunch on a couple of occasions and was really shocked with the food. Offering educational tours and opportunities for high schoolers to come help out on the farm would be a big step forward in reaching kids who aren't in an environment to learn about good food choices. The fact is there aren't enough organic farms to support the demand. Putting kids in the environment and letting them know the opportunity is there is a way to maybe propel some of these young people into a career in organic production.

Lastly is something I witnessed at the Georgia Organics Conference. They offered garden tours of some of the local growers around that area. I didn't get the tour I wanted, but the tour I got really got the gears in my head spinning. The tour was about community gardens. I didn't really even know these existed. They are gardens in areas for those who don't have the means for their own gardens. We visited three different gardens on the tour. The pride these people showed in what they had grown was amazing! They were hungry not only for the food they were growing but also for education! It was such a blessing to be able to go on that tour and witness what these community gardens were doing for people.

I have a passion for what I do. I absolutely love it and can't imagine not being able to do it. I have such a desire to spread this passion. It really is infectious! Once you start learning about it you want more! I don't know if I will accomplish all this, but a girl can dream!

So, what zone are we again?

Can you believe this weather?! It is the last week of March and it looks and feels like the middle of May outside! I love the warmer weather so it comes welcome for me. That said there are cons to the pros of this weather phenomenon!   

Some of the usual spring crops are not doing well at all at these higher temperatures. Sugar snap peas are stunted and yellow, broccoli and cabbage are bolting rather than producing heads, as you can see from this picture of cabbage I took last week.

To be feared also are the insects that may be in waiting! Without the cold temperatures in winter more harmful insects may be out this year. Hopefully the beneficials will be out in full force as well! I am taking extra measures to draw more of these beneficials in. There are herbs and flowers interplanted with the summer crops such as marigolds and dill. I have a feeling much time will be spent handpicking these bugs off plants!

Not all is lost with this out of season warmup though! As long as it doesn't come up a cold spell we will have some things early and for a longer season, as far as summer vegetables go.

Strawberries are blooming away and already producing. This is a month early! The blackberries are leafing out and look fabulous as well.

I am switching out the sugar snap peas with green beans. I consulted with a fellow farmer and he agreed with me that a bet on early green beans beats waiting out failing sugar snaps.

The 2nd garden plot has been worked and I've got a few things planted. Under the row cover is tomatoes, eggplant, parsley, basil and dill. On the left darker row is zucchini and scallop squash.

If temperatures do dip down my hope is they won't dip down too cold that the row cover won't prevent damage.

It's hard to tell what to plant or what to wait on planting. The lack of cold weather is causing the spring crops to be less than desirable yet fearing a cool off prevents heavy summer planting. I know there are some who could care less about the climate. They are just happy to have warm weather and clover to munch! These are my sweet girls, Ethel, Lucy and Clementine.

One other thing I am super excited about! An actual entrance to the garden with an arbor gate that I built myself! Super easy if you know how to use a saw and a drill and the best part is it only cost $40 to build one yourself! I had been having to step over the fence and have fallen on my face several times (in front of friends and neighbors, embarassing!) so this is great! My plan is to have a climbing rose on one side and cucumbers growing up the other.

Here's a few more pictures of what's growing now. Forgive the weeds. That is on the ever growing list of to do's!

garlic

lettuces

broccoli and cabbage

onions with potatoes starting to come up behind

2012 Happy Half Acre Farm CSA

2012 Happy Half Acre CSA

This picture is my 2nd days worth of work in the garden. After so much rain I feel as though I am getting a late start! This is the first time in weeks the garden has been dry enough to work in. I can't even tell you how good it felt to be working outside again! I have a good start and the work has just begun!

I am very excited to start a SMALL CSA this year! After attending the Georgia Organics Conference last weekend I really learned a lot about management and maximizing the space that I have. With good succession planting and LOTS of vertical gardening I really expect a large yield in my produce this year.

Membership Includes
16 weeks of produce free from chemical pesticide and fertilizer.

A large variety of produce items

Depending on availability there may be 1/2 dozen country eggs.

Access to the gardens is welcomed and encouraged! Come out and see how your food is grown!

Supporting a small local farmer. Happy Half Acre Farms strives to produce healthy food that is good for you and our environment as well as to raise awareness of good food choices.

Fees and Payment
I will be starting the CSA May 15th and will do 16 week increments. Each share is $375. You save $25 by paying for your share upfront by April 15th, 2012 which makes the total $350. The other option is a bi monthly payment of $47. Post dated checks are required for the payment plan.

Half shares are available for exactly half the cost. Payment options are the same as full shares. Half shares will be picked up every other week.

You may reserve your spot by filling out the application along with a $15 membership fee. Membership fee is waived for prepay. You can get an application by e-mailing me at tirogers99@gmail.com

Pick-up Times and Locations
Shares may be picked up on Mondays from 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at Happy Half Acre Farm.
Address is 2558 Old Clarksville Pike, Ashland City TN 37015

We may allow pick ups at the local Pleasant View or Ashland City Farmers Market. An e-mail will be sent closer to market openings when we decide what markets we will attend.

Contact Info
Ti Rogers - tirogers99@gmail.com
615-389-1910

This list is approximate. I cannot guarantee when produce will become available.
With each summer item such as tomato, eggplant and squash I have several varieties so you may not get the same kind each week.
May 2012:
Swiss Chard
Spicy Mesclun Mix
Asian Mesclun Mix
Italian Mesclun Mix
Spinach
Variety Lettuce
Beets
Radishes
Turnips
Carrots
Bunch Onions
Cabbage
Broccoli
Sugar Snap Peas
Cilantro
Rosemary

June 2012:
Swiss Chard
Spicy Mesclun Mix
Asian Mesclun Mix
Italian Mesclun Mix
Spinach
Variety Lettuce
Beets
Carrots
Bunch Onions
Cabbage
Broccoli
Strawberry
Blackberry
Zucchini
Squash
Tomato
Potato
Garlic
Cucumbers
Red and White Onion
Green Beans
Okra
Basil
Parsley
Sage
Rosemary
Cilantro

July:
Carrot
Bunch Onion
Zucchini
Squash
Tomato
Garlic
Cucumbers
Red and White Onion
Green Beans
Okra
Basil
Parsley
Sage
Rosemary
Cilantro
Eggplant
Bell Pepper
Jalapeno
Habenero Pepper
Banana Pepper

August:
Bunch Onion
Zucchini
Squash
Tomato
Garlic
Cucumbers
Red and White Onion
Green Beans
Okra
Basil
Parsley
Sage
Rosemary
Cilantro
Eggplant
Bell Pepper
Jalapeno
Habenero Pepper
Banana Pepper
Watermelon
Canteloupe

Let me know if you have any suggestions or would like to see additions in the produce list. Thank you for considering Happy Half Acre Farm CSA Membership!

Seed Starting

I am attempting to start up my blog again. Focusing on gardening and animals is my objective. Hopefully I can keep it up and have an account of what I did at what time of year, etc.

So, my current project is seed starting.

It's the middle of February and for zone 6 our last frost date is April 15th. My goal is to start all of my flowers from seed this year. Plants are extremely expensive and I just can't spend that kind of money for all the plans I have this year! Seeds are actually quite expensive as well. Especially if you want a variety of plants.

I have attempted seed starting before in a windowsill and was not impressed with the results. My seedlings always ended up leggy and weak looking. Some would survive into prosperous plants but it wasn't the best way to start a healthy crop.
Last year we built a greenhouse so I thought I would start seeds in the greenhouse.

Well, my first year with a greenhouse I have found there are limitations to it. Many more limitations than I first realized. Don't get me wrong, a greenhouse has it's use and it is good for it's purpose, which is another post entirely. Right now I will stick with seeds! The seedlings will be moved to the greenhouse for toughening once they are established.

OK, so what I have learned is seeds need constant temperatures (which a greenhouse will not provide!). Around 72 degrees is ideal. They also need a good light source. Unfortunately a windowsill is not a good light source. The seedlings grow long and leggy struggling to reach up for the light. This causes them to develop weak spindly stems and they will sometimes fall over.

Here is a picture of my solution. This is not the best picture. It is actually extremely bright but my camera only wanted to focus on the lights so the picture came out dark.

I bought a 4 tier mini greenhouse from Tractor Supply. It comes with a plastic covering but I took it off. On each shelf I attached a 2 foot 75 watt floruescent light to hang just above the seedlings by about 4 inches.

The seedlings need around 14 hours of light each day (a window will not give this much) so I have a plug in timer to turn the lights on at 4 a.m. and turn them off at 6 p.m.

I put a reflective material over the top so the light is reflected inside and keeps even light all over. This is a silver bubble wrap. I found it in the garage. I don't even know where it came from. My husband has a habit of holding on to things and this was probably one of those things! I usually get annoyed when he does that but it came in handy this time!

There is a small fan for air circulation which helps to toughen the stems.

Lastly I have a radiant heater near the seedlings set to 72 degrees to help regulate temperature.

I purchased seed flats with 72 cells each. The flats have a clear plastic top. Keep the top on until the seeds sprout.

The top is used to keep moisture levels consistent. Seeds need more moisture for germination.

When the seeds sprout prop the cover open for 24 hours and start the fan. After 24 hours you can take the plastic top completely off.

Keep the fan on them at all times set on low. Just enough to circulate the air.

You will also want to keep the soil moist but not overly wet. Too much water can cause a disease called dampening off which causes the stems to rot and results in your seedlings falling over and dying.

I had started tomato plants in a windowsill. They came up but were extremely tall and weak. The good thing about tomatoes is you can repot them and plant them up to the top leaves. When they started to put on their second set of leaves I repotted them. Doing this also helps them to develop a strong root system as the tiny hairs on the stems actually root out when put into the soil.

After having them in this newly constructed seed starting tent the tomatoes already look healthier. They have taken on a deeper green and are growing faster and stouter.My other seeds haven't sprouted yet but I will keep posting the results.

Here's a breakdown on what I spent:

Mini Greenhouse TSC - on sale for $20

3 flourescent lights at Wal-Mart - $27

5 Seed Flats at Wal-Mart - $22.50

plus the cost of seeds

Everything else I had was free because we already had it. With the amount of seeds I have purchased this investment was needed!

A breakdown of seed starting:

Constant Temperature - around 72 degrees

Air Circulation- needed after sprouting

Light - 14 hours

Moisture - fairly moist while germinating and less when sprouted

I have learned alot about seed starting this year so hopefully this post can help others!