Blog

One Potato... The Story of One Potato
One afternoon this Summer I decided to peel some potatoes for supper. Realizing that I had too many I pushed one to the back of my kitchen counter, thinking I would use it later. Instead I forgot about it. A couple of weeks later I remembered the potato and noticed that it had grown 4 long sprouts. I thought what a neat idea to plant this and see what happens. I placed it whole in a little garden just outside of my seed room door. Carefully adding compost and watering... Read more →
Off to a great start!
Our entire garden is planted and I have been harvesting, lettuce, spinach, dill, broccoli, and beet greens. So far all of our vegetables are doing well. Every day I do a careful inspection checking all plants to be sure there is no insect damage. If there is damage I need to find it right away and correct the problem. If possible I remove the insects by hand but if that is not possible I spray with an organic pesticide. In this manner invading insects can be easily controlled. The perimeter... Read more →
Bountiful Harvest!
We have been blessed with a fantastic harvest this year! Every year, of course, is a little different. The weather, bugs, critters all influence our crops. Well, the fence kept all critters away, the weather was accommodating and the bugs were quite manageable. Soon I will put our Flint Indian Corn on sale due to its exceptional heavy harvest. About a month ago I sowed a third crop of beets, spinach and lettuce. The beets will probably not mature before frost but the green tops will be delicious. The spinach... Read more →
Summer Sauerkraut!
I have a new video up demonstrating how to make a batch of sauerkraut at home. We have so many Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbages that we decided to make some sauerkraut. Take a look at the video and perhaps try your hand at making some! Read more →
Good Year!
I am very pleased with my garden this year. The weather has been cooperating nicely. Just enough rain to keep the plants thriving. As usual almost every corn and bean seed germinated. Last year I had hard luck with my cucumbers. I was invaded with cucumber beetles and could not get ahead of them. This year I am using Neem Oil to control them. So far it has done the trick. I plan to make many batches of Bread and Butter Pickles as I am down to my last jar.... Read more →
All seedlings have sprouted!
Last week I sowed 30 Beefsteak Tomato seeds and several pots of Basil.This morning I checked and the little seedling are peeking through the soiless mix. Such a happy site. I will now remove the plastic film, which makes sort of a little temporary greenhouse, and place the seedlings very close to a grow light.My Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbages,Broccoli,and California Wonder Peppers plants are growing rapidly.The cabbage and broccoli seeds were sown about 5 weeks ago and will be set out in the garden as soon as the soil can... Read more →
Harvesting!
It is now mid Summer and we have been eating out of our garden for quite some time now. The first crop of spinach was a great success and I was able to freeze some for Winter months. I planted a second crop of beets about a month ago and they are growing well. The first crop are ready to eat and can. My family loves pickled beets.Yesterday I dug 4 hills of new potatoes. I cooked some for dinner last night and they were beyond delicious!! Read more →
Garden under way!
Two weeks ago I planted started cabbage and broccoli plants in our garden. They are growing nicely. Today I will work the soil around them and add a little more fertilizer. I also sowed lettuce, spinach, dill, beets and potatoes. The lettuce, spinach and beets are coming up nicely. No sign of the potatoes yet. When they start to pop though the soil I will bring more soil around them. Eventually there will be a mound of soil around each potato plant. Still in my kitchen, under grow light,are our... Read more →
Starting Plants!
This week, the first week of March, I will be starting my pepper and cabbage plants. I have the seedling mix, pots, table and grow lights set up in a corner of the kitchen. All I need to do is sow my seeds and wait until the magic happens. Little seedlings popping up! Very exciting. At the end of this month I will sow my tomato seeds. Read more →
Our Flint Indian Corn
We had a fantastic harvest of Flint Indian Corn this year. The weather cooperated beautifully.In years past we placed our corn on racks outside to fully dry. Unfortunately many squirrels and chipmucks helped themselves to a good meal. Even my German Shepherd could not stop them. Now we set up racks in the garage which works well. All of our corn is now dry and ready to be sold.You talk about fresh seed. Well it does not get fresher than this! Read more →