A few snapshots …

Early Tomatoes! Yes!

 

We are now a 2-greenhouse gig

 

Happy Pepper House!

 

Our Big Yeller Dog

 

the spring batch!Af

New Camera, New Veggies

I learned something recently that made me feel a lot better about myself. It’s this: some people are just made to be “jack of all trades, master of none.”  Some people are just made to do the work of several people in one lifetime. It is what it is. And while I feel like I am pretty good at a lot of things, I am not quite a master of anything. And I do a ton.

And I like most of it. The stuff I don’t like as much gets delegated to the bottom of the list. Stuff like “put away laundry” or “haul stuff to thrift store” or “mop floors.” Or the worst one- “take out compost.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love compost. I remember in college environmental science class, hearing about compost for the first time. I absolutely could not believe that you can throw dirt, poo, grass clippings and kitchen scraps in a pile, turn it a few times a week, and it magically turns into gorgeous, fertile black dirt. I LOVE THIS!!!! I just don’t like hauling kitchen scraps.

So all this to say, I am coming to peace with the fact that I like to do a lot of things, and it’s ok if I do. It’s ok if I don’t have a magazine-clean and styled home. I’d rather be in the garden anyway. Or turning compost.

Good news: I got a camera, finally! Our friend John, who is a professional photographer (John LaTourelle Photography in Bemidji if you’re looking!) did some research for me and found me a little Sony Cyber-Shot. I like it so far. Plus, it’s green. Samples:

Look at the tomatoes! I just continue to marvel at the wonders of a greenhouse! A little heat, dirt that the horses “fertilized” all winter, lots of water, and almost no wind created this!

I like how clear and sharp these pictures are….and how big some of the tomatoes are getting, and it’s only June 2!

French Breakfast Radishes…..heavenly. After a winter of being starved of fresh produce, we can’t stop eating these! AND, our friend Jess, who is just this genius in the kitchen, (her husband calls her a hot scottish chef) created this recipe with our fresh radish, chives, egyptian onions, and arugula:

Original Amazing Early Spring Relish by Jess  -OR- What the Heck Do I Do With Radishes?!?

8-10 French Breakfast Radishes, sliced thin

1 c. thinly sliced Arugula leaves, fresh

¼ c Egyptian Onion, sliced thin

1/8 c. chopped chives

1 green apple, chopped

Salt, to taste

2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped

2 tbsp. virgin olive oil

1 tsp. lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, chopped

½ small red onion, chopped

Combine all ingredients, mix well. Serve on crackers (amazing on Breton Original crackers!) or on pita wedges or toasted bruschetta. You may also bend in blender to make a pseudo-pesto.I personally didn’t try this- blending it in the blender. We ate it so fast as it was, I just didn’t have time. Try it!! Here’s a photo:

Just looking at it is making me hungry. I will make it again tomorrow!

One more:

Raspberries galore. We are so hoping they produce this summer- last year we got a few handfuls. They sure look good!

Back to the radish thing. I was also told, by Monet at the Wild Hare, that you can saute radishes in a little butter. Who knew! And Jess made us pasta with garlic infused olive oil (cut the root end off a whole bulb of garlic, set it in a bread pan, and cover with olive oil. Bake at 250 or so for about an hour- then squeeze garlic out into oil and use on pasta). She threw in fresh arugula right before serving- the heat of the dish cooked it just enough. Wow. It was really a weekend of Jess’ culinary amazingness.

I can’t wait for eggplant – !

Fresh Greens, Amen

I have a new green coming up in the greenhouse that I have never tried. It’s called Tendergreen Mustard, and dang. I snack on it constantly. I have never tasted something so yummy!  So for those of you thinking of signing up for the CSA – I have tendergreen mustard, leetle french breakfast radishes, rhubarb, and chives available now. HA!! And it’s not officially time for boxes yet!

This makes me happy.  (can you tell?!)

There is just nothing like it after a long winter. And with the greenhouse, and all going well, I can have these through October. Thank God for spring!

Getting a new camera this week! I can take pictures SOON.

So get signed up, and give me a call!

Buying Local

I’ve known for some time that I wanted to buy local for my family. Not that I can get everything we need from our own community, but when I can, I do. I love that for a lot of reasons. Every time I buy bananas in the store I seriously think hmmm. I wonder how long you’ve been on a truck? Not that being on a truck is so bad, except for the transportation thing. It’s the being handled by a zillion people all over the world that sometimes bothers me. And the fact that bananas are picked completely green and gassed to help them ripen in a truck.

That’s what I’ve heard anyway. So I wonder every time I buy bananas.

Anyway, I like local for those reasons, and because I like supporting local people, businesses, community. Someone called me an “earth mother” a long time ago, before I was ever remotely as hippie as I am today, and it stuck. I love organic, I love whole foods, and I feed them to my family. I hate to think of all the junk that goes on our food and we don’t even know it.

So as I was searching for recipes for my Down to Earth Gardens CSA newsletter (I was told to do it NOW because when stuff starts ripening, I am not going to have any time at all!) I stumbled across this article about buying local. http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-home-living/infographic-the-benefits-of-buying-local.aspx  It’s short and to the point and has great information.

I’m not one of those die-hard environmentalists, but I do believe in taking care of the land. I do believe that God has zillions of languages and his first isn’t English, and sometimes he speaks through his creation. So that kind of makes me want to take care of it. Not to mention it’s amazing.

So check it out anyway. I’m back to newsletter writing!

CSA Plans Underway!

We have been busting our behinds.  It’s been fun. Last week, in our two days of glorious sunshine and upper 60 degree weather (Yes! I got a tan!) we rented a Kuboda tractor with a loader and a tiller. Wow. Phil keeps saying “honey, if you’re going to do this garden thing, we need a tractor.” And my response has always been “I have  tiller. I’m fine!”

I have been reformed.

One swipe of that tiller was like six with my little horse. If I had a working camera (yes, camera issues again!) I would show you. It’s amazing…..the whole garden is fabulous. Now when it stops snowing I can plant.

But in the meantime, my ever amazing husband is finishing the end walls of the greenhouse. We put new plastic on it, and we’ll put the second one up in a few weeks.

But the big thing I’ve been doing is planning our CSA boxes.  If you’re reading this because you’re slightly interested in purchasing a share of our garden this summer, here is what you can mostly expect.  As things come to harvest- the boxes will contain 6-10 of these items (in quantity)  from roughly June 4 through October 15:

Tendergreen Mustard

Microgreens

Radish, several varieties

Baby Mesclun

Arugula

Rhubarb

Spinach

Kohlrabi

Rhubarb Chard

Beets

Winter Density Lettuce

Green Onion

Jade Green Beans, French Filet Green Beans

Mammoth Pea, Oregon Sugar Pea

Georgia Collards

Broccoli

Rutabaga

Peppers- Green, Hot

Pattypan Squash, Zucchini Squach, Yellow Summer Squash

Tomato- early, Brandywine, Roma, Cherry

Buttercrunch Lettuce

Eggplant

Cilantro, Basil

Pumpkin- sweet, for baking

Cantelope Melon

Dragon Carrots, Danvers Carrots

Radiccio

Potatoes

Walla Walla, Big Daddy, Red Zepplin Onion

Fall squash- several varieties

Of course, some weeks early on will have less items (more towards the 6 number) and weeks later on in the season will contain more items. The challenge for me is to have lots for you ALL the time. And that is what I will be doing.

If for some reason we cannot deliver 20 weeks of fresh produce, we will prorate your last payment. But things are looking good around here!

A New Venture!

So last summer, as you know if you’ve read this blog, we grew veggies for local grocery stores and restaurants. It was fun. This year, we’re stepping it up a little. We’re offering a CSA! Community Supported Agriculture is a new-ish form of food distribution. Basically, we find people who want fresh, local, organic veggies and don’t want to or can’t grow them themselves. We grow for you! I have enlisted the help of our three teenage daughters, and off we go. Posters are made, brochures are in the works, and we are shooting for 25-30 “share-holders” who will come pick up their share of fresh veggies (and hopefully raspberries) every Saturday morning from May 28 through October 8.

How cool is that?!

And of course, I’ll keep you posted in this blog, so you know what’s going on. I know how you are tempted to panic when you don’t know what’s going on.

What started this whole thing? Selling to restaurants was fun, but not very consistent. I had veggies that didn’t get used. That’s just sad. Farmers market? The idea of being there every week with no guarentees…..didn’t settle with me. My friend Pam (remember my garden guru from southeastern MN?) kept telling me, “Michelle, you should consider CSA!!”  So I started considering. When I pitched it to my girls, they started considering. When I threw in the fact that it might earn us a swimming pool and a trip to the Renaissance Fair, which are both out of our affordable range….they were in. Really in. Ready to work for it in.

So we start planting as soon as our dirt is dry enough to plant.

In the meantime, we’re scouting for share holders. Here is what is on our brochure:

What is Community Supported Agriculture?

Community Supported Agriculture is a unique opportunity for community members to get fresh, organically grown produce weekly without owning your own land or garden. If you’re concerned about where your produce comes from, how much it’s been handled or shipped or sprayed or stored before it gets to you, then CSA might be for you. Down to Earth Garden CSA is a family-owned large garden and greenhouse site just outside Bemidji, MN. We  grow a wide variety of spring, summer, and fall vegetables using sustainable, organic practices. We are not certified organic, but we grow our food carefully using only natural methods of pest control and soil building techniques.

How Does CSA Work?

CSA is a relatively new model of farming and food distribution. A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. CSA’s focus is usually on a system of weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables. The term CSA is mostly used in the USA, but a variety of similar production and economic sub-systems are in use worldwide. Summer shares at Down to Earth Gardens begin approximately May 28 and run weekly until approximately October 8: 20 weeks of fresh food. Weekly shares are $30, as the season share is $600. Each Saturday morning we will have a bin of fresh veggies for you, depending weekly on what is in season.

How Do I Pay for CSA?

You may pay your seasonal share up front (option 1), or in three installments (option 2). Down payment of first $192 to reserve your share due now; 2nd payment of $192 due June 15, and third payment due August 15.

How Many Shares Are Available?

We will need to cap it off at 35.

Why Would I Choose CSA?

CSA gives you fresh, local, community grown, organic food that has not been on a truck for days or sprayed with something you are allergic to or handled by multiple people all over the country, or world, for that matter. Plus you are not paying for packaging or shipping or marketing- you are simply getting the fresh produce you love even if you don’t have time or space for a garden.

Why is CSA So Expensive?

Actually, when you consider what the average family spends on fresh produce during the growing season, it isn’t. For our family of 6, we easily spend $30+ a week in the produce section of our local grocery store or farmers market stand. We believe with CSA you get more for your money, as your food is local, fresh, and organic to boot. Plus you help support us in doing what we love, and we get to share it with you.

Do You Have Anything Besides Veggies?

We hope to! We have a large raspberry garden with several red and gold varieties that was planted three years ago. We hope it will produce this summer- but if not, we hope for next summer. We would love to include fresh raspberries in your CSA share, with additional larger quantities available to you for purchase should you choose to freeze for winter or make jam.

What Kind of Veggies Do I Get?

We are growing Lettuces, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Peas, Beets, Beans, Kohlrabi, Tomatoes (early, hybrid, and heirloom), Peppers (hot, green, and red) Zucchini and Summer Squash, Pumpkin, Squash (acorn and butternut types) Green Onion, Eggplant, Carrots, Potatoes, Fall Onions and herbs (including Basil for pesto).

What if My Family is Only Two?

We think sharing a share with a friend would be a great idea for smaller families or individuals.

What if I Can’t Pick Up Every Saturday?

We would be happy to deliver, but with gas prices as they are, we would charge a $5 delivery fee outside of a couple mile radius of our home. Just let us know when you need delivery.

What if I Decide I Want to Buy A Share, but I’m Late?

Late additions will be prorated.

How Do I Sign Up?

If you’re in the area, leave a comment on this blog and we’ll contact you. We look forward to meeting you! We are recovering our greenhouses so if you are from the area you probably have seen our progress.

SO, that’s where it’s at. My camera has DIED, ugh. Aren’t they supposed to last longer than eight or nine months?!? But when I get a new one, I will post pictures of our progress. We are recovering the large greenhouse, and have acquired another one, smaller- 20×30. They will grow the peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant.

Thanks for reading, and if you’re in the area, give us a try!

Big Ideas for Small Spaces

We had our first official day of training for the triathalon today. I looked at some training programs online….yeah. I’m fairly sure they assume you are in excellent or at least decent physical shape when you start. They have you running a half an hour in week 1.

Not here. First, we have to get in shape and strengthen the ankles that have been sprained more times than I can count. Then, we start running.

So today we swam 8 laps, ran on an elliptical for 20 minutes, biked for 15, and did the weight training round three times. By the time we were finished with that, my girls were naming the various weight machines. Sorry Grandpa, but “Bob” was the least favorite. Not sure why they chose that name. I suggested “Floyd” but Bob won out.

It’s fun working out with my girls. They’re hilarious. They laugh at hard things. Make fun of ridiculous things. Perk up when “you can’t do that” is spoken. They want to join the water aerobics class – fifteen or so fifty to sixty somethings dancing to Elvis music in the pool. They think it would be a hoot.

And, yes, I am sore. Hoping the “no pain no gain” thing is true.

On another note, one less strenuous, I’ve been using that tool I told you about- the Vegetable Garden Planner from Mother Earth News (my favorite hippie magazine of all time)- and it’s GREAT.  I have the main garden, the greenhouse, and the front of the greenhouse all plotted out. And I put it away for a few days, had some more ideas, and went back in and re-worked some stuff.

And they’re adding flowers next. The kinds that attract beneficial insects. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!

And then I had the idea.

Don’t mean to be a drama queen, but it’s such an exciting idea for a northern gardener. I put three dwarf apple trees in my greenhouse, on the planner. They look lovely.

HA!

If all goes according to my fiendish plans…..I can thwart late spring frost damage by putting my trees in the greenhouse. Sure they’ll take up space, but I have a LOT of space.  A bunch of space in one corner was taken up by a potting bench. I can pull that out and have a nice 6′ x 5′ spot for a dwarf tree.

Then I put a note on my facebook asking if anyone had ever done this. One of my friends from northern California said that she has a friend who puts citris trees in his greenhouse. Huh!

Then, I started thinking about what kind of trees. We are in zone “2 1/2″ as my husband says. I insist we are in zone 3, and he insists that I am dreaming. I am thinking my greenhouse is at least a zone 4, because “they” say that with every layer of plastic, you insulate to 500 miles south of you. I have 2 layers, although they aren’t really working right now because they need so badly to be replaced.

So in a perfect greenhouse with new plastic, I can walk into northern Illinois in March. In a non-perfect greenhouse, I can walk into my friend Pam’s garden in southern MN.

Pam grows beautiful apple trees.

I want to try the apple tree outside thing again this year, but I’ll do a hardier pie apple. Now that we have the oh-so-amazing DNR fence, they will be safe from deer damage. In the greenhouse, I think I’ll try a Honeycrisp.  Hope someone has made it dwarf size. And I’ve been thinking about cherries.

Which always makes me think of our friends from Michigan who had a cherry orchard. Last time we saw them, the prices for cherries had dropped so low that they fared better leaving the cherries on the trees and letting them rot. Oh, it makes me sick. All I could think about were all those thousands of pounds of cherries going to waste. She said she made as many pies and as much jam as she could stand, and then let it go.  I hope they are faring better now- that was about seven years ago.

So, there you have it. I think we’ve finally talked my husband into getting a pig this spring and we keep tossing around the idea of growing grapes in the rest of our fenced-in land, so the crazy ideas keep coming. Lucky you, you get to read about them all!

And in January, her thoughts turn to gardens…

This is what happens: October hits, and my job selling online gets crazy. My son said to me the other day that I needed more desks so I could do my work. No! No more desks…..

But come January, I’m done. Done with costumes, done with research, done with excel sheets and boxes and toys. Now my thoughts turn to ….gardening.

Well, and triathalons. My girls and I are signed up and financially invested in a short course tri in June.  I just need to get in shape, and the normal motivators don’t work for me. Joining a club, being healthy, new clothes….those things don’t motivate me.  I need a challenge bigger than anything I’ve ever done. How about a 5k? That’s like knitting a scarf the first time you knit, in my warped brain.

Seriously, the first time I knit anything I knit an Alpine sweater complete with multi-colors. Why waste time on a scarf? Life is short. Skip the 5k, go straight for the big guns.

I’m in the worst shape ever. In fact, I told my Dad I was going to do this and he was a bit incredulous. He said, not unkindly, just matter-0f-fact-ly: You’ve got a long way to go.  He is absolutely right. That’s sort of the fun of it for me.

So I have enlisted the help of a former student of ours who is a personal trainer. I had a list for myself, but it was vague…”start swimming 3x a week” – that kind of thing. She’s got this nailed down to one degree from winning the thing. Wow. I know exactly what I need to accomplish for the next 21 weeks.

And the beautiful thing is, hopefully, gardening will be easier this summer. I would really love to avoid the weeding-carrots-back-spasms experience of last summer.

This is REALLY cool:  www.motherearthnews.com.  They have some new software that helps you plan your garden! I think it’s called “The Best Garden Planner Ever” or something like that. Go to the site, you’ll see it. You can use it for a month free, and if you like it, it’s 25$ a year after that. They keep track of everything you’ve done in previous years, and let you know if you’re doing something wrong or putting the wrong plants together or whatever. AND, you punch in your zipcode, and they tell you when stuff needs to be planted and when it needs to be harvested. Beautiful!! I’ve already got the main garden, the greenhouse, and the front garden all plotted out.  I am loving it, and thinking the $25 a year is just right. I would spend that much on garden books, and they give it to me on this planner.

So I’ve been trying to recover this week from a over-zealous-work-induced bronchitis I seem to have picked up. I got all my gardens planned, got my work out schedule figured out, and blogged. Very wonderful. Hopefully I will feel better soon. The girls have been humoring me and lying around watching videos with their sick Mom. Today: finish Two Towers (I couldn’t muster the strength to do the Battle of Helms Deep last night) and on to Return of the King. Yes.

And drink tons of tea with honey. And play Lego Minotaurus with my boy.  And probably play more wii, although my arm hurts from killing orcs and goblins and spiders yesterday.

May your rest be as sweet!

 

Fall Cleanup- Sort of

Hello from the world of “we-get-five-inches-of-rain-almost-daily.”  We have standing water in our yard, and in my garden. I haven’t been able to till for a month, seriously. Our grass never turned yellow this summer. It’s been green since April!

Which is wonderful, really. We had a perfect year. Rain-heat-rain-heat-rain-heat. I even grew cantaloupe. This is so NOT northern MN. But we sure enjoyed it.

Past tense. Now it’s fall. Like, one night, Minnesota said to itself, “ok, now it’s fall.” Suddenly the trees are gold and red and fiery. Suddenly the temperatures are consistently in the 50′s-60′s. I heard a rumor we were going to have an 85 degree day, but I peeked at the forecast and it was only a pipe dream.

I can hear winter from here.

We were out of town last weekend and our faithful house-sitters called us and said, “there’s a frost warning. Anything you need us to bring in?” YES! Houseplants, birdhouse gourds. Oh, and the pumpkins and squash on the front deck.

“You mean the epic pile of pumpkins on the front deck?” he says. Yes, that one!  So we came home to a house full of plants, gourds, and pumpkins. Literally sitting around in laundry baskets.

But I did clear the greenhouse out. I grabbed my girls and we cut all the trellis strings and pulled up all the posts and heaved out all the 6′ high tomato plants. I made one last batch of salsa yesterday, and the rest are waiting for our Nepali friends to come and cook this weekend. And I have a bunch of green tomatoes. But the greenhouse is clean. I even tilled it up. It is so good to just be done for awhile.

Since I can hardly walk in the main garden, much less till, I will probably just let it be until next spring. There has been talk that with such a wet year, we may have a huge snowfall winter. After that, maybe I can till. Next summer :)

But I do have one last task that HAS to get done. My mother in law gave us a ton of peony roots. Wow. I am wondering how I’m going to get those in this wet ground. Hmmmmmm. Wait and hope!

Right now, actually, I need to get some jars washed to finish canning that last bit of salsa. And I need to start a fire. Because I’m NOT turning on the heat until October!!

Makeup Addictions and Garden Plans

I woke up this morning at 7:27, which is late, ’cause we have to get the little man to school by 8, latest. So I threw clips in my hair (that’s a whole ‘nother blog. I just can’t seem to find a way that I LIKE my hair that doesn’t involve driving five hours to my favorite stylist and paying mucho $. So it always ends up in clips :) , brushed my teeth, dragged him out of bed, dressed him, fed him, managed to swallow a cup of coffee, and drove him to school.

I have bed head. I have no makeup, I have bags under mine eyes.

He is chattering all the way there. Wondering what causes the ice to melt and crack on the car windows. (YES. Another blog. I had to scrape ice off the car windows this morning. It is September 15, and we got our first frost last night!)

So we get to school, and he looks at me with those big greens framed in curly red, and says, “Mom, will you walk me to the door?”

Insert heavy sigh: battle between “oh my gosh i look like I just rolled out of bed (which I had), and “ohhhhhh he’s so darn sweet how can you possibly say no?!?”  The thought did run through my mind, like two little persons perched on each shoulder….”come on!! what will you remember ten years from now when he’s big? The fact that you didn’t walk him to the door ’cause you don’t have mascara on?!?”

I’m thinking I have a slight makeup addiction going on here.

So I smoothed my bed head (didn’t help much), rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and pinched my cheeks, Scarlett O’Hara style. And walked my little prince to the door. He wanted me to walk him all the way to his classroom, but I just couldn’t do it.

Now this is sad, I know. Does she really need to look good to walk her child to his classroom? In my defense, I say, “No. I just need to not stand out like a short verison of Big Bird.”  :)

So from now on, I will make sure I do not have bed-head, and I at least have mascara on my face.

I do not need to say anything here about shallowness. Cause I’m not shallow. Maybe just a little too aware of mine-self.

When I drove home, the sun was up enough that the glare wasn’t keeping me from seeing the gardens. Everything looks like it survived this surprise frost attack. Even my house plants on the deck. Whew. The air is fresh and crisp and I dragged my girls out of bed so we can go for a walk. Got the girls (college girls) tea today, so schoolwork has to be done by 1 or so, so we can clean up and make scones and cucumber cream cheese sandwiches! With cucumbers from my neighbor Sara’s garden. Sooooo yummy.

For some reason, my cucumbers just gave up this year. I think I planted them too close to the rest of the squash. They said, one day when I was out picking, “we quit. Need more room.” Ok. Got it on the “next year” list.

Speaking of next year, I have a plan. Don’t you love plans?  The main 100×75 garden, which currently houses the raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, asparagus and peonies, has only a few small chunks of available room. I’m going to fill it up with asparagus plots and garlic. Which leaves the greenhouse- still thinking about that one for next year – and the front-of-the-greenhouse garden. In front, next year, I’m going to put the family veggie plot. Carrots, squash, cukes, various greens, beets, beans, etc etc.  Hmmmmm maybe some corn.

That way, the main garden only needs to be tilled. The front veggie garden will be where I send the kids to pull weeds and pick veggies. Just read a fun blog where a lady was organizing her house. Made me think of organizing my gardens.

You know, I was just thinking about my grandmother. She was really vain. I have decided, that next time Eli asks me to walk him to his classroom, I will do it, no matter how I look. No matter the bed-head, bags, whatever. I do not want to be grandma. Seriously. I have learned a lesson here.

My friend Jeff always says, “you never know what you think until you write it down.” Here is a perfect example. I never knew this about myself. If I’m going to be addicted to something, let’s at least make it something wonderful, like coffee.

:) Off for a walk! With bed-head!