glorious fall, so far!

I couldn't have wished for a nicer September. It has been gorgeous! This warm sunny weather has really helped some plants come along that I got in the ground later than I would like. These sunflowers are at least 10 feet tall, I am standing below looking up to take the photo!

Below is a fabulously perfect sunflower head drying on my front porch; I love the geometric patterns that the seeds make as they grow.


The past few weeks have been focused on getting Winter greens started and planted out. They need a bit of a head start before the cold weather starts to slow things down. There is already a noticeable difference in rate of growth now that the colder evenings have arrived. Also, I've been busy preparing empty beds for the Winter by planting rye and a legume mix in them. In the Spring this will be tilled in, adding a lot of nitrogen and other good things to the soil. Last year I put rye and clover on most of Lee Ann's garden and there was a big difference in the areas with and without. The rye also helps to break up the soil with its extensive root system leaving the soil like butter when you work it, really nice!

After a couple of months gap I finally have salad greens again - hurrah! There is lots of lettuce, arugula, mizuna, and red mustard. With the help of the hoophouse at the farm I am hoping to keep a salad mix going until December. Eliot Coleman (my farming guru) uses a simple hoophouse with row cover over the greens maintaining a crop throughout the Winter in Maine; so I'm feeling pretty optimistic that we can do the same thing here in our balmy zone 8.

Beautiful copra and red onions after having cured in the sun for about 3 weeks. Some will be given to my CSA customers and others we will use over the Winter.


Our local farmers' market has been extended for four more weeks! There are at least four produce vendors who still have an abundance of wonderful veggies and there are still customers wanting to buy them so it makes sense to just keep going! I've been taking what I can pull together but wasn't really prepared (my focus has been entirely on the csa), next year I will plan for the farmers' market too and hopefully have an abundance of good stuff too.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally - another post!

I can't believe how quickly the weeks fly by! The last time I wrote I had just completed week #7 of my CSA and this week is #13!! This Summer we have had non-stop visitors; Paul's Dad from California, my parents from England, friends from Holland, Paul's brother from California, my friend from Australia! It was great to see everybody but some downtime is appreciated now to catch up on things - like writing blogs! :o)

Below is a pic of my Dad who was a great help with weeding.


I am very happy with the season; it has far exceeded my expectations for my first year. I'm happy with my ability to maintain a constant supply of veggies for my csa customers, although I had one mishap where I didn't keep the succession planting of lettuce going so ran out of salad mix a couple of weeks ago. I was aware I should have been planting but with the rash of visitors and too much going on let it slip. I won't let that happen next year!

Also, the Gibsons farmer's market has been booming! This is due in part to a program sponsored by the BC Gov that gives coupons, only eligible at participating farmers' markets, and only eligible for fresh produce (no crafts or baked goods), to specific groups that apply. I gather there are two groups that were successful in the Gibsons area: a mothers and tots group and a low-income support group. This is huge for our market because we are the only place on the coast people can use their coupons (the Sechelt market is, surprisingly, not members of the Farmers Market Association). As you can imagine all us produce vendors are running out of produce each and every Saturday! For me it is a really nice boost for my first year of business. Of course, I'm kicking myself for not planting more as I could be making more money each week if I had - oh well, it is better than the alternative; having too much produce and not being able to sell it!

Here are a couple of pics of the farm taken a couple of days ago, I regularly get people stopping and telling me what a beautiful garden I have! It is a bonus in so many ways having this space but a big one is that it is so visible. All my other spaces are in backyards so nobody gets to see them.


One of the neighbours at the farm is Linda and Gabrielle who operate The Green Room. They are wonderful people who have become friends. Linda has been so supportive and helped me with great advice over the past year as I struggled to get going. Their farm is fabulous and has a big commercial greenhouse that is heavenly to walk into. Right now their greenhouse is overflowing with tomatoes, green peppers and cucumbers. Below is just one row of gorgeous tomatoes.

Below is a picture of my csa pickup station. This doesn't show everything because Paul took it while I was still setting up but gives an idea of how I operate. Everything is laid out in tubs and customers are given their produce as they arrive. I'm planning, as the membership grows, to have a similar system but there will be a chalkboard indicating what people can help themselves to each week. Other large csa programs have everything prepackaged in boxes for pickup but I really like showing the abundance of produce before it is taken away. Though, unfortunately, the people who come later in the day miss out on that which is too bad!

And here is me, dirty and sweaty from working in the garden, showing off my first crop of tomatoes! :o)

Sun and heat - finally!

We have had two weeks of absolutely glorious weather! How nice to finally feel the sun after our cold wet Spring. The veggies (and weeds) are loving it, everything is looking fabulous. Although, there has been one mishap; all the turnip died, almost overnight it seems! I knew that something was nibbling at the leaves (flea beatles perhaps?) and they have been struggling with the dry weather a bit, but all of a sudden they all just gave up. I think it was a combination of lack of water and being stressed by what ever attacked them.

On the positive side the carrots and beets are ready and looking great. There is something extremely satisfying to me about pulling root vegetables, you're never quite sure how big/long each one will be so each one is somewhat of a surprise as it emerges from the earth - what can I say, I'm a simple girl with simple pleasures!! :o)

I have completed week #7 of my main season CSA delivery and I am very happy with how it has gone so far, no short falls or disasters! Also, the farmer's market is turning out to be more fun than I thought it would. I was kind of dreading it - I'm really most comfortable being by myself in the field and letting somebody else sell - but I'm enjoying seeing my regular customers each week and talking about food with others.

A couple of days ago I picked all my garlic. It looks fabulous! Huge beautiful bulbs! I was going to just sling them over a piece of rope under our porch (the perfect airy, shady spot to cure garlic) but Paul built me a drying rack instead, looks very European and cool - check it out below.
I will be using most of this garlic as my seed for next years harvest. I purchased this years batch and it was quite expensive so I would like to build up a much larger volume of garlic without the expense.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

first wet farmer's market!

I have just got home from a wet, windy, chilly farmer's market. Regardless, a fair number of customers turned up - good for them! The Gibsons Farmer's Market needs support, from both the vendors and the customers; it is kind of a symbiotic relationship - they both need each other! My business is all about 'local' and 'community' so I'm committed to supporting this market even though I know it is likely more lucrative to attend other markets.

This past week I had some beautiful cauliflowers and some broccoli for my CSA customers, and this coming week I'm excited because there will be new Russian fingerling potatoes ready. I had some last night - very tasty! The fennel bulb is still producing and thickening, so it is good to know that they don't all come at once and that I can stagger harvesting them. By the way roasted fennel bulb is absolutely delicious, I had some last night!

I'm learning which items I did not plant enough of; I'm already thinking ahead to next year and what I will plant substantially more of and what I will plant less of. More cauliflower, broccoli, cabbages, arugula, peas, fennel bulb, leeks. Less lettuce and mizuna!!! Although I'm overrun with them this year you just never know how they will grow year to year so perhaps I will just keep growing as much as I can. Also, I am planning on having double the customers for next year.

I'm very excited about my canteloupe. They are my little babies that I am nursing along. There are five growing right now and there should be more as they are still flowering. Keep your fingers crossed that they keep thriving and there just may be locally grown, organic cantaloupe in a few months!!

Check out this beautiful picture I couldn't resist taking of freshly picked beet greens and viola flowers - gorgeous - I love my work!

Summer has arrived!

This week there was a lot of changes/additions to the infrastructure of Backyard Bounty. First, changes to the farmer's market stand. Paul (my husband) improved the signage dramatically. I think it looks so much better! Also, I brought more produce to make the display look more abundant. One of my CSA customers, Sally, offered some more great suggestions that I will implement this coming week. Slowly the stand will evolve until I am happy with it. Below is Paul's daughter Emily who came to help me at market last week. Thank you Emily!


Paul did a fabulous thing for me this week that will help my time management - he found me a really great used small rototiller on Craig's List. I LOVE it! I couldn't afford a new one so he drove all the way out to Maple Ridge, brought it back and spent a day servicing it to get it working. Gotta love handymen partners! :o)

And that's not all - Paul also built another hoophouse at the farm so that I can plant my tomatoes etc out under cover (I'm sure you are all aware that tomatoes need to be grown under cover to help avoid blight). My current hoophouse is overflowing with tomatoes in pots, which are all quickly getting root bound. The new structure is 10'x30', so there is lots of room.


This weeks veggies are:

salad mix - the salad greens are not slowing down at all!
Italian parsley
kale
chives
peas
garlic scapes - garlic tops, called flowers or garlic scapes, are a gourmet delight! Steam them whole and serve with melted butter like asparagus. Cut them into short lengths to add to a stir fry. They have a delicate garlic flavour which gives a subtly different and delicious flavour to the sauce.
zucchini - I hope! They are growing nicely, just not profusely.

Enjoy the sun! :o)

CSA delivery and Farmer's Market

This past couple of weeks has been very busy - mostly weeding - the weeds are growing almost as fast as the veggies, particularly at the farm where the newly turned over soil is chock full of weed seeds. I've also been doing a lot of planting: carrots, parsnip, cucumbers, turnip, bush beans, beets, scallions. My 'to do' list is still very long though - never a dull moment! :o)

Here is a picture at the farm a couple of weeks ago (it already looks more prolific than this). What fun it is to compare to the pictures of the land back in April when it was fallow, I can really see all the hard work I have done!


This week I will be harvesting:

salad mix - the usual mix of lettuces with a little extra added
fennel bulb - I chopped up some kale and fennel and sauteed them together in a little olive oil and garlic until tender - yummy!!
rainbow swiss chard - looking incredibly beautiful in the garden, it really is a rainbow of colours
parsley
peas - the snow peas are starting to produce well now; enjoy them as is, added to salad or sauteed.
red mustard
mizuna
maybe a baby zucchini - they are producing already but not in great numbers yet, hopefully there will be enough for one each this week

Other news, I attended my first farmer's market on Saturday. It was a lovely day and was quite well attended. Please spread the word that the Fiddlehead Market in Gibsons is every Saturday 9-1pm. I was quite nervous about going, particularly because I would have to do my first market alone (everybody was busy!). It started off well, I managed to get the canopy up (my biggest concern), but then while setting up the table the leg broke off!! I couldn't get it back in, and a friendly gentleman couldn't even bang it back in with a hammer. I'm quite proud of myself because I managed to 'jimmy' it together and it held for the whole time.

I had plenty of greens (I was concerned that I would run out), received lots of encouraging comments, and enjoyed meeting a whole bunch of new people. People are quite intrigued by the concept of farming in other people's space.


I'm going to work on changing my display a bit. After looking at this picture I think it looks pretty sterile. I want it to look more appealing/inviting from afar.

Spring's Bounty

Well, this is the first week of the 2008 CSA season! It is very exciting for me to see my dream realized and to be sharing the abundance growing in the gardens. A reminder that the pick up will be on Thursdays at 811 Marine Drive in Granthams (the corner of Central and Marine) between 3-6pm.

The season starts with lots of greens. In your bag this week will be:

assorted salad mix a yummy mix of 5 types of salad greens, red mustard, endive, arugula
dill delicious if generously added to your salad mix, with salmon, added to your favourite soup, or make a dill dip
flat leaf parsley
a head of lettuce
kale below find a really great, easy to make, kale soup recipe that will make a kale lover out of anybody!
mizuna a really tasty green that is delicious steamed, added to salad, or included in a stirfry
radishes
and maybe fennel bulb this is almost ready and may be included this week or next

As the season progresses you will find more variety in your bag, and quantities will increase. Growing right now are carrots, snow peas, snap peas, beets, potatoes, peppers, basil, swiss chard, daikon radish, broccoli, cauliflower, celeriac, scallions, kolibri, onions, chives, zuchinni, patty pan squash, cucumber, tomatoes and just planted yesterday bush beans and edamame. Phew....no wonder I've been so busy!

The past week has, yet again, been insanely busy! Paul and I held a huge garage sale (combining our households means 2 of everything!) and then over a few days moved the rest of my stuff over to his. The move is finally done! Yeah, now my life can get back to some semblance of normality and routine perhaps.

The last few days were spent entirely in the gardens. How nice to finally write that! I pulled out all the pac choi and chinese cabbage at Tim and Wendy's that had gone to seed and replanted with peppers, tomatoes and basil. The mizuna is growing into a forest so I've cut it back to stop it going to seed. At the farm I've planted out the zuchinni and squash that I had started in the greenhouse - some are already fruiting! Yesterday I seeded two 30' rows of tri-color bush beans, 1 row of silverado swiss chard, 1 row of rainbow chard, 1 row of edamame. Gotta love the Earthway Seeder that made short work of seeding.

Today I'm off to Lee Ann's to start more carrots, lots of carrots. Of course in between plantings there are major amounts of weeding to be done. I've found that keeping on top of the weeding is the only way to go, so each time I'm at one of the gardens I spend a good hour hoeing or pulling weeds.

Oh, this week I went to see Barbara Kingsolver who was appearing at the Vancouver Writer's Festival. She appeared with her husband Stephen Hopp, they were delightful. I had already read her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle so there were no surprises, but it was fun to see her in person and listen to her thoughts on being a locavore.