Fall transplants

Lilac being moved to its new home.


Lilac in its new home
Fall is a great time to move plants to new locations. The trees are starting to go dormant as are shrubs so you will not disturb their growing cycle. And, if you plant them in the fall, it gives them a head start on the spring growing season. Make sure you water them in well during the day and give them a good layer of mulch so the roots won't freeze.
Another lilac next to his sibling

Today is likely one of the last 60 degree days at One Love Farm. Karen and I moved several small plants like hosta and asilbe to make room for some lilacs. We have had these lilacs since friends of ours gave them to us 12 years ago (maybe even longer than that!). They moved with us from Warwick to Hope Valley. For the last six years we have been trying to coax them along in an area of the front yard. But, no matter what we did, they would not thrive. They didn't die, they just didn't do as well as I knew they could. In fact, some of their siblings were planted at Karen's mom's house where they thrived, growing eight feet tall or more and blooming like crazy in the spring. The original lilacs in Warwick are doing well, also, growing to over 12 feet in height. So today we moved three lilacs to the back of the house. There they will get very warm morning sun and be against a wall that will radiate heat at night. In addition, the wall will help protect the lilacs from the hard winds we get during the cold weather months.

End of the season

Since our beets won't be fully mature before the end of the market season, we are harvesting them as greens. Beet greens are wonderful mixed with lettuce in salads. They are also nice when lightly sauteed in olive oil with salt and garlic. This picture show a new variety we are growing this year called blood red. You can tell from the color of the leaves where it gets its name. The green is some arugula that is also growing in the bed.

This Saturday is the last market of the year at the Richmond Farmers' Market. It has been a great first year and we're already planning to make next year's market bigger and better! If you are a vendor who would like to participate in the market or know someone who has an acoustic style band who like to perform at the market, please send us an email. In the meantime, we hope to see you Saturday for the last market of the year. If you can't make it to the market and need some chili powder as a stocking stuffer, send us an email and we will try to accomodate you. We only have a very limited supply since it takes a lot of chilis to make one jar of powder.

Frost

Zinnias after a frost

We had an early frost at One Love Farm. That shouldn't surprise us, being in Hope Valley, we usually get an early frost in October. As always, the frost was not predicted by the weather forecasters. The frost took out all the basil, tomatoes and flowers. Heartier annuals like peppers, lettuce, arugula, radishes and beets were fine. In fact, beets, radishes and arugula like cool nights which intensify the flavor of the vegetables.




We leave gourds outside during winter attached to their vines. This allows then to dry out and aquire their attractive wood looking finish. We'll pick them in the late winter and prepare them as planters and bird houses

Beets and Arugula love the cold weather. We have been harvesting our second planting or arugula for several weeks. Hopefully, we will get some beets before winter. If not, we will harvest the beet greens for salads. This is a variety called Blood Red.

Chili Powder

I love spicy food. One of the reasons I started growning my own food was to get fresh spicy chilis that are sometimes difficult to find in New England. At One Love Farm, we grow Cayenne, Cherry, Pablano and Ancho chilis. Usually, we grow Jalapeno and Habanero, but this year we gave those varieties and rest.

Several years ago I began experimenting with dried chilis. I tried drying everything from Jalapenos to Sweet Bell Peppers. The most successful types were the chilis with thinner walls that dried more easily. These types included Cayenne, Ancho and Habanero. There are several ways to dry chilis. You can tie them up by their stems and hang them in a closet or shed until they dry (this will take several weeks or months). Just make sure you have good air circulation so they do not mold. You can also put them on a cookie sheet in an oven on a very low setting (under 200 degrees). Watch them carefully so they do not burn. It will take several hours before they dry.

At One Love Farm, we use a dehydrador to dry our herbs and chilis. You put the chilis in a single layer on the tray and stack the trays on the dehydrador. It takes about two days dry and you don't have to constantly monitor the process. A word to the wise, if you use a dehydrador, put it in the basement. The fumes from the chili oil can cause some people to cough or sneeze.

Once the chilis are dry, we put them in a blender and crush them until fine. Crush the seeds (but not the stems) in the blender with the chilis for extra heat. Then we put our dried herbs in the blender and crush them into a powder. You can use a wide variety of herbs, but we use a lot of parsley and orageno in addition to other other herbs on our chili powder. Mix the chilis with the herbs and you have a wonderful fresh chili powder.

Remember to wear a mask when grinding and mixing chilis! The powder will make you cough and sneeze and make breathing seem difficult!

Once the powder is made, we put it in an airtight jar or shaker. It will keep for a 6 months to a year and is so much better than the junk you buy in the grocery store that has fillers and who knows what else in it!

You can use chili powder in all kinds of dishes. Of course, it is wonderful in chili. In just the past week, I have also used chili powder in salsa, soup, pesto, and with herbs and oil as a marinade. People also use it to spice up their eggs in the morning!

Fall Crops

Arugula

Fall (yes, it's coming fast!) means wonderful fall crops like butternut squash, pumpkins and even grapes. At One Love Farm we also have second harvests of crops normally harvested in the spring. Greens and root crops typically like the cool nights of the spring and fall. French long radishes and beets were a big hit at the Richmond Farmers' Market in the spring and we should have both ready for harvest in late September or October.

We also harvest Arugula in the fall. Arugula is a spicy green used in salads, on pizza and as a pesto. And, if you are wondering about the tiny holes in the Arulula leaves, those are from a common pest to the plant. Flea beatles feed on Arugula and other greens. Since we don't use pesticides at One Love Farm, we have to rely on organic controls. So far, I have yet to find and fully effictive organic control for flea beatles. However, their damage to the crop is visual only and doesn't harm the plant or affect the flavor of the leaves.

Arugula sets seeds in the hot months of the summer. We harvest the dry pods in the summer to save the seeds for next year. Inevitably, seeds drop in the dirt and we get Arugula sprouts in August. We don't even have to plants the seeds. That is the magic of nature at its finest. The plant has such a strong genetic disposition to reproduce that it will germinate wherever it hits the ground and gets rain. In fact, we have Aruguala growing outside the beds from the seed pods flopping over the side of the border and in the paths from where I carried seed back to basement. Arugula is truly an amazing plant! Next week, I will make a mix of radish greens and Arugula for a spicy salad mix available at the Richmond Farmers' Market. Come see us on Saturday.

Love Lies Bleeding

Amaranthus caudatus is also known commonly as Love Lies Bleeding, Pendant Amaranth, Tassal Flower, Velvet Flower and Foxtail Amaranth among other names. The plant is an annual and is easily grown from seed. At One Love Farm we sow seeds directly into the ground after danger of frost has passed, but you can also be successful sowing seeds indoors and transplanting after your last frost date. Love Lies Bleeding is edible and used as food in India and South America where the leaves and seeds are eaten. We enjoy using Love Lies Bleeding in bouquets where its striking red color and weeping character are enjoyed.

Eggplant

Asian Eggplant

Without a doubt, one of my favorite summer vegetables is eggplant. Although Karen is Italian in heritage, and we love Italian vegetables (look for an upcoming post on San Marzano tomatoes) we greatly prefer the Asian eggplant to the Italian varieties. The Asian variety is slimmer with a tapered end compared to pear shaped Italian fruit. What makes Asian eggplant the best is the seeds, or lack thereof. Unless picked early, Italian eggplant starts getting big seeds inside the fruit. These seeds tend to be bitter, especially when cooked. Asian eggplant, meanwhile has fewer and smaller seeds.

Asian eggplant is used the same way as its Italain cousin. We roast it in the oven with other veggies, marinate it with pesto and herbs, grill it with zucchini and bread it and bake it or deep fry it. However, by far our favorite way to cook eggplant is to make eggplant balls.

Just peel and cube your eggplant and roast it with olive oil and salt until very tender. Eggplant, I think, has an unpleasant palate when undercooked, so make sure it is very soft when you take it out of the oven. Let the eggplant cool and put it in a food processor with a clove of garlic and a pinch of red pepper. Drizzle in olive oil while pulsing on the food processor until smooth. Then, add bread crumbs and process. Add enough bread crumbs to get the consistency of dry meatballs. Take a large tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a meatball shape. Roll in flour and fry in a pan or bake in the oven at 400 degrees until cooked through. You can use them just like meatballs on pasta or in a grinder (hero sandwich). We often make dozens and dozens of eggplant balls, let them cool and bag them up. They freeze well and we love taking out a dozen for a hearty pasta dinner on a cold night January!

Purple Majesty

Purple Majesty (Millet)

Millet is widely cultivated around the world. There are dozens, if not hundreds of varieties of millet. In China, millet is staple crop grown as a grain. It does especially well in the dry areas of China. In the United States, millet has been offered in health food stores as a grain for decades.

Now millet is also grown as an ornamental. One of our favorite varieties is Purple Majesty. We use the striking purple spikes in flower arrangements. If left out, the stalks will dry and birds will feast on the seeds. Gardeners treasure the seeds and often save them. However, in northern climates like Rhode Island, the seeds must be saved indoors as they will not germinate if frozen over winter.

Zinnias

Zinnia

Zinnias are native to Mexico and the American southwest. Zinnias are now grown throughout climates in America as a beautiful cutting flower. If you like cut flowers in your house during the summer, zinnias might be a good choice for you. Zinnias are easy so grow from seed. They like rich, amended soil. If you continue to cut and harvest flowers, the plant will branch, giving you a new supply of flowers every few days for weeks. At One Love Farm, we grow many different colors of zinnia along with sunflowers, grasses and other cutting flowers. They are all available in arrangements at the Richmond Farmers' Market.

Pesto

Basil

Pesto generally refers to a sause used on pasta made of crushed basil and garlic with olive oil, parmesean cheese, pine nuts and hot, red pepper. However, there are many variations on pesto. You can substitute walnuts for the pine nuts or omit the nuts altogether and still have pesto. You can even make pesto out of garlic scapes (see earlier blog entry) or arugula.

By far the most popular pesto is made with basil. Italian basil. While we grow Thai basil and purple basil among other varieties at One Love Farm, by far the most popular variety is Italian Large Leaf Basil. Most people buy our basil to make pesto, but some use the bail in garden salad or with cut tomatoes and mozerella cheese for Caprese salad.

Besides serving on pasta, there are many other ways to serve pesto. French cooking often uses a variation of pesto, called pisto, in soups. We often use pesto as a marinade for vegetables before grilling. It is also good with grilled tofu. Whatever your use for bail, now is the time of year to get it in New England, while it is local and in season!

Garlic

Pesto:

One big bunch of basil, leaves only

One clove garlic

Olive oil

Toasted pine nuts

Parmesean Cheese

Crushed Red Pepper

Salt

Mince garlic clove in food processor

Put basil leaves in food processor, but do not overfill.

Drizzle in olive oil until pesto becomse a smooth paste

Add toasted pine nuts and grated cheese and pulse. Add more olive oil if needed.

Add salt and crushed red pepper to taste

Pesto can be frozen and kept in the freezer up to a year or longer. However, I have found it best that when freezing to omit garlic, cheese and nuts as they can discolor and get bitter. I have also found it best to freeze pesto using less olive oil. Once thawed, you can add in garlic, cheese and nuts and additional olive oil.

Tomato Cages

New fangled tomato supports

I have been struggling for years with the best way to support tomato plants. They seem so puny in the spring when you plant them. How could they possibly need so much support? Eggplant is a prolific producer and needs no support. So too, most pepper plants. But tomatoes are different. Their fruit is weighted down with lots of water and are super heavy.

In the past we have used tomato cages (anyone need about 100?). They work great at the beginning of the season. But by the time harvest rolls around, they are toppled over and the plants are back on the ground. In addition, the cages make it difficult to prune branches, a very important step when growing tomatoes.

Tomato stakes work well. But they are a huge labor drain. Every tomato has to be individually staked and they have to be retied to the stake every week or two. With so many things to do in the garden this time of year, that seems less than efficient. What usually ends up happening is that you get a top heavy plant with lots of broken branches.

This year, we decided to try something new. Pantyhose! By tieing pantyhose to tomato stakes, we can get several plants per stake. In addition, pantyhose has way more give than twine, so the delicate tomato plant branches don't break or get cut. Also, pantyhose is strong enough to support even a huge tomato plant weighed down with fruit.

The only issue was getting the pantyhose home. I just couldn't bring myself to buy 60 pairs of hose by myself (what would the clerk think I was doing with them?) So, I brought Karen along and we got out with no questions asked! I'll let you know how our new experiment works for better or worse.

Foxglove and Mountain Laurel

Foxglove

Mountain Laurel

Both Foxglove and Mountain Laurel are in bloom now at One Love Farm. Foxglove (Digitalis) is native to Europe, Northern Afica and Central Asia. It is grown in North America as an ornamental biennial. Biennials take two years to bloom. The first year the foxglove produces long leaves. The second year it bolts and sends up a long spike that produce its distinctive bell shaped flowers. Some species of Foxglove are poisonous. In fact, some Foxglove are so poisonous that you can die from drinking the water that a cut stem has been in. Because of this toxicity, Foxglove is also known as Dead Man's Bells.

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is native to the Eastern United States. Mountain Laurel grows well in rocky conditions. We grow it as a shrub at One Love Farm on a small hill where it is protected by small evergreens. In some very windy and exposed areas, we have found Mountain Laurel does not do well. It is also said that Mountain Laurel does not like limestone conditions. Further south, in the Carolinas, Mountain Laurel can be grown as a tree. The star shaped flowers bloom in late spring and early summer and come in many different colors. We love the striking red of the Mountain Laurel at One Love Farm.

This plant is poisonous. Mountain Laurel is also known as Spoonwood, allegedly becuase Native Americans made spoons out of the wood. I would not recommend trying this due to the plant's toxicity. Mountain Laurel was introduced to Europe in the early 17th century and is still successfully grown there today.

Garlic Scapes

Garlic Scapes

Garlic scapes are really the seed head for the garlic plant. Every plant uses some method to reproduce and this is garlic's. Most people do not start garlic from seed, though. To plant a new bed of garlic you take some of your favorite garlic, separate the head into cloves and push each clove into the ground a few inches. Just like flower bulbs you have to make sure the cloves are right side up. The pointy end goes up and blunt end down. Planting can be done in the fall in New England.

The garlic then sends up shoots in the spring. In June, the seed heads appear. They have a very exotic way of curling up like a coiled rope. Once they coil a few times you harvest your garlic scapes.

Without harvesting, the plant will sent it's energy to the creating the seed pod and the garlic bulb will stay very small. You can try this experiment in your garden. Plant a dozen garlic cloves. Next sping, harvest most of the garlic scapes, but leave a few on the plant. Then, in the fall, compare the size of your harvested bulbs. The ones with the scapes still attached will be one tenth the size of your fully mature bulbs.

There are lots of uses for garlic scapes. If you are adventurous, you can munch them raw. Just be sure that you really like garlic and your significant other really likes garlic as well! I use garlic scapes in stir fry just as you would a green onion (scallion). Other people have said they make garlic scape pesto or use the scapes in soups.
Garlic Scape Pesto
Garlic Scape Soup and other recipes
Garlic Scape Frittata and other recipes

Seed Saving

Arugula Flowers

Most organic farmers would tell you that the cost of seed is way down on their list expenses. Gasoline for machinery, electricity to heat greenhouses, compost, mulch, and labor are much greater expenses on an annual basis. So, many farmers don't bother to save seed. But, seed saving can be a fun activity for everyone.

At One Love Farm, the first corp to bolt (ie: go to seed) is arugula. We plant arugula early in the spring becuase arugula loves cool weather and bolts in the heat. This year, we had a good crop of arugula, but when the temperature reached 97 degrees on Tuesday I knew it wouldn't be long before little white flowers started to appear.

Those little white flowers then become green seed pods. After a couple of weeks, the seed pods turn brown and papery and eventually the seeds drop to the ground and become next year's crop. However, if you get the seed pods before they drop to the ground, you have a huge supply of seeds for next year.

Other plants are great for saving seeds, too. Tomatos, peppers and melons are great for savings seeds. Just remember to dry the seeds before storing them or they will mold or rot. Also, heirloom seeds should be saved. Hybrid seeds should not be saved. Hybrid seeds will not produce plants with edible fruits.

Many folks who save seeds, save them not only for themselves, but trade them with others. There are many seed saving networks all over the world, so if you are interested, start saving and trading your seeds today!


Seed Saver's Exchange

Lettuce and Beet greens!

Beet Greens

It's been a very hot few days at One Love Farm.
97 degrees was the high yesterday and the weather forecast is more of the same today. Normally, lettuce and greens would hate this kind of weather. Hot weather causes lettuce and greens to go to seed. And we do expect the Arugula to bolt (go to seed) soon.

However, due to the cooler and wetter than normal early spring, lettuce and greens were off to a slow start. This weather will cause them to grow. In fact, I was amazed at how the beets shot up in one single day of high 90 degree temperatures yesterday.

Lots of people at the farmers' market ask how to prepare beet greens. At One Love Farm, we simply wash them and add them to a mix of other lettuce or arugula greens. They add a mild beet flavor to salads.

Some people like to cook the beet greens. Here are a couple of recipes to try. Remember, you can always omit the bacon or substitute water for chicken stock if you want to make the recipe vegetarian.

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000308beet_greens.php

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1750,134178-240193,00.html

Lettuce
We may have our first harvest of lettuce this week. At One Love Farm we grow a variety of red and green loose leaf lettuce. It has an amazing flavor and is wonderful with beet greens or arugula or just by itself with oil and vinegar.

Arugula

Arugula seedlings

Arugula (also called "Rocket" and "Rucola" among other names) is a peppery green rich in vitamins. This year's arugula, leaf lettuce, beets and radishes have sprouted and it won't be long before we have these veggies ready to sell at One Love Farm!

When we were in Italy several years ago, we saw local women gathering wild arugula in the folds of their aprons and dresses on the roadside. If you have ever had arugula and enjoyed its strong flavor, wild arugula is even more intense.

We have been growing it at One Love Farm for years and it is very popular at Farmer's Markets. It is so popular, in fact, that we often sell out early.

Arugula loves cold weather, so we plant it in early spring (early to mid April). Arugula will bolt (flower) in hot weather and become stringy and bitter so it is important to plant arugula in the spring to get a good harvest before the hot months of summer. Because arugula is cold weather loving, it is often one of the first crops availble in the New England.

Other spring crops grown at One Love Farm include several varieties of leaf lettuce, radish and beets. This year we are experimenting with new varieties of beets and radishes that we hope will offer new flavors for our customers.

Bulbs!

Daffodils and Hyacinth

Here in New England, crocus are the first bulbs to bloom. They bloom so early that they are often surrounded by snow. While I welcome their arrival, it isn't until daffodils and hyacinth bloom that we can be sure that spring has finally arrived. With several 70 degree days at One Love Farm in the past week, the bulbs are definately blooming and shrubs and trees are leafing out. Spring is surely here!

Greenhouse - completed (finally)

After weeks of experimenting I have come to the conclusion that with regular 40-50mph spring winds, we cannot have a greenhouse made of PVC at One Love Farm. Even with all the steps I took to solidify the greenhouse, the PVC pipes were still vulnerable at the connections. During the last big wind storm several joints failed and I had to take down the greenhouse for good. The only viable solution will be to use a steel or wood frame, which I will consider next year.

In the meantime, I have used the 6mil greenhouse plastic and shorter PVC hoops to cover raised beds. This is a good solution, but with the much shorter hoops I will not be able to walk into the hoop houses and watering seedlings under the plastic will be quite a chore. However, I do have lots of space for seedlings and overall am very happy with this temporary solution.

Greenhouse Redux

We have had lots of problems with our new greenhouse. Forty mph winds (typical for spring at One Love Farm) caused the plastic skin of the greenhouse to come loose on several occasions. In addition, the constant movement of the plastic caused rips in the skin at the pressure points (especially where the clamps affixed to the poles).

I made several attempts to correct this issue. First, I extended the length of the greenhouse. This allowed the hoops to be flush agains the 4x4 clothes line base. Since these 4x4s were in concrete, they didn't move at all.

Next, I used PVC cement to reinforce the joints of the PVC piping used for the hoops. When these joints came loose, they would pop through the skin of the greenhouse and rip the film.

Unfortunately, these measures only helped marginally due to fact that the greenhouse was now 30 feet long and the longest availble 4mil plastic is 25 feet long. I tried using weather seal tape reinfored with duct tape to add the extra 10 feet. However, during a particularly windy day last weekend, the seal failed and skin was again flapping in the wind.

Finally, I decided to upgrade to 6mil clear greenhouse quaility plastic for the skin. This should have been done from the beginning. It is so much heavier and stronger than 4 mil. I also weighed down the film on the side with about 50 cinder blocks and bricks to prevent the wind from moving the plastic. Finally, I am attaching the plastic on the inside of the greenhouse with velcro and not clips.

This seems to have worked well. Today, there is a breeze and the plastic is not moving. Also, the temerature inside the greenhouse is over 100 degrees F! With the 4 mil, the temp rarely got to 70. However, the real test will come Tuesday, when the spring winds return.

Greenhouse

One Love Farm's new greenhouse
We have wanted a greenhouse for many years at One Love Farm. This year we finally got one. Rather than buying a prefab greenhouse or building one with wood and framed out walls, we used a hoop house design and built the greenhouse ourselves.

We used PVC pipe, rebar, clamps and heavy duty plastic. The total cost of materials was about $100! It took one afternoon to construct the frame and one afternoon to pull the plastic over the frame and secure it.

The difference in temperature is amazing. It is 40 degrees in Rhode Island today and with the wind it is very raw outside. Once we finished building the greenhouse, I took a thermometer into the greenhouse. It reads 66 degrees. I think our seedings will very much enjoy their new environment.