Turnips

One of my favorite things about having a farm is trying out new varieties of veggies that I have never grown before. I buy seeds of new veggies every spring, but my favorite way to try out new veggies is from the seeds people give me. This year friends gave me carrot and pepper seeds that did well, but my favorite of the year was the turnip seeds my friend Jackie gave me.

I planted the turnip seeds in late summer because they are a cool weather crop. It sends up green shoots in a week or two and the turnip bulb you are familiar with grows underground. Turnips like loose soil so the root can form and a good amount of compost. I use organic fertilizer on them about once a month. In 10-12 weeks, the turnips are ready to be harvested.

I'm not sure what variety of turnip my friend Jackie gave me, but these are the sweetest, most tender turnips I have ever eaten. Karen roasted them with some of our Fingerling potatoes and they were a real treat. Later, I'm going to steam them and puree them with butter for another turnip side dish.

Planting Garlic

Garlic, getting ready to go in the ground

Garlic cloves planted in rows

Turnips

Onions

I should have planted garlic for next year last month. But, I have so much clean up to do and then we were on vacation for a week. If you're interested, check out my blog about the trip to Croatia and Slovenia with a side trip to London.

Today, I finally had a chance to plant the garlic. Luckily, the weather has been mild, so we can still plant it. Last year I planted a variety called Russian Garlic. While the flavor is pretty good, the bulbs were very small so I'm planting a purple garlic this time which should have larger, more flavorful cloves.

Normally, I don't sell garlic at the farmers' market, because we just grow enough for us. But, we use a lot of garlic at our house, so we plant enough to get 100 bulbs in the fall. Not to mention all the garlic scapes we get in June!

With the warm weather, there is still time for you to plant garlic for next year. Use a good garlic you like from the grocery story (it's much less expensive than what you get from the seed stores online, just make sure you're buying organic). Till the soil (garlic bulbs grow underground so the soil needs to be loose and fluffy). Plant the garlic cloves pointy end up about 6 inches apart. So, in an 8'x4' bed, you can get 64 bulbs! Use organic compost as fertilizer and mulch with straw. Remember to cut off the scapes in June (use them for garlic scape pesto) or else you will get small bulbs.

While outside, I also noticed a few stray onions that I picked for French Onion Soup and some turnips as well. My friend Jackie and her husband gave me the turnip seeds, so this is the first time I've grown them. I'm looking forward to steaming the greens and adding to my potatoes. Karen's mom made roasted turnips for Thanksgiving, so I'm going to try that recipe as well.

Croatia and Slovenia

Karen and I just returned from a trip to Croatia and Slovenia with a side trip to London. I created a blog for this trip here.

Of course I talk about agriculture issues that I find of interest like sustainable practices and local economies selling products to the community, but I also talk about the history of this volatile region, the interesting people we met, wonderful meals we enjoyed and our course, wine. There's lots of pictures including a couple of Gigi, the retired truffle hunting pig. I hope you enjoy the blog and drop me an email or post a comment with your thoughts. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

The Onion lampoons foodies

First off, this video has some language that some people might find offensive, so consider yourself warned. But, I find it very, very funny. After all, you have to be willing to laugh at yourself. Here's the link to the video.