One Love Farm

Turnips

2011-11-30T01:29:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-26T13:30:00.001-08:00

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

2011-11-23T03:32:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-15T16:01:00.000-08:00

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.

Snow!

2011-10-30T08:19:00.001-07:00

Turnips

Peppers
Carrots

Last year we returned from a week of 70 degree temperatures in Italy to snow the first week of November. That early snow storm was a foreshadowing of a very snowy winter. Yesterday, a Nor'easter roared up the east coast and dropped two feet of snow in Northern Massachusetts. We had dinner at our friend's house in Foxborough and driving home late last night was an adventure of wind, ice and driving snow. But, in the boondocks of Southern Rhode Island, we got mostly rain and a couple inches of snow. By the afternoon, the sun had melted most of the snow and the storm is mostly forgotten. I just hope we're not in for another brutal winter.

The good news is that there are crops that like the cold weather and even the snow. Turnips love cold nights and the reason we eat them in the fall and especially at Thanksgiving is because they do so well in the cold and will be ready to harvest in November. Carrots, Beets and Radishes like the cool weather, too. In fact, I'm looking forward to a bountiful November harvest of Carrots. Arugula is another good cold weather crop. Today, we took some Arugula and had it on pizza. Arugula won't get its distinctive peppery flavor until temps drop into the 30s at night.

Coyotes

2011-10-18T18:01:00.001-07:00

Our Beets and Carrots have been ravaged this fall. Not the root, just the tops. It looks like someone went down the row with a weed whacker. At first I thought it might be rabbits, but we haven't seen rabbits in several weeks at the farm (Coyotes must have got them). Then, I thought it might be deer because I saw a few tracks near the planting beds. I couldn't really make out the type of tracks since the rain had distorted the shapes of the tracks. But, we haven't seen any deer at the farm recently.

We have, however, seen coyotes lately at the farm. Even though they are normally nocturnal animals, I have seen them during the morning and evening. Today, Karen saw two coyotes in the garden and took the pictures you see above. They were having a grand old time eating the tops of beets. Karen scared them off, but now I have to find a way to organically get rid of them without hurting them. The only real method I have seen online is by using wolf urine, since wolves are natural predators of coyotes. We'll see how it goes, but I'm open to ideas if you want to drop me an email.

Sage

2011-10-16T04:33:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I cut some Sage for the Richmond Farmers' Market and our own kitchen at One Love Farm. When we sell Sage, people always ask what to do with it. There are tons of uses for Sage, some culinary, some fragrant and some ceremonial.

Sage goes very well with carrots, so we like to cook Carrots in butter and Sage. Just blanch the Carrots in boiling salt water for a minute or two until they are al dente. Then, put them in a saute pan with butter until they are just starting to caramelize. Add Sage (either whole leaves or chopped) and let the leaves wilt. Serve hot. You can also do the same recipe, but add Scallions and toss over hot bow tie pasta. Serve with Parmesan Cheese and hot pepper flakes or Chili Powder

I also like to burn dried Sage as a sort of incense. I've posted about this before. Native Peoples have used Sage for cleansing ceremonies. Yesterday, I gave some Sage to my friend Allen, a world famous artist. He is getting ready to open his shop selling his handmade Native American Wampum, created in the traditional style. Allen told me he will use the Sage in the traditional way, to cleanse a new space of negative energy.

Fall Crops

2011-10-11T03:25:00.000-07:00

Beets

Radishes

Earlier this week I posted about a frost that killed most of our tender annuals last week. Since then, we've had three days in row of 80+ degree temperatures. But the nights have still been down in the 40's. Sunny days and cool nights are perfect weather for Fall crops. At One Love Farm, we plant beets, carrots, radishes and arugula for Fall harvest. The cool nights give the veggies more flavor. Radishes taste crisper and spicier. Arugula gets its trademark peppery tang. Planting these crops in August and September is a lot of work. Especially when there is so much other stuff to do in the garden in late summer. But getting these veggies into November is definitely worth the effort.

Frost

2011-10-09T05:42:00.000-07:00

Basil, done for the season

Eggplant Frostbite

Wednesday and Thursday night we received a hard frost at One Love Farm. This is a little early for most of Rhode Island (my friends in Newport and Providence didn't get frost and probably won't for a couple of weeks). In fact, talking to people at the Farmers' Market on Saturday, a lot of folks in Hopkinton, Richmond and even Hope Valley didn't get frost this week. But, One Love Farm is in a low spot, even for Hope Valley so we get frost in early October every year (October 10th in 2010 and October 12th in 2008).

You'll be happy to know that the Rogue Tomato I posted about last week survived the frost. That's because he is sheltered by the house and back stairs, which radiates heat at night and creates a tiny micro climate. Micro climates are areas which are different from the surrounding areas. There can be many reasons for the differences in environment. In this case a man made structure (the house) causes a micro climate of a few square feet. When we lived in Warwick Neck, we had a micro climate there due to the Narragansett Bay keeping temperatures cooler in the Summer and warmer in the Winter than the surrounding area. At that house, we often didn't get frost until well into November and one year we even harvested tomatoes for Thanksgiving!

Even though the frost kills off tender plants like basil and tomatoes and eggplants, many species love this cool weather. Arugula, for example, loves a couple degrees of frost overnight. Later this week, I'll post about some plants that are thriving at One Love Farm this fall.

Rogue Tomato

2011-10-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

Harvesting tomatoes a couple of weeks ago, I dropped a couple near the back door. Karen saw a Chipmunk munching these treats on the back steps. Last weekend I noticed a tomato sprout in the gravel next to the steps. Just shows how hearty plants can be. Dropped in rock with little soil during fall weather, this tomato sprout looks strong. Of course we will have a frost long before it can flower and bear fruit, but this just goes to show that you don't always have to sow seeds during the traditional timeline for planting.

Passing showers

2011-10-02T07:51:00.001-07:00

What happens when you combine a downpour with one of the dirtiest job at the farm? You get muddy. Really, really muddy.

Tomatoes are done for the season, so Karen and I were pulling out the last 80 Cherry Tomato plants. By October, the vines are everywhere and tangled together. First we take out the stakes. Then you take out the plants. When you rip them out, tomatoes go everywhere. On the ground, in the paths, under your shoes and in your face. Then, the dirt flies around. You gotta pick up all the tomatoes, because they will send up sprouts next spring. While this sounds like a great way to save money on seeds and time on planting, we won't put tomatoes in the same spot next year.

When you garden organically, one important thing to remember is to rotate crops. That means never planting the same vegetable in the same spot the next year (or the year after). At One Love Farm we use a three year rotation plan. So, in 2011 we will be planting lettuce and other greens in the spot where tomatoes flourished this year.

After about four huge wheelbarrows of tomatoes, tomato plants, weeds and dirt, thunder cracked and the skies opened up. Karen and I scrambled to finish up but of course we got soaked and covered in mud. We finished the job and went inside to clean up. An hour later the sun is out. We could go back out for more muddy fun, but I think we're done for the day.

Grapes

2011-09-25T17:53:00.001-07:00

Cluster of Grapes

Destemmed Grapes

Extracting Juice from Grapes

Grape Juice ready to made into Sorbet

Cabernet Sorbet

When we first moved to Hope Valley in 2002, one of the first thing I did was plant grape vines. My intention was to make from my own grapes. Unfortunately, the weather never got warm enough for the grapes and the wine produced was just OK. I ripped out the vines after a couple of years and bought grapes for California to make my own wine.

But, one rouge vine persists and today I picked the grapes, just a few pounds, but still tasty. In the past, I've made grape jam, but today I decided to make a sorbet from the grapes. After destemming, deseeding and getting rid of the skins, I used the juice with some organic sugar to make a sorbet mix. But, the mix needed a little something else, so we added a glass of Cabernet which gave the Sorbet a great depth of flavor. Not to mention a great deep color.

Pumpkin

2011-09-24T18:03:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin Gelato with shaved Chocolate

Pumpkin Ravioli

Today is the first full day of Fall. To me, Fall means squash; butternut, acorn and of course, pumpkins. Because of a wet spring and Hurricane Irene, the pumpkin crop in the Northeast is much smaller than usual and the price of Pumpkin is twice the normal rate.

Even with the Great Pumpkin Shortage of 2011, it wouldn't be Fall without Pumpkin Raviolis. Usually, we have the Ravs with butter a Sage topped with Parmesan Cheese. But today, we braised some of our Carrots and Peas in butter with Sage and added in the Pumpkins Ravs and topped with Cheese. Simple and hearty. Delicious.

We also made some Pumpkin Gelato. We took canned Organic Pumpkin and added in some Nutmeg, Allspice, Cinnamon and Ginger. Organic Sugar and Local Milk go in the Gelato, then we topped it with Shaved Belgian Chocolate.

Cherry Tomato Salsa

2011-09-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

Three pounds of Cherry Tomatoes. Washed and ready for the oven

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes. Sweet and caramelized, rich and smokey.

The Final Product. Ready to be served or jarred and preserved.

Of the varieties of tomato we grew for the first time this year, my favorite is Matt's Wild Cherry (here is a post about my now second favorite, Black Cherry Tomato). The tomatoes are small, but pack a great flavor. This heirloom variety produces like crazy, so we have tons to eat fresh, sell at the farmers' market and still have a lot left over. That's fine because I love preserving tomatoes. My favorite way as I have posted about before is by freezing, especially the heirloom varieties. But we also can some salsa and marina in jars.

While I have seen people freeze Cherry Tomatoes, I decided to make these into a salsa this week. I took three pounds of Matt's Wild Cherry Tomatoes, roasted them in the oven until they were caramelized.

I also roasted my Onions, Sweet Peppers and Garlic with some salt an olive oil until they were soft and caramelized as well.

Once cooled, I used an immersion blender to make the tomatoes into a smooth sauce and cooked them in a sauce pan until the sauce gave up half its volume. I chopped and added the peppers, onions and garlic and let the salsa simmer for another 30 minutes. I added a little salt and the salsa was ready to go! Here is a post with another salsa recipe. I put some in sterilized jars and processed in a water bath for 45 minutes. That salsa will be wonderful this winter. The rest I will have on the side of our meal of roasted garden veggies tonight(Potatoes, Peppers, Onions).

Eggplant

2011-09-13T16:18:00.001-07:00

I've posted several times about my favorite way to prepare Eggplant; Eggplant Balls. But there are lots of other ways to enjoy Eggplant. You can roast it with other veggies, like onions, peppers, potatoes and garlic. You can grill it. My favorite way to enjoy grilled Eggplant is to marinate it in Garlic Scape Pesto for an hour before grilling.

We also love to make Breaded Egpplant and freeze it. It's super easy to make. Just peel the Eggplant and cut lengthwise in half inch slices. Then, coat the Eggplant slices in flour. Dunk the slices in milk and then coat in Eggplant. Roast the in the oven until crispy. You can freeze the Eggplant slices for later or use them right away or use it in Eggplant Parm.

Husk Cherry Tomatoes

2011-09-11T05:36:00.001-07:00

Husk Cherry Tomatoes (also called Ground Cherries) is a great undiscovered treat. They look like a tiny Tomatillo, but when you peel back the husk and pop them in your mouth, you get an unbelievably sweet mango or pineapple flavor. We love just peeling them and eating them, though people do use them in jams and pies or in cocktails!

Husk Cherry Tomatoes propagate easily. In fact, much like Tomatilos (who are in the same biological family of the Physalis), we have not planted new Cherry Husk Tomatoes in several years. The seeds easily sprout the next year wherever they land. Even though I built new beds this year and last, the Ground Cherry Tomatoes sprung up BETWEEN the bricks and weed block! These are super tough and hardy plants.

And the plant produces tons of fruit. The only problem is harvesting them. They don't call them Ground Tomatoes for nothing. The vines grow along the ground so you have to really stoop down to collect the sweet fruit. Sounds like a good job for kids who are already close to the ground and don't have bad knees!

Radishes

2011-09-08T16:06:00.001-07:00

Earlier this summer, the Providence Journal did an article on succession planting. Tom Meade interviewed me on this topic and Kris Craig took some nice pictures at One Love Farm. Here is a link to that article in the Pro Jo.

Some of the best crops for succession planting are beets, lettuce and radishes. Radishes only take 28 days from planting to harvest and love cool weather. So, we plant radishes early in the spring and again in late summer every two weeks for continuous harvest. In fact, we are picking radishes this weekend for the Richmond Farmers' Market on Saturday.

Parsley

2011-09-07T03:44:00.000-07:00

We grow lots and lots of Parsley at One Love Farm. Folks don't eat a lot of Parsley (even though it is delicious fresh in salads) but we dry it, grind it and use it in our Chili Powder recipe where it adds a lot of flavor to the mix.

Last Wildflower

2011-09-06T04:02:00.001-07:00

Our wildflower garden was a surprise this year. Echinecia came up this year even though I don't remember planting it. We added Hollyhocks for next year. Sweet William came back along with lots of other wildflowers. But, as we get into September, all the wildflowers are done except for this one last wildflower.

Hurricane Irene

2011-09-05T05:30:00.000-07:00

By the time Hurricane Irene hit Rhode Island, she had been downgraded to a tropical storm. Since the path had shifted, we ended up being on the east side of the eye, which means we got more wind and less rain. To the west side of the eye, you usually get more rain and less wind. We still got a few inches of rain, but it was the wind that did the most damage. While we lost many tomato plants at One Love Farm, most of the other plants made it through fine. Best of all, the greenhouse survived. I very much expected to find blown to bits all over South County.

We also lost power for five days. Trees knocked down power lines all over the state causing three quarters of the state to lose power. We have a well, so we lost water for those five days, too. This was a problem not only for the humans at One Love Farm who like water for drinking and showering and flushing the toilet, but also for the plants who like to be watered regularly. For the established plants like the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, they did fine living off the water from the storm. But, we are also planting lots of fall crops this time of year. For them, they require watering, in some cases every day, to ensure germination and proper growth. Hopefully, they will be able to withstand this short respite from regular watering.

Early September Blooms

2011-09-04T06:05:00.001-07:00

Karen planted these Limelight two years ago and it has thrived. This one has been blooming prolifically for two months!

Russian Sage is one of my favorite under appreciated plants. It's gray silver foliage has a great aroma and it blooms forever in the summer with fragrant lavender flowers.

Turtle Head blooms with tons of pink flowers in the late summer. It might be too early to tell, but this year's Turtle Head blooms may be fewer than in past years.

Salvia is just starting to bloom. The light red tint will become a dark red by fall.

We sliced some grass off the mother plant near the water garden last fall. Strangely, this grass is sending up plumes weeks before the mother plant.

As anyone who has planted Morning Glory knows, it will reseed in places you did not intend. We had Morning Glory potted to keep it from spreading, but the seeds sprouted in locations far flung from the original pot.

Eggplant Balls

2011-09-04T05:41:00.001-07:00

We've been harvesting a lot of eggplant this year so we've been busy making and freezing Eggplant Balls. Here is a post with a recipe for Eggplant Balls. Like all good recipes, this one changes over time. Somtimes we add onion roasted with garlic and the eggplant. So, here is another recipe for our Eggplant Balls. Eggplant is so plentiful and inexpensive now that we are in full harvest in New England that you should try this staple.

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-26T18:39:00.001-07:00

Lots of people have been asking me how we are preparing One Love Farm for Hurricane Irene. With apologies for sounding facetious, the answer is everything and nothing. We are picking everything we can as quickly as possible. We're blanching tomatoes and freezing them, drying peppers and crushing them, roasting eggplant and making eggplant balls. That's the everything part.

The nothing part concerns the plants. As much as I would like to protect the plants outside, there's not a lot to do. Cover them? Surely the winds would blow off the tarp. We just have to get as much harvested as possible and hope for the best. Hopefully everyone in the path of Irene stays safe and dry.

Weeds

2011-08-21T18:06:00.001-07:00

Crabgrass

Freshly weeded

Weed block to keep the crabgrass from coming back

This has been an especially bad year for weeds. Crabgrass grows in beds, between beds and even in cracks in the asphalt or in a handful of dust that blew up next to a rock. The roots can go down over a foot making the weeds especially difficult to get out.

But really, all those are just excuses. When harvest comes in, weeding takes a backseat to .picking veggies. And, as you can see from the pictures above, weeding has taken a backseat for a few weeks. Today, I weeded several beds and pulled weeds between some of the beds. Then, I put down some weed block in an attempt to keep the weeds from coming back. It may word to keep weeds from between the beds, but as sure as the sun rises, I'll be out there next week pulling more weeds from veggie beds

Tomato Soup

2011-08-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite time of the growing season. Tomatoes, eggplant, onions, peppers, basil and so much more are coming in fast and furious. The question is, what do you do with all this bounty? We freeze tomatoes and pesto, and make eggplant balls and freeze them as well. We process peppers and keep onions and potatoes for the winter. But we also eat lots of this fresh produce during August, September and October.

Last night Karen took our tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil and made an amazing soup topped with olive oil. Then, she put a piece of bread baked by our friend Isis at the bottom of the bowl and labeled soup on top. I love these meals where everything is from the garden (except the bread). Can't wait for Karen's ratatouille with more of our veggies, including our potatoes.

Tomatillo

2011-08-19T16:35:00.001-07:00

Looking back at the four years I have been doing this blog, I'm surprised that I have never posted about tomatillos, because we've been growing them for so long and love cooking with them. Also known as husk tomatoes, tomatillos are used in Mexican dishes. Tomatillos are easy to grow. In fact, I have not planted tomatillos in about six years because they reseed easily. I have tomatillos growing 200 feet away from the original bed. Likely a bird carried the seed or I tossed an overripe one and the seeds sprouted the next spring.

I've seen lots of recipes for Tomatillo Salsa. Here is a link to a recipe from the New York Times food section. But, I much prefer roasting the tomatillos. Be sure to wash the tomatillos in warm water first. The tomatillos have a sticky film on them that washes off easily. Then roast them in the oven until they are nice and soft (some of the tomatillos will get brown on the top). Let the tomatillos cool and add onion, garlic, cilantro, salt and a cayenne pepper. Blend in a food processor and serve with chips.

Valencia Tomato

2011-08-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

I have heard a lot of people complain that tomatoes are late this year. And, compared to last year, they are right. Everything was early in 2010 and we were harvesting tomatoes in mid July. But, in 2009, we didn't harvest tomatoes until September. 2009 and 2010 are the extremes, and this year is about average; harvesting tomatoes in August.

We have been harvesting lots of heirloom varieties like Black Prince, Matt's Wild Cherry, Green Zebra, German Johnson and Valencia (pictured above). Speaking of Valencia, coming up in a couple of weeks in Valencia, Spain they will be holding the annual tomato fight in Bunyol near Valencia. Please spend the day pelting each other with tomatoes. Check out this link for more sloppy information on this messy festival.

Oak Park Hates Veggies

2011-08-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

My motto as a homeowner has always been "More garden, less lawn." That means taking up grass whenever possible and planting veggies. Then, I learned about the City of Oak Park, MI prosecuting a homeowner for doing just that...

The town rips up your front yard to put in a new sewer line. Instead of planting grass you decide to put in a veggie garden. Nice raised beds to plant tomatoes and cucumbers to feed your family. What a good example to set for your kids to teach them where their food comes from.

Then, the city gives you a ticket because your garden is not to code. Why? Because the city thinks that the only things you can plant in your front yard is grass and trees. You put up a website and Facebook page to show the insanity of the ticket in hopes that the city will see the error of its ways. Instead, you are charged with a misdemeanor and face 3 months in the gray bar hotel. Much media coverage ensures and the City Planner, instead of making an apology digs in his heels. In the end, there is a happy ending. The court drops all the crazy charges against you.

A postscript to this story has the woman in Oak Park, MI moving to Seattle with her family so her husband can take a new job with Amazon.com. I am sure the city of Seattle is more accommodating to veggie gardens.

Dried Chiles

2011-08-15T16:46:00.001-07:00

We grow a lot of hot peppers (chiles) at One Love Farm. But, we don't often sell them at the farmers' market. Instead, we dry them in a dehydrator, crush them into a powder using a blender and mix them with herbs to make a chili powder. This year we are growing the usual suspects; Cayenne, Hot Portugual, Anaheim and Pablano. We also got some Big Jim Chile seeds and are growing them for the first time. They seem similar to Pablano as evidenced by this recipe in Saveur. We like our Chile Rellanos with potatoes and cheese, but this recipe is really nice, too.

Onions

2011-08-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

50 pounds of onions

Onions are a favorite to grow at One Love Farm because they can be planted in early spring before many of the more tender crops. So when you are itching to get something in the ground, onions are a good choice along with your peas, beets, radishes and hearty greens. We plant onion sets. Those are the mini onions that you plant directly in the ground. You can also plant onion seeds, which we have difficulty germinating or seedlings which are tiny onion sprouts.

This year I planted red, white and yellow onion sets in early spring. Onions like full sun and beds with good drainage that are weed free. We got two out of the three criteria. Can you guess which one wasn't accomplished?

This weekend I dug up the onions, washed them off and put them on a screen in the garage. We will use the onions fresh this summer and store the rest in the basement for fall and winter. Here is a link to a good article about growing and storing onions. I have found in researching onion growing a lot of conflicting information about growing and storing onions. Some say to wait until the leaves have all turned brown before harvesting, some say to harvest when only some leaves have turned brown. Some say to pull out onions and others say to dig them up with a garden fork like a potato. Some say to wash the onion before curing, others say to leave the dirt on. I say experiments and find what you think works best.

Potatoes

2011-08-08T17:44:00.001-07:00

I'm sure you've always wondered what 35 pounds of Fingerling and Blue Potatoes looks like. Wonder no more!

Stolen veggies

2011-08-07T03:59:00.000-07:00

Snack for a rabbit

Rabbits take a bite out of a sweet pepper. Deer munch on a grape vine. Woodchucks mow down a row of lettuce. Once I even saw a bird flying from my garden with a tomato in his beak! But that is nothing compared to old ladies who will pick your plants clean when you are not looking. Here is a link to a great story I read in the New York Times today about "sidewalk grazers."

Cayenne

2011-08-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

It has been hot and dry the last few weeks, so the peppers have thrived. We picked some bell pepper and Karen stuffed them with rice and veggies. Pablano are a few weeks away, but Cayenne and Hot Portugal have started to turn red and some are ready to pick. I'll be drying them for Chili Powder this week. I've already started drying parsley as well which is a key ingredient in Chili Powder.

Sunflowers

2011-08-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

Sungold Sunfowers. Check out the bees pollinating the flowers.

Purple Basil

2011-07-31T10:37:00.000-07:00

We didn't plant any Purple Basil at One Love Farm this year. But, as you can see, it seeded itself from last year's plants and greatly expanded the area where it is growing. The plants are growing in a stone walkway (I guess the plants in the beds last year dropped their seeds here) so you have to be a little careful when walking, but if your foot brushes up against the basil, you get that nice aroma when passing by.

I posted some pictures showing the growing cycle of the basil. You can see how big the basil has grown since the spring. You can use purple basil the same way as regular basil. Mash it with olive oil, salt and garlic for pesto or use a few leaves on pizza. You can also eat it chopped in salad, although I find the leaves a bit more leathery than green basil leaves. We even chopped some up and made a purple basil gelato with lemon last week!

Potatoes

2011-07-27T17:29:00.001-07:00

I wasn't expecting to harvest potatoes. I was just weeding the bed (isn't organic farming glamorous?) when I noticed some potatoes peeking up above the soil. I had noticed that the potato plants were starting to die back (sure sign that potatoes are ready for harvest) but chose to ignore it.

So, I grabbed my pitchfork and dug up a single plant since I didn't have time to dig them all up. As you can see from the picture above, I got a few pounds of potatoes from this single plant. This variety is Fingerling, one of my favorites for roasting. We also planted some blue potatoes.

Growing potatoes is pretty easy. Here is a link to a good article on growing potatoes. Plant them in early spring in deep trenches and use the hilling method to add dirt over time. In other words, dig a trench two feet deep and drop the potatoes in. Cover with a few inches of soil. Then, when the potato sprouts and sends up green shoots, cover with more dirt. Repeat several times until you have a hill. This will protest the stem of the plant, but more importantly, greatly increase the productivity of the plant and give you a lot more potatoes.

Potatoes get harvested when the plant dies back. Use a pitchfork and try to be careful not to stab the tuber. In reality, this is difficult and you can expect to have a few potatoes come up on the tongs of your pitchfork. Use these potatoes right away or they will rot. Karen says harvesting potatoes is like Christmas because it's a surprise with each pitchfork full.

Potatoes are very susceptible to pests. The potato beetle is the most common. There are organic controls, but I have had only marginal success with them. The most effective way to control the beetles is by picking them off the plant one by one and crushing them between you thumb and forefinger. Or you can drop them in a glass of soapy water. Like I said, organic gardening is very glamorous.

Eggplant

2011-07-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

Eggplant is one of my all time favorite vegetables as you can see from the many posts I have done over the years. I have posted about Italian eggplant, but my favorite is Asian Eggplant. It is more tender and has fewer seeds than the Italian variety. It is also easier to peel and cook.

One of the problems growing eggplant is insects. Flea beetles have hammered my eggplant in the past and this year the Japanese beetles have been a challenge. The beetles don't eat the fruit, but the leaves of the plant. They do such extensive damage that the plant doesn't produce any flowers or fruit and eventually dies.

Flea beetles are difficult to control. I have used soap, nematodes and other organic insecticides. None have really controlled the flea beetles, but they have helped a little. With the Japanese beetles, I spent every morning picking them off the eggplant and potato plants. Not an easy job, but it does control the insect population. As you can see from the pictures above, we have a nice crop of Asian eggplant this year.

Late July blooms

2011-07-24T05:21:00.000-07:00

I've been posting all spring and summer with pictures of what is in bloom during the season at One Love Farm. From the crocus that can bloom when there is snow on the ground to the Black Eyed Susans that are in full color now and don't seem to mind the lack of rain, it has been an explosion of color this year. Right now, some of my favorites are in bloom. Like the under appreciated Russian Sage. It has delicate lavender blooms and almost gray foliage. It's wonderful sticky scent is a bonus. Also, the old time Rose of Sharon. If you are not familiar with this plant, ask your grandmother.

From top: Zinnia, Shasta Daisy, Russian Sage, Rose of Sharon (two pictures), Limelight Hydrangea, some water plant whose name I don't know and Black Eyed Susan.

Frog

2011-07-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

I've posted about frogs many times in the past. From the peepers who keep us up during mating season to the frogs who make our water garden home, we have a lot of frogs at One Love Farm. This morning when I was picking squash, this tiny frog jumped on my hand. I'd seen small frogs this size before, but they were always brown. This guy was green and as you can see from the picture, he is tiny.

Coyotes

2011-07-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Karen spotted a coyote cub drinking from our water garden. She called me and I saw him with his face down in the water. Karen ran to get our camera, but it was too late, he was gone. I have posted in the past about coyotes in our neighborhood. How they started showing up a few years ago and how the rabbit population declined. Then, as fewer coyotes came along, the rabbits bounced back over the past couple of years. Now, we've seen coyotes more regularly and I suppose that means we will be seeing fewer rabbits over the next few seasons.

Finches

2011-07-15T12:35:00.001-07:00

I posted earlier this year about hawks and a red winged blackbird. There are always a lot of birds around One Love Farm. When I got back from La Strada Wood Fired Pizza in Matunick, I noticed some finches in the wildflower garden, so I took some pictures.

Squash Blossoms

2011-07-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

I just picked the very first zucchini of the season. One tiny, measly zuke. What do you do with one puny squash? Well, I had some onions and basil so I chopped them up and folded it into some goat cheese. Then, I made some rice and added the cheese mixture.

When selecting squash blossoms to eat, it is important to pick the male flowers. That is because the female flowers will become squash. The male flowers will not. So, don't let them go to waste. Stuff them with rice or cheese or veggies or whatever you like. Dip them in flour and fry them up.

So, how do you tell a male squash flower from a female squash flower? It is actually pretty easy. The male squash flowers have a very thin stems. The female flowers have a much thicker stem because that will become the zucchini. Try some today, since you surely will have a billion squash blossoms if you have even a few plants!

Peas

2011-07-10T05:25:00.001-07:00

The last of the spring peas. Since I still have some fresh peas in the fridge, I blanched these peas and put them in the freezer. We will surely enjoy the taste of spring on some cold January night!

Early July blooms

2011-07-09T17:13:00.001-07:00

I've posted every couple of weeks with an update on what is in bloom at One Love Farm. The point being that we tried to plan with color in mind as well the size and shape plants along with when they bloom. Right now we have some beautiful lillies in bloom along with lavender (see the out of focus bee in the picture? The bees are going crazy pollinating the lavender). Hostas have sent up their flower spikes and our new echinecia is flowering. We're also seeing tons of daisies and coriopsis that are in full color.

Tomato Supports

2011-07-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

First off, Happy 235th America. You don't look a day over 228. I spent my morning pruning tomato plants and tying them to bamboo stakes. I've posted before about bamboo stakes being my favorite method of supporting tomato plants.

The reason I need to prune tomatoes is because most of the heirloom varieties we grow are indeterminate. That means they will vine out aggressively and produce fruit throughout the season. Pruning helps promote growth by making sure the entire plant gets enough sun and is off the ground where fruit can rot or be prone to disease. Here is an excellent article on pruning tomatoes.

Since it was so hot and sticky today, I only finished about 1/3 of the pruning and staking, but will continue the job next week. As you can see from the pictures above, there is a huge difference between a tomato plant that has been pruned and one that has not.

Elderflowers

2011-07-03T06:51:00.000-07:00

I've complained about our late spring this year. But, even though it took longer for some veggies to get going, and some perennials bloomed late, many perennials are coming in at the same time as last year or even earlier. That is noteworthy because as I posted last year, everything bloomed and harvested early in 2010. For example, we have lavender before July 4th this year, just like last year. And, Elderberries are finishing up their blooms, where they were just starting last year at this time. Last year, I posted a recipe for Elderberry Lemonade and here is a link to a bunch of adult drinks featuring Elderflower Syrup. This year, I've made a bunch of Elderflower Syrup and am going to try and make a minty, lemony, Elderflower Sorbet out of it. We'll see.

Peas and Carrots

2011-07-02T15:13:00.001-07:00

Did you ever wonder why some veggies are often served together? Well, besides the fact that some veggies taste really good together, the other reason is that they are in season at the same time. For example, tomatoes and eggplant both are in season in late July and into August. Roasted eggplant with roasted tomatoes or Eggplant Parm are great dishes featuring both eggplant and tomatoes.

You've probably been eating frozen peas and carrots since you were and kid. The reason they go together is that they are both spring vegetables. Planted in early spring, peas and carrots are ready for harvest in June. We planted our peas and carrots and couple of weeks late, so we are just harvesting them now.

Blanch the cut carrots in some boiling water. Take them out and shock them in ice water. Then, quickly blanch the peas for 30 seconds in boiling water, take them out and shock them in ice water. Then, put the peas and carrots back in the hot pan with some butter and salt. Add some pepper and chopped fresh herbs. Thyme is especially good.

If you have lots of peas and carrots to harvest, blanch them and shock them in ice water. Put them in freezer bags and in the freezer to keep them for up to a year.

Camomile

2011-06-29T17:24:00.001-07:00

Picked Camomile tonight. One. Flower. At. A. Time

Yarrow

2011-06-28T16:45:00.001-07:00

Nine years ago, Karen's brother and I built a formal patio with brick pavers. The job was brutal in the August sun and with all the bending and crouching, I could barely walk for a week afterwards. The next summer I got three pallets of irregular flagstone for an informal area. I planted some thyme, iceplant and a few other herbs to fill in the spots between the flagstones. One of those plants that I used was Yarrow.

Yarrow has been used by humans for centuries as both a food and medicine. In fact, Achilles was said to have his army carry it because of its use in stopping bleeding from battle wounds. Too bad Yarrow couldn't stop a spear to the heel, eh Achilles?

Yarrow spreads quickly and as you can see, it has taken over a large part of the flagstone garden. When the Yarrow blooms in June, we get a sea of tiny white flowers. In July, the flowers turn brown and the plant starts to look ratty. So I will cut them down to show off the flowering thyme behind the Yarrow.

Late June blooms

2011-06-27T18:02:00.001-07:00

About every two weeks I have posted with pictures of what is in bloom in the garden. As I look back over the posts, I am amazed at the variety of flowering plants we have planted over the years

As I write this in late June, Tiger Lillies are in bloom along with one of my favorites, Lavender. Hollyhocks, Lillies and Delphinium are also in bloom.

Cactus

2011-06-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

Years ago, our friend at Fenner Hill Farm kept turtles with their sheep. We would bring some of our lettuce when it went to seed to feed the turtles. They loved the greens and we liked watching them happily gobble them up. Our friend gave us the cactus in the picture above as a thank you for the feeding the turtles.

We planted the cactus outside, not expecting much, and for years, our expectations were met. Then a couple of weeks ago, Karen dug up the cactus along with a nearby Azalea. Karen replanted the Azalea in a bed next to the driveway. She put he cactus in a pot and put it on the patio along with some newly potted Hydrangea and Margarite Daisies. Wouldn't you know it, the cactus immediately took to its new home, sent out dozens of new buds and bloomed with the first flower ever this morning. The lesson we learn over and over again is, if a plant is struggling in one spot, try moving it to another spot. It just might thrive with a change of scenery.

Garlic Scapes

2011-06-24T17:00:00.001-07:00

Last year, I posted about how everything came in two to three weeks early. Garlic scapes were cut on June 12th. This year, I'm harvesting them two weeks later. Garlic Scapes are the flower pod for the garlic bulb. If you don't cut off the garlic scape, it will go to seed and flower. When this happens, the plant sends all its energy to reproducing the flower pod and takes it's energy away from the bulb. But, if you cut off the garlic scape, all the energy goes to the bulb. This is how you get a nice, full bulb of garlic come the fall.

An added benefit is using the garlic scape for some great eating. Some folks use the scape in stir fry like a scallion. I've also been told to marinate them in soy sauce. But my all time favorite way to prepare Garlic Scapes is to make pesto. Just take the Garlic Scape, put it in a food processor with some salt (and maybe some cayenne pepper) and drizzle in some nice olive oil. We put the pesto in sterilized jars and freeze. Then, we enjoy the pesto in soup, with pasta, in salad dressing and as a vegetable marinade before we put them on the grill. Harvest your garlic scapes now and tell me what you like to do with them.

Romaine Lettuce

2011-06-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

We grow two kinds of Romaine at One Love Farm; green and red. Both taste great and have a wonderful crisp texture. Romaine is best known as a salad green, especially in Cesar Salad. The problem for vegetarians is Cesar Salad dressing usually has anchovies. So, I've added a link for a vegetarian Cesar Salad. Romaine leaves are also large and sturdy so they are great a great substitute for flat bread or tortillas when making wraps.

I like to harvest Romaine when it is very as a cut loose leaf and also in the traditional large heads. Either way, Romaine is delicious in salads. The key to a nice crisp salad is the wash the leaves well and spin them dry. Soggy leaves will dilute the dressing and make an untasty mess. Once dry, cut out any large ribs on the leaves and cut the leaves into small bite size pieces. Way better than any bland lettuce you will get at the grocery store! Let me know your favorite kind of lettuce.

Peas

2011-06-20T17:32:00.001-07:00

I have not planted peas in many years. When I got my first house in Warwick, I tried to plant peas a couple of times, but they never germinated. I can't explain why they never sprouted, maybe I planted them too early, maybe too late. Maybe they were over watered or not watered enough. Whatever the reason, I didn't plant peas for ten years figuring it was just not meant for me to have peas in my garden.

This spring I decided to give peas another try. I planted them in early spring in a raised bed with a lot of compost worked in. I built a small trellis for the peas to climb and watered the seed bed every day until they sprouted ten days later! The pea tendrils climbed up the trellis and tons of white flowers covered the vines. The next week I was picking pea pods and steaming them with other veggies for dinner. The great thing about peas is that they keep coming for weeks, so we will have a supply of fresh peas well into July. If you have more peas than you and your neighbors can eat, blanch them and freeze them.

Red Winged Blackbird

2011-06-19T06:53:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my mom on the phone Friday when I heard the red winged blackbird in our backyard. I snapped a few quick pictures and told my mom the story of Enzo, the crazy bird at One Love Farm. She reminded me of a bird that built a nest in our mailbox when I was a kid. For two summers, he wouldn't let anyone near the mailbox so we had to stop home delivery and my mom would drive into town to pick up our mail.

Sweet Willaim or Candytuft

2011-06-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

In October 2009, Karen and I took a trip to Virginia and Washington DC. One of our stops was Monticello. Thomas Jefferson was a dedicated botanist and even listed his occupation as "farmer" on his census form. In addition to the garden for the plantation, he had grapes for wine and planted an orchard.

In addition to the house tour, there is a plantation tour where you can learn about the lives of the slaves who planted, and harvested the garden as well as keeping the house and tending to the animals. Though none of the slave houses are left standing, some slave house foundations have been uncovered. It is interesting to note that the talk about slavery on the tours of Monticello is a relatively new development. For decades, the treatment of slaves was glossed over, and there was no mention of Jefferson's treatment of the slaves.

After the tour, we visited the gift shop. In addition to the usual set of knick knacks, T-shirts and DVDs, there is a selection of vegetable and flower seeds. We bought some seeds, including a flower mix. Karen and I planted the packet in the spring of 2010 and they bloomed that summer. But, most of the flowers were annuals and did not come back this year. We got mostly Sweet William back this year, although Karen thought it could be Candytuft as well. Let me know what you think this flower could be.

Beets

2011-06-11T04:24:00.001-07:00

I was never a big fan of beets growing up (who was?). I only knew the jarred, neon red variety overly sour and turning your whole plate and everything on it bright red. Then, Karen introduced me to roasted beets and we started growing them. Now we love the greens of beets in salads (including the baby micro greens) or sauteed with olive oil and garlic. And, the beet root itself is terrific roasted and in a salad with goat cheese.

Beets are fairly easy to grow. They like cool weather. In fact, they are one of the first things we plant in March along with radishes on St. Joseph Day. Once beet seeds germinate, it is important to thin them out. Beets like a little space to form the root, but don't throw the thinnings away. These tiny greens are are wonderful in salads. The full root will form and be ready for harvest in about 60 days. These beets took a little longer due to the cool and wet spring. Plant beets every two weeks to ensure a continuous harvest throughout the season. Plant again in late summer to get fall beets.

There are lots of different varieties of beets and it is fun to have different colors and shapes of beets on your plate. Touchstone Gold is one of the best yellow beets that we grow at One Love Farm. My new favorite is Forono, an Italian variety that is cylindrical in shape. The shape is interesting and the taste is terrific. If you see Forono seed, pick some up and try it.

Peony

2011-06-09T16:40:00.001-07:00

We've never grown Peony before, but Karen planted one three years ago. As the old saying goes, the first year they sleep, the second year, they creep, the third year, they leap. As you can see, this is the leaping their year.

Poppies

2011-06-08T16:52:00.001-07:00

Like many people, my first memory of poppies was in The Wizard of Oz. Of course, I had no idea what the symbolism of the snow falling on the poppies while Dorothy and her friends got sooooo sleeeepy. Later, I remember seeing Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page wearing a poppy suit while performing. Paul McCartney mentions poppies in his song "Penny Lane." This is a reference to poppies being a symbol of war dead in England as well as Canada and the US.

I didn't realize until much later that you can grow poppies in the garden. They are easy to grow and bloom in a variety of colors (see the salmon colored poppies above). The poppies we grow in New England are different from the California poppy which is a smaller annual flower. And, the opium poppy grown in places like Afghanistan is illegal in most western countries.

Hawk

2011-06-07T03:56:00.001-07:00

When we moved to Hope Valley in 2002 one of the first things we noticed was the abundance of wildlife. rabbits and snakes, foxes and coyotes, hawks and herons and tons of other birds. And, of course, frogs. We only saw a couple of hawks at first, one, two or three circling above our neighborhood. The family has increased over the years and now there are at least seven hawks. They will circle over a spot, using their incredibly sharp eyesight to spot prey. If they don't find anything, they will circle again in a nearby area. I have seen them work for hours before finding something to eat. Usually, small rodents like field mice which are in the huge open field behind the house. I took this picture the other day and it is from a fair distance away. But, I have seen the bird circle only a few dozen feet above my head, heard the whoosh of the air as their wings keep them aloft and once, with my head down while weeding, was startled by a huge shadow as a hawk swooped right over my head.

Early June Blooms

2011-06-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

The nice thing about having a large perennial bed is being able to enjoy a wide variety of plants. Our berm is "L" shaped and is 100 feet long and almost as wide. We've planted pine trees that will eventually completely dominate the base of the "L" (If they don't already) with ornamental grasses anchoring top leg. Mountain Laurel and other shrubs and small trees are also in this area, but the blooms in a flat area of bed contain blooming perennials like peonies, hydrangea, lavender, iris, creeping phlox, rose of sharon, poppies, hollyhocks, delphinium, russian sage and, of course, black eyed susan.

Above are some pictures of what is in bloom today. From top: poppy, iris, foxglove. As Karen and I were weeding the bed and taking down a couple of small dead trees (victims of a harsh New England winter) I noticed that in addition to what is blooming right now, the lavender is budding out. In a couple of weeks, we will have tons of sweet smelling lavender blooms.

Lettuce

2011-06-04T11:00:00.001-07:00

We are in prime lettuce harvest season at One Love Farm. By practicing succession planting, we have a constant harvest of lettuce from May through July. Then in August, we will plant again for the fall and have more lettuce until frost in October. Some frost tolerant varieties of greens, like Arugula, will give leaves until November. The Providence Journal did an article on succession planting and interviewed me about which crops are good for succession planting. Kris Craig came to One Love Farm and took some pictures of our lettuce which you can see here.

Succession Planting

2011-06-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

Last year, I posted about extending the growing season and boosting your harvest by succession planting. Tom Meade from the Providence Journal interviewed me about this subject recently and ProJo photographer Chris was at One Love Farm yesterday to take pictures. Check out the article by clicking here for some more of my thoughts on succession planting as well as the insight Tom has from his research and years of outdoor reporting for the Providence Journal.

Dianthus

2011-06-01T03:32:00.001-07:00

Last year, a warm and sunny April meant flowers bloomed early and veggies were ready for harvest earlier than normal. For example, Dianthus bloomed two weeks earlier in 2010.

Dianthus makes a nice ground cover since it will spread. Some people find the pink flowers sickly sweet, but most people think they are fun. Since the blooms only last a week or two, the foliage needs to hold interest. I really like the blue/green spiky leaves that are soft to the touch.

Camomile

2011-05-30T11:25:00.001-07:00

Last spring, I posted about my new herb bed and planting camomile. As expected, with no effort whatsoever, the camomile (also spelled chamomile) reseeded itself, sprouted and flowered this spring. I harvested the flowers and made a nice tea. Camomile is nice as both an iced tea and a hot tea. It has a natural mild sedative so people often drink it before bedtime. Some people find the taste of camomile tea too mild so I suggest adding a few sprigs of mint to liven it up.

Radishes

2011-05-29T06:26:00.001-07:00

Radishes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. Seeds germinate in about a week and are ready to harvest in three to four weeks. But, there are a few things to keep in mind when growing radishes. First, they like the cool weather. Luckily, it has been a cool spring in Rhode Island, so the radishes have loved that. If radishes are grown in hot conditions, you might get radishes with green tops but not root.

There are a couple of pests that damage radishes, but the most common one in this region is the flea beetle. It feeds on select green leaves (arugula and eggpant are two other favorites). I usually don't bother trying to control flea beetles on radishes unless there is an infestation since they don't harm the root (the edible part) of the radish. Part of growing organically is understanding relationships in the ecosystem and letting nature take its course. That is why you see "shotholes" or pinholes in my radish greens. That is the hadiwork of the flea beetle.

But, when it comes to arugula and eggplant, flea beetle control is necessary. With eggplant, the flea beetles feeds on the young leaves of the plant, stunting its growth. I remember one particularly bad year when flea beetles devistated my entire eggplant crop practically overnight. By the time I was aware of and identified the problem, it was too late.

As for arugula, the flea beetle doesn't do as much structural damage to the plant, but the sight of insect holes in your salad greens can be off putting. The solution is BT (Bascillus thuringiensis). BT is an organic control that is mostly used to kill worms and caterpillars and their larvae. It is a naturally ocurring microrganism that paralyzes the bug's digestive track. It is important to note that when I say worms, I mean worms like Cabbageworm, not worms like earthworms. And when I say caterpillars, BT is used extensively to control hornworms, the bane of tomato growers. I have also found BT to be somewhat effective in controlling flea beetles.

Radishes are most commonly used in salads. But many people have shared with us different ways to enjoy radishes like a radish and butter sandwich. Last year, The New York Times documented a movement to bring radishes to upscale restaurants by roasting them. And, in a recent episode of Iron Chef America, both contestants made radish sorbet(!).

Late May Blooms

2011-05-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago I posted pictures of flowers that bloom in early May. Now, in late May a whole new, set of plants is in bloom. Above are pictures of Columbine, Lupine and Iris. So, as you can see, compared to three weeks ago, we have a whole set of new plants displaying interesting blooms. Coming soon, poppies, more varieties of Iris and Peonies.

Tomato Supports

2011-05-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

One way that people find my blog is by doing a Google search. Besides Googling One Love Farm, the most common keyword phrase is "Tomato Supports." In the past I have posted about various attempts I have made to keep tomato vines off the ground. Of all these methods, the old reliable, low tech bamboo stake works the best.

Today, Karen and I planted 200 heirloom tomato plugs. I put the stakes in the ground now even though they obviously don't need them yet. The reason is because once the plants get bigger, their roots will spread out. Putting a stake in the ground will disturb the roots. While the picture above shows a very small tomato plant, it was actually several inches tall when I planted it. I plant tomatoes deep in the ground because the stem will send out roots below. This means a stronger root system, and therefore, a stronger, more productive plant. I also worked in a small handful of organic fertilizer in the soil with the plant.

All these tomatoes are heirloom varieties. Some, like Black Cherry, Valencia and Striped German, we have planted in the past. Others, like Black Prince, we are trying for the first time. Throughout the season, I'll update you on how they progress and the taste of each variety of tomato.

Rainy Day, Dream Away

2011-05-20T16:28:00.000-07:00

If it seemed like this spring was rainier than normal, you are right. In Rhode Island we got a lot more rain than last year (but thankfully not the 500 year flood like last year). Temperatures were also much cooler. While we had several 70 degree days in April and May last year, and even one day in the 90s(!), this year we only have had a couple of 70 degree days and no days in the 80s.

As a result of the rain and cool temperatures, plant growth has been stunted. Last year I bragged about early lettuce and getting tomatoes three weeks ahead of schedule. On May 16th, 2010 I posted about Dianthus blooming. Today, it is barely budded out and won't bloom for at least another week. Last year, poppies were blooming at this time, today only a coupe of heads have formed.

But, the good news is that the weather has broken. Newport was foggy and rainy today. But as soon as I got over the Jamestown Bridge, the sun was out and the skies were blue! I got home and picked a salad of lettuce and radishes for dinner and enjoyed it with a glass of wine from Puglia (Italy). Best of all, I can share some of this bounty with the folks who shop at the Richmond Farmers Market. Although the harvest is small because of the cool weather, I will have lettuce micro greens and radishes at the market tomorrow. I hope you can be there.

Exploding Watermelons!

2011-05-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

Need another reason to go organic? How about exploding watermelons? Farmers using chemicals to grow bigger watermelons instead found that the fruit exploded in their fields making watermelon bombs. Gallagher would be proud.

Rabbits

2011-05-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

When we first moved to Hope Valley, there were a lot of rabbits all over this area. In 2006, a rabbit made a nest for her new babies in my lettuce planting. That was the peak of the population because soon after coyotes started moving into the area. Until last year, I rarely saw a rabbit and even then, no more than one at a time. Last fall, I started noticing more rabbits. This spring, there are even more rabbits and they are munching on grass and dandelions. I'm sure it won't be long before we start to hear the yelps of coyotes in the middle of the night, communicating with the others in the pack and tracking down their prey like the rabbits who have been flourishing over the last two years.

Lilacs

2011-05-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Two and a half years ago we moved our lilacs to their new home in the back of the house. Since then, they have done much better and have beautiful blooms every May. While our lilacs are only about 4-5' tall, about twelve to fourteen years ago I planted some of the same lilacs at Karen's mother's house. These lilacs are now ten feet tail and produce very nice blooms. Karen cut some at her mom's house earlier this week and put them in a vase in our kitchen.

One last note about lilacs. Many folks will tell you to prune the old growth from the plant in the fall. This is a mistake since lilacs bloom on old wood and set their blooms for the next year almost immediately after the current year's blooms fade. Here is a link to a good article with detail on getting the most from you lilac.

May blooms

2011-05-08T09:30:00.001-07:00

One thing we try to be aware of is when plants bloom. Of course, the look of the blooms (color, size, texture) are important. But, we want to make sure that there is something blooming all season long. I posted about daffodils in early spring. The weeping cherry (check out how the canopy filled out since the hard pruning at the end of 2009) below bloomed a couple of weeks ago. Now we have creeping phlox (not one of my favorites, but lots of people like them) and baby's breath. Fruit trees are blooming as well and in the next week or so, dianthus will bloom. Then poppies and later in the season delphinium, lavender, hollyhock and russian sage. So, when you are putting in your new perennials this spring, keep in mind when they will be in full bloom in addition to how they look and smell when they are blooming.

Red Winged Blackbird

2011-05-02T17:34:00.001-07:00

Enzo

"Enzo is crazy." That is a phrase that you hear at our house all the time. Enzo is a red winged blackbird that comes to our house every spring.

Three years ago, we started noticing some tapping at our front door. We'd open the door and no one was there. Again and again this happened. After a several days I noticed that when I opened the door a bird would be flying away. Then, I noticed a tapping at the back of the house.

So, I set up a stake out. I waited for the tapping at the front door and opened it. When the bird flew away I quickly went out the back door and saw the bird coming around the corner of the house. He spotted me and flew off.

Next time, I sat by the corner of the house and waited for the bird to come back. After a few minutes, he was back at the front door tapping on the kick plate underneath the front door. I knocked on the wall and he flew away to the back of the house. I peeked around the corner and the bird was tapping on the basement window.

At this point I realized he was tapping at his own reflection. He saw himself in the kickplate and saw himself in the window. This went on all spring and summer and then he was gone. It was during this time that Karen and I named the bird Enzo, it just seemed to fit. The tapping would start early, early in the morning (sometimes before 5am) and not end until late afternoon. "Enzo is crazy."

By late fall, Enzo was gone. We missed him and his tap, tap, tap at the door. But, he returned the next year and started up with his tapping routine.

I tried several times to take his picture, but he was always too quick. Always out of focus, far away or out of the frame I could never capture a picture. "Enzo is crazy."

Last summer, we painted the house and took out the kickplate. Enzo stopped knocking at the door, but we stil heard his song at the house and saw him hanging out in our pine trees and coming down to the water garden for a drink. The picture above is Enzo in a pine tree in our back yard.

This spring, Enzo returned with a girlfriend. Of course we had to come up with a name. I suggested Melita because I am currently reading "The Jukebox Queen of Malta." Karen suggested Mirella because we had just finished watching the Italian epic "The Best of Youth." "Enzo is getting lucky."

Micro greens

2011-05-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

Radish Micro Greens

Believe it or not, there are veggies you can harvest this early in the season. Lettuce, Beets and Radishes all should be thinned to allow them to reach their full maturity. To do that, you pluck out some of the seedlings when they are very small (these radish thinnings are less than an inch tall). But, don't throw them out. Wash your thinnings well because the white and red parts were underground. Then, dress them with some oil and vinegar like a regular salad. The taste is a very, very mild radish flavor. You can do the same with beet seedlings, lettuce seedlings, basil seedlings and arugula seedlings. After you enjoy your salad of micro greens, check out the price of a container of micro greens at the grocery store. You'll never throw out your thinnings again!

Mint

2011-04-30T03:55:00.001-07:00

Mint has to be the easiest herb to grow. It will grow in all conditions (just needs some sun) and doesn't need to be watered once it is established. The only tricky part is figuring out where to put it. Mint is extremely invasive. One little plant will take over a huge space in just a year or two if it is not contained.

The picture above shows some mint near my back patio. I didn't care about the mint taking over (and you can see that it did!) because this area was previously unused and next to some stairs and a path. We harvest mint constantly from spring until frost and enjoy it in many recipes. You can put a few leaves in your tea (it is especially good in iced tea), or add to ice cream. Mint is a nice garnish and a few leaves will sweeten a salad. We also enjoy mint in mixed drinks.

Mint Julep is super easy to make. Just add an ounce of Kentucky Bourbon to a glass full of ice. Then add an ounce of simple syrup and mix. Garnish with a sprig of mint. Just in time for the Kentucky Derby. Don't forget your hat! I've also seen recipes where powdered sugar and water is used instead of simple syrup and the mint leaves are muddled, which is nice as well.

Mojitos are also an excellent way to enjoy mint. Just take a glass full of ice, add a shot of rum, a teaspoon of sugar and half an ounce of lime juice. Add a dozen or so mint leaves and muddle. Add two ounces of soda and mix. Very refreshing on a summer day!

Sucession Planting

2011-04-26T16:39:00.001-07:00

Pea Sprouts

I get asked two questions from home gardeners all the time. First, "How do I get more out of my garden?" Second, "When do I plant my garden?"

Secession planting is the answer to both questions. Getting more out of your garden isn't about getting more from each plant, but by extending the planting season. So, you don't plant your garden all at once, but all the time during the season.

We plant radishes, beets, peas and greens in early spring. Then, we plant potatoes in May. Tomatoes, peppers, squash and melons after last frost in late May. Finally, we plant more greens, radishes and beets in late summer and garlic in late fall. They key is to plant a little every week throughout the planting season. For example, we are planting beets, greens and radishes every week through early June. This allows us to plant different varieties of each veggie, like five different kinds of beets. That way, you get some plants to harvest all season long instead of a huge harvest for one or two weeks in the summer. This also spreads the work over a much longer period of time. The last advantage is you can beat the pests in the garden.

Pests have a normal life cycle like any animal. If the summer squash you plant in June gets decimated by squash beetles in July, the summer squash you plant in August will thrive with no pests to bother them. One final note. If you do follow this plan, you likely will have to plant a lot of your veggies from seed. That's because there are not a lot of squash plants at your local nursery in August.

Daffodils

2011-04-24T12:36:00.001-07:00

Daffodils planted against a fence
Daffodils next to the driveway

Two toned daffodils. Note the hosta sprouting up next to the flowers.

I posted three weeks ago about mini daffodils blooming in the garden. After a frost Thursday night and a chilly, rainy Saturday, I was ready for some sunshine and warm temps. Little did I know (or the weatherman for that matter who predicted on and off rain with cloudy skies) that today would be the first 70 degree day of the year with lots of blue skies. I took pictures of daffodils blooming because they seemed to capture the spirit of such a nice day.

Daffodils should be planted in the fall for spring flowers. They are easy to care for and unlike other bulbs, squirrels don't like them and won't eat them, although they have been known to dig them up. There will grow in all parts of the US and are inexpensive so plan to plant some more in your garden this fall.

Hosta and Bleeding Heart

2011-04-21T16:37:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe, but in five years of blogging, this is the first time I've posted about hosta or bleeding heart. Hard to believe, because these are my two favorite shade loving plants. And, they both start coming up in April.

This is the perfect time to divide your hosta and multiply the plants in your garden. Most important when choosing a spot for your hosta or bleeding heart is to find a spot with shade and rich soil. I often see hosta planted along sunny driveways. This will only lead to heartbreak because the hot sun scorches the leaves in summer and washes out the vibrant color of the leaves. At One Love Farm, we have few shady areas so we use the spots directly next to the house which provide shade. We also have some spots on the edge of the yard underneath pine trees with lots of shade.

Spring is the time to divide your hosta and bleeding heart. Take a sharp spade and drive it straight down into the soil. Cut around hosta with the spade. You can make as many new plants as you want as long as they are at least six inches or so in diameter. Replant your new transplants in a shady area and they will do well. Truth be told, hosta is pretty hearty and you can transplant almost any time of year. But it is easiest now before the leaves have unfurled and the plant will not suffer as much transplant shock.

Arugula

2011-04-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the out of focus picture. The arugula sprouts are so tiny that the picture came out blurry.

I've posted about arugula many times in the past. I've talked about planting, harvesting and saving seeds.
That's because arugula is one of my favorite greens. While the peppery taste can be a bit overpowering for some people, I love the strong taste and the hearty greens can be planted in early spring (these sprouts were planted April 10th) when other greens would surely not germinate.

The other thing that I love about arugula is its versatility. You can harvest the leaves when they are young and made a wonderful salad. Or you can mix the leaves in a salad with milder greens to make a less potent mix. You can use the leaves in sandwiches and I have even made a pesto of arugula leaves.

But, my all time favorite way to have arugula is when the leaves are fully mature and thick like spinach. I take the leaves and cut out any heavy stems and wash and dry them well. Then, I cook some nice pasta (Penne does especially well in this recipe). Once Al Dente, I drain the pasta and reserve about half a cup of pasta water. I put a clove or two of minced garlic (raw, not cooked) in a large bowl with some olive oil and add the hot pasta. It is very important to add the pasta hot as it will cook the garlic. Toss until the garlic is well mixed and heated through and then quickly add the arugula. Again, the pasta must be very hot to wilt the arugula. You can add Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and olive oil to taste. I know this may sound long but this recipe is super quick and easy and so very tasty. It will only be a few weeks before I can make this dish with my own arugula.

Peach buds

2011-04-18T16:26:00.001-07:00

My peach tree budded out last week. As you can see from the picture, I didn't prune the tree like you are supposed to in March. Next year, I'll make sure I do it in the early spring.

Besides pruning, the other thing you have to do is thin out the peaches. If you don't you will get smaller fruit and I have even seen the peaches so heavy that they break the branches of the tree! The best time to thin out the peach crop is when the fruit is small (about the size of a quarter). According to Ohio State University (where the best study on backyard peach tree growing was written), peaches should be thinned to 8 inches apart.

At One Love Farm we have an issue with birds eating the peaches on the tree. I have tried using bird netting, but found that tree growth during the season makes it tough to get the netting off the tree after the season ends. So, we have hung aluminum pie plates on the tree. The sound and reflection from the pie plates seems to do a good job of scaring off the birds. And that means more peaches for us to enjoy come August.

Compost

2011-04-12T16:44:00.000-07:00

Rain is forecast intermittently this week. Since I am not moving the rest of the compost until this weekend, I covered the last few yards of compost with plastic sheeting. Because, as much as moving compost by hand is a crummy job, moving wet compost is the worst job ever.

Hollyhock

2011-04-11T17:37:00.001-07:00

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Hollyhocks are one of my favorite flowers in the garden. I posted about my love of this plant last year when they were blooming at the end of June.

Yesterday, I was walking around and saw that some hollyhocks were sprouting up. I expect in 10-12 weeks we will have the wonderful blooms in the garden. If you want to plant hollyhocks, give them a sunny and dry spot. They don't mind the dry conditions that most plants will not tolerate. Hollyhocks do well throughout the United States with the exception of northern New England and some parts of the south, like Oklahoma according to the USDA. Hollyhocks have a long taproot, so once you plant them, they don't like to be transplanted. But, they are easy to grow from seed, so getting new plants is never a problem. In fact, hollyhocks reseed so easily that many people assume they are perennials. In fact, they are biennials, meaning they bloom every OTHER year. So, find that nice sunny and dry spot for your hollyhocks and they will reward you year after year with six, seven, even ten foot spikes of colorful blooms!

Re Compost

2011-04-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

I figured six yards of compost would be enough for the beds this year. Was I wrong. I used up those six yards (162 cubic feet) last week and wasn't even halfway done. So, yesterday I got another eight yards. As you can see from the pictures above, I made a pretty good dent in the pile (and a pretty good dent in my back and shoulders) but I still have about half left. With 900 square feet of planting space left to add compost, I can put down about an inch and a half to two inches of compost. When I add the organic fertilizer, I think it will make for some good planting spaces this spring.

Garlic shoots

2011-04-06T17:33:00.001-07:00

You get a couple of warm spring days and you want to get outside and start planting. But in reality, there is very little to plant this early in New England. Beets, radishes and peas are a crap shoot which is why we plant a little each week in case the ground is too cold for the seeds to germinate.

A few bulbs are up and some shrubs are starting to bud out. But other than that, about the only thing up is the garlic I planted last fall. By June, those sprouts will be eight times their size, send up a seed head (the garlic scape) which we will cut off to make garlic scape pesto. By fall, we'll have several dozen heads of garlic which we will use long before the next harvest is ready!

Japanese Fantail Pussy Willow

2011-04-05T16:14:00.000-07:00

Karen and I bought what we thought was some clumping bamboo. For several years we kept it planted near our pond where it did ok but never flourished and certainly never bloomed. Then, we got another plant and moved our clumping bamboo to another location near the water garden. It did well for you a year and then imagine our surprise when it bloomed this spring. Our clumping bamboo was not clumping bamboo at all but a Japanese Fantail Pussy Willow. The lesson we learned is that if a plant isn't doing well in one spot, it might be that it is not getting proper care or you don't live in a climate zone where it will do well. But, it could be that the plant needs to be in a different location.

Lettuce seedlings

2011-04-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

I wrote about Yugoslavian Red heirloom lettuce last year. I've also posted about lettuce going to seed. Now is the time when you start to see some plants from last years plants. Above is a picture of a head of Yugoslavian Red. I'm not surprised to see this plant pop up so early, even with overnight temperatures well below freezing. That's because the Yugoslavian Red loves the cold and is one of the first lettuces to go to seed in hot weather. Over the next couple of weeks I expect to find arugula and oakleaf lettuce plants near the beds they grew in last year. But remember, not all plants will produce well from seeds they drop the year before. For example, many hybrid plants like squash will produce vegetables that are odd looking or inedible due to cross pollination. There are seed saving organizations that can walk you through seed saving in your garden. Or, just let your lettuce go to seed and you will enjoy some more next spring!

Mini Daffodils

2011-04-03T04:29:00.000-07:00

After an extremely snowy winter and cold temps this March, I expected most bulbs to bloom late this year. But, looking back at bloom dates for daffodils they are a week early this year. Above is a picture of Tete a tetes (mini daffodils) that come out first. In the next week or so, the larger daffodils will bloom.

I happened to be in New York City on Friday and noticed that daffodils and hyacinth are blooming in the city. You would think that being only a couple degrees difference in latitude would not make much difference, but NYC is a couple of weeks ahead of Rhode Island in blooming times.

Compost

2011-04-02T12:56:00.001-07:00

Prepping beds with organic compost is one of the most difficult jobs of the year. Since we use no mechanized equipment for any farming activities, I like to say that you have to move compost three times. First, you shovel it into a wheelbarrow. The second move is pushing the wheelbarrow to the bed and dumping it in. The third move is shoveling in the bed and smoothing it out to a consistent depth. An exhausting job, to be sure, but worth it since plants love compost and will grow strong with healthy root systems.

If you are wondering about he plastic in the above pictures, I use it to keep the compost dry. Thursday and Friday we had rain (and snow!). Compost is heavy enough without adding the weight of the precipitation!

New bed

2011-03-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finished buiding the new planting bed, replacing five smaller beds. To give you an idea of how much more planting space this will give me, the five beds were 160 square feet. This new bed is 432 square feet! This new planting space will be put to good use one I add some more compost and organic fertilizer.

On another note, I planted an additional 75 feet of beets yesterday. Beets take 60 days to mature and like the cool weather, so now is a good to plant. There is a risk that the weather will be too cold and the seeds will fail to germinate, or spring rains will rot the seeds in the ground (like last year during the historic floods in Rhode Island). But, seed is very inexpensive and I will plant a row of beet seed each week in order to hedge my bet against crop failure.

St. Joseph's Day

2011-03-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Before I moved to Rhode Island in 1990, I had never heard of St. Joseph's Day. But in RI, St. Joseph's Day (March 19th) is as big, if not bigger, than St. Patrick's Day which falls two days earlier. St. Joseph's Day is a day of feasting on the Roman Catholic calendar and is celebrated as Father's Day in countries like Italy and Spain. Here, SJD is celebrated by wearing red and eating an Italian pastry called a Zeppole. Pictured above, zeppoles are similar to donuts with fried dough and filled or topped with whipped cream. They often have a cherry on top. I've seen recipes with chocolate or savory zeppoles with anchovies, but I've never seen these zeppoles in a Rhode Island bakery.

People often have a traditional Italian dinner on St. Joseph's Day. Karen made mashed fava beans (very traditional on SJD) and pasta with olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Some grilled olives and white wine were perfect accompaniments.

An Italian friend told me years ago that it is good luck to plant something on St. Joseph's Day. I searched the Internet, but couldn't find anything to support this. The closest came when I found a quote that said to plant peas on St. Patrick's Day. Not wanting to tempt fate, I prepped a bed and planted beets today. I also found a quote supposedly from the Farmers Almanac that says if St. Joseph's Day is clear, you will have a bountiful garden. Today started out cloudy, but by afternoon it was sunny. So I guess we're in for another good growing season!

Garlic Scapes

2011-03-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

I've posted about garlic scapes here and here in the past. But, I've always posted during the time of year when I am harvesting them. Whenever I display them at the farmers market, people always ask me how to prepare garlic scapes. My favorite way to use garlic scapes is in pesto. Stored in sterized jars or freezer bags, garlic scape pesto can be frozen and enjoyed year round. I always have several jars in the freezer and one in the fridge for everyday use. We drop spoonfuls of garlic scape pesto in sauces (it's wonderful in marinara) and soups. We use garlic scape pesto in rice, couscous, omlettes, pizza and bread.

Today, I made a bean soup inspried by a dish I saw prepared on TV. I took some Italian bread and grilled it with Garlic Scape Pesto. Beans with Rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper goes on the grilled bread. Some vegetable broth moistens the grilled bread and beans. Try it with different kinds of beans (I used white beans) and pestos.

Bulbs!

2011-03-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

You know spring is close when bulbs start popping up. The very first are alway the crocus. If you look at the yellow stamen, these are what are picked and called Saffron. Saffron is ued to add flavor and color to Indian dishes and rice dishes like risotto. I've never picked home grown Saffron, but maybe this year I will give it a try. I also posted a picture of some lilies that are starting to pop up. Next weekend is St. Joseph's day, so we will be planting some stuff on Saturday!

New planting beds

2011-03-12T13:49:00.001-08:00

Little did I know when I posted about an early November snow storm that we would be starting one of our snowiest winters in recent memory here in Rhode Island. But today was beautiful with warm temps and sunny skies. So I spent the day outside doing a little clean up and looking at the projects for the upcoming season. This year I decided to continue the project of increasing planting space by creating long rows out of space occupied by smaller beds. Last year, I used bricks when I made long rows in a different planting area

This year I am going to use 6x6 lumber instead of the bricks. While the bricks work well, they do have some drawbacks. In the picture above you can see a part of the brick wall that fell over. Since we don't use mortar, the brick walls fall and have to be repaired fairly regularly. So, we are going to try the 6x6 lumber. I will post pictures as the project progresses.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year and best wishes to you and your family for a healthy and prosperous 2011. I was going through some papers for the 2010 and came across this certificate from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Newport. During the growing season, we donate fresh produce for the needy in Rhode Island.

If you have a garden, you know that you always have more than your family could possibly eat at harvest. I would like to encourage you find a local food pantry or other organization that feeds the needy and make a donation from your garden.

Snow!

2010-11-14T13:55:00.000-08:00

After a week of 75 degree temperatures in Italy, we come back to snow in Rhode Island! Luckily, the hearty greens I planted this fall don't mind a couple degrees of frost at night and the snow is a good insulator. If you are interested in our trip (we talk about food, wine, fashion and agriculture) check out my blog about it.

Fall planting

2010-10-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

Though most of the harvest is done for the year, there is still lots to be done before the ground freezes for the winter. Shrubs, like lilacs, can be transplanted. Bulbs can be planted. Beds can be cleaned of weeds and debris so they are ready for planting in the spring.

Yesterday I was doing another fall chore, planting garlic. Garlic likes to be planted in the fall. The cloves will overwinter and then send up green shoots in the spring. When they send out their seed pod in the form of a garlic scape in June, you cut that off to promote growth of the bulb below the soil. When the leaves turn brown, you harvest the bulb.

Usually, we harvest garlic in August and even September. But, like everything else, garlic was early this year so we harvested in July. This year, I am planting a variety of garlic from Russia. It is supposed to be a more flavorful variety. While planting the garlic, I noticed a couple of onions left behind in the bed. Since we are down to our last few onions harvested this year, I gladly grabbed them and brought them into the house. I'm sure we'll find a good use for them!

Burning Bush

2010-10-24T09:55:00.001-07:00

When I was growing up, one of my father's favorite shrubs was the burning bush. So when we moved to Hope Valley in 2002, I made sure we had a burning bush at our place. Burning bush is an ancient shrub that dates back to ancient times and figures prominently in the bible.

Fall is when the plant really comes into its own. With its red leaves and orange/red berries, it is a showstopper in the fall garden. If you want to add this shrub to your landscape, know that it is very easy to grow, has few pests and likes sun, but will tolerate partial shade. With a plant this easy to grow and maintain, there's no reason not plant it. Just make sure that if you have space limitations to get a dwarf variety.

Pulling up stakes

2010-10-17T05:25:00.000-07:00

Bamboo stakes headed back to storage

I've tried several different methods of supporting tomato plants through the years. In the end, I found that the old reliable bamboo stake is the best way to support these vines. It makes it easy to tie them up, prune them and keep space between the plants.

At the end of the season, it's time to pull out those bamboo stakes and put them away. After a summer of tying them up, this can be a tricky job. Especially when you have several hundred to take out. All but a couple were fine and are now safely stored until next spring.

Marigolds

2010-10-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

Marigolds after the tomato plants have been pulled out

Tomato Hornworms are a vicious pest in the garden. One mature hornworm can destroy a whole tomato plant in one day. Get infested with hornworms and you can lose all your plants in a matter of days.

Because of the damage they can do, controlling hornworms is a big topic of discussion among farmers and gardeners. There are several organic methods to control these pests. Pick n' drop is a method many folks use. They pick each hornworm off the plant and drop it in a jar of gasoline or kerosine. Not exactly environmentally friendly when you have to dispose of the hornworm corpses, though. BT is an organic pestiside that some people use and it does a good job of controlling catepillars. But, I normally only use BT as a last resort as I resist spraying any kind of pesticide, even organic. I've also heard of people having success using parasidic wasps as a control.

For us at One Love Farm, we use a combination of crop rotation and hand picking of the pests (disposing them in the garbage instead of a can of gasoline) along with BT if the infestation gets really bad. This year, however, we tried using marigolds as a pest repellant. We've heard that hornworms hate the smell of marigolds and will not come near areas where they are planted. In the past we'd half heartedly planted a couple marigolds but this year we decided to go all out and see what would happen. I can tell you that we had a bumper crop of tomatoes and I didn't see a single hornworm the entire season! While one year doesn't prove anything, we will definately be using marigolds next year to try and keep those nasty hornworms away!