Hyacinth

There are several different varieties of hyacinth. The most common are Grape Hyacinth and the kind pictured above, Hyacinthus orientalis. Hyacinth comes from a bulb and is poisonous. It needs a cold winter to bloom every year which is why it does well in Rhode Island. We planted our hyacinth bulbs near the front door since they have a wonderfully strong perfume aroma.

Magnolia

A couple of years ago Karen bought me a small Star Magnolia tree. We planted it in the front year and it has been doing well. It is still small, but this year was the first year it had a full bloom. Magnolia, I've sometimes heard it called Tulip Tree, blooms in the spring in Rhode Island. This picture really doesn't show off how nice the tree looks, but in a few years this specimen should be a real show stopper every spring.

Greenhouse

After two years of trial and error and six months working on this project, the greenhouse is finally up and operational. I certainly learned the hard way not to cut corners or scimp when building a greenhouse. Several earlier editions tried using PVC pipe for the greenhouse frame. These plastic frames ulimately failed in high winds. So, last year, with a lot of help from Fletch and Karen's brother Jeff, I finally was able to frame out the greenhouse and get the steel hoops in place. Karen helped me pull the plastic skin over the frame (on a very windy day!) and her experience with greenhouses helped me secure it down. So far so good. We have had big storms and high winds and everything is still in place. As you can see from the picture above, we have moved tables into the greenhouse. I have also put a potting bench in there with seed starter mix, fertilizer and a wireless thermostat. The greenhouse is small by commercial standards (only 28'x14') but when I am inside it seems like a lot of space. I've already planted several flats of lettuce and other greens and expect to plant several flats of tender annuals next weekend.

Spring is here!

It's been a rough winter in Hope Valley. There was lots of snow this year and hard blowing winds. However, it looks like most of our plants came out none worse for the wear. The first sign of spring is when the crocus pop up. They are still blooming at One Love Farm. The next sign is when daffodils bloom. While we are a few weeks behind the rest of Rhode Island due to our location in a low lying valley, protected tete a tetes (mini daffodils) are in full bloom! It won't be long now!

Lilacs

Last fall we moved lilacs from an unprotected area in front of the house to behind the house near a wall (see post below). Although we had a harsh winter in Hope Valley, the lilacs seem to be thriving this spring. We are very much looking forward to watching their progress throughout the spring and summer.

Fall transplants

Lilac being moved to its new home.


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

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

End of the season

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

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