Radishes

Radishes are in season at One Love Farm. I was never a big fan of radishes, but Karen got me to like them just like she got me to like Brussel Sprouts and Beets and how I got her to like Mushrooms.

Radishes are an early spring crop that like cool weather. Luckily, this spring has been very cool in Rhode Island. Most people are only familiar with the round red radishes you get at the grocery store. When picked and eaten fresh, they are tasty. We grow and sell them at One Love Farm (see picture above). But, like many vegetables, there are lots of varieties of radishes. You may have seen the white Daikon Radish. It is long and kind of looks like a carrot. At One Love Farm, we are partial to the French Radish. Especially a variety called D'Avignon. It has a slighly milder radish flavor (see picture above) and has a nice red and white color and tapered shape.

Last year, our friends made a dish or roasted veggies. It had all the usual yummy indgredients like potatoes, peppers, carrots and garlic. But we were shocked to learn that they roasted radishes as well! I was skeptical, but trying them, I found that the radishes had taken on an entirely different flavor that was mild and sweet.

We will have both round radishes and french radishes for the next few weeks at the Richmond Farmers' Market, so stop by and get some for your salad or be adventurous and roast some!

Opening Day

Saturday was the first market of the season at the Richmond Farmers' Market. The weather was perfect and turnout was tremendous.

Above is a picture of the Future Farmers' of America tent at the market. The kids at Exeter-West Greenwich High School have been growing plants all spring and they sold the fruits of their labor to many happy customers. You can see the One Love Farm tent right next to the FFA tent. Karen took a picture of the tent with the new One Love Farm banner, but for some reason I had a rotton look on my face, so I'm not posting it!

Since spring has been cool and wet in New England, not many crops are ready for sale. Cedar Edge Farm has lots of veggie and flower transplants, but One Love Farm won't have spring crops like lettuce for a couple of weeks. We do have a limited supply of chili powder and cayenne pepper along with birdhouses I made from gourds we grew last year. The market is also selling Narragansett Creamery
cheeses. This week we sold out of all our cheese, so be sure to get to the market early to get yours! Next week Chariho's signing group Encore will be performing at the market. See you there.

Above is a picture of Cedar Edge Farm selling veggie, herb and flower transplants.

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.