Wednesdays and Saturdays

 

Tomatoes ripening

Hot hot days   We finally got a little shot of rain the last week    Hoping for more tomorrow.   The plants have suffered.   We had to put a huge shade cloth over the tomato greenhouse and probably going to have to buy more shade covers.   The plants don't photosynthesize well when the temperature get above 90.    Most crop development has been stunted by lack and water hand extreme temps.   Some of the sweet corn plantings never even emerged.      The pumpkins and squash are ok.    Melons are ok.  

 

The tomatoes seemed relieved by the shade cover and are ripening nicely.    I'll have them Saturdays at the mill city market and starting July 14,  I'll have them at Mother Earth gardens down in longfellow,  3-6pm  

Thank you Steve Nodgaard for the nice photos  

 

 

 

 

Tomatoes!

 Tomatoes! 

Not a lot of room for optimism in a drought, however, there is this;  ripe tomatoes!!

  Not enough for market this weekend,  however,  I think by next weekend there will be enough to share.

    I won't be at the market this weekend.   Too much crop management.  

Next weekend I'll be back at it... harvesting and baking 

  I've been thinking about the drought.   Brings back a lot of memories from 1988.

 That year is etched in every farmers mind in this region.  I lost my shirt.   

    Dealing with it, drought, is like trying to solve a puzzle that you know doesn't have a solution.

   Or maybe playing a superior chess player and in your heart and mind, you know you can't win,  so you try to at least avoid blundering the Queen.   

   It's like that 

Busy season

 

Transplanting Tomatoes

We transplanted tomatoes this past week.   A lot of work.  We chisel plow, then rototill, then dig trenches, fill trenches with a layer of alfalfa pellets, then compost, then cover and transplant    The tomatoes benefit greatly from the effort.   

Also, we added a heater and circulating fans this year thanks in part to a grant from the mill city market next stage grant program;  I'm sure glad to have it these cold nights.  Thank you everyone who contribute to the fund and thank you all who buy our tomatoes.   ... I think I found some flower buds forming today.

The rhubarb is progressing nicely and I expect to have a bit of it by Mother's Day weekend.   

This coming weekend,  April 24,  I'll be at the market with honey,  sweet breads and sourdough 

       

                                          

Dutchman's breaches / compost time

Busy time of year, also beautiful and new each day.  I do my best to get out to the woods every day.

There's a market this weekend.  April 10 ... mill city market 

 I'll be there with breads, honey and probably some ginger snap cookies!

 

Feels like spring!!??

March has felt like spring so far ... 

 Tapping trees,  tending young tomato plants 

Working on some greenhouse projects and prep work.   Going to get awful busy soon 

 There's two Mill City markets this month.   The 13th and 27th I believe 

I'll be at both with honey,  squash bread, tomato bread,  sourdough and maybe a few other surprises too 

 Let's hope