First greens!

Happy first day of May! 

May all your weeds be wildflowers and may all your bugs be ladybirds!

Raising the roof

“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for.
And the most you can do is live right inside that hope.
Not admire it from a distance, but live right in it, under its roof”
~ Barbara Kingsolver

Greenhouse!

All the parts are here, and I can almost taste fresh greens in January!
Now we just need to figure out how to assemble it....

Cold frames update

A few weeks ago, during our March heatwave, I seeded the first of our two cold frames with a mix of spring veggies: Bright Lights Swiss chard, Green Banner onions, Belle radishes, Viking spinach and an heirloom leaf lettuce mix.


The first to appear was the radishes, followed by about 50% of the lettuce. The chard and spinach were next, but the onions were pretty spotty.

Then a week later, on the first day of spring, the kids and I seeded the second cold frame with three more rows of mixed leaf lettuce, Polar spinach, Sparkler Tip radishes, a half row of Tennis Ball lettuce (2010) and a half of Buttercrunch lettuce (2010) and some red cored carrots, just for fun.

Then a few days later our 26 degree Celsius day unexpectedly plunged to a minus 8 degree Celsius night. The radishes in the first frame got killed off and the spinach tips and the sprouts on the out edges were damaged by frost, too. The second frame is faring better as the sprouts had yet to emerge at the time of this wickedly cold night.

I've noticed that the interior temperature of the frames vacillates between quite warm during the day (despite propping open the lids) and chilly at night, which is causing some stress on the more tender seedlings (not so much the spinach -- it's doing just fine).

The lettuce is ok, but small. No fresh greens for us this Easter weekend.

As this is our first early spring using the cold frames (we built them last year in late March, but didn't start seeding until April) it was a good reminder that because the boxes sit on top of the ground (not buried) I need to better insulate the outside of the frames with straw bales to buffer against these wacky temperature swings. I think adding a layer of insulation inside -- perhaps from a feed bag and/or a light layer of mulch -- would also provide some extra protection.

So it'll be a few weeks still before we're enjoying our greens but one thing I've learned is that growing food teaches patience, respect for Mother Nature's mood swings -- and perseverance!

Buried treasure

While I was clearing away winter debris in preparation for tilling the kitchen garden yesterday, I noticed some very un-weed-like sprouts poking up from one of the garden beds.

I scooped the dirt away from the base and found this.

The greens in the cold frames won't be ready for a few weeks, so this find was like unearthing buried treasure.

While most of the onions that I'd harvested in the fall have long since been eaten (it was a disappointing harvest), and the rest sprouted (not good storage onions at all) and I'd say only half made it to this size (most were the size of golf balls), this robust specimen overwintered beautifully. I pierced the skin of one and it just dripped with sweet living juice. There were several more like this, too.

I noticed some similar sprouts in the garlic bed, even though I didn't plant any cloves here last fall (the kitchen garden is undergoing a renovation, of sorts). A pack of marauding deer had infiltrated the garden late last summer and in one night of debauchery I lost my lettuce, broccoli, brussels sprouts, sunflowers, leeks and all the tops on my garlic and onions. When it came time to harvest, without the greens to guide me, I didn't know where all the cloves and onions were anymore. I thought I'd harvested all of them. Guess not!

Rather than individual cloves, these are fully-sprouted garlic heads, pearly white and smooth, without their papery overcoats.

While Lucas has little to no interest in growing food (he's all over the eating, though) he loves growing garlic. Or the idea of growing garlic. Me growing garlic. Truth be told, maybe he just loves garlic.

When I showed him my find, he dug up one of the garlic heads, pried away a clove, dusted off the dirt and popped one in his mouth. At first it tasted milder than cured garlic, but then delivered a firey kick.

I haven't yet decided what to do with these -- I think I'll roast then mash them, then smear a thick paste over some crusty bread for a early season homemade garlic treat. In the meantime, I have roughly six heads waiting in a basket in our multi-purpose laundry-bathroom-farmcrap room... and it smells delicious in there; a mix of spring earth, greens and of course, garlic. And to think they call it the stinking rose!

It's funny how this tiny harvest has got my green thumbs (and fingers) even more itchy to sink my hands into the sun-warmed earth and get growing. And to think it's only March!

Growing under glass: a cold frame update

I realize it's been ages since I've written anything about what's growing in the cold frames.

My last post was in late April, when the spinach was in its just-sprouted stage and the parsley hadn't even germinated yet.

That was then:

And this is now:


And taking a peek in the leaf lettuce and mesclun mix box... then:

And now:

I still find the transformation extraordinary -- from seed to food in just seven weeks! I know the argument for shopping at the grocery store is the "convenience" but really -- growing greens this way isn't just convenient, it's easy and so much more delicious that soggy or wilted store-bought produce.

And given all the battles that I'm waging in the kitchen garden with the weeds and the grass and the bugs -- not to mention managing these wild weather swings -- this cold frame growing seems so much more civilized.

Even Jack and Ella have been a great help with harvesting greens...


... and making delicious salads for some zero-mile inspired dinners, such as this one featuring homegrown eggs, herbs and asparagus.

Ella especially has embraced visiting the cold frames and bringing in a basket for each meal -- "just like in the pioneer times, mama."


The one lesson we learned is this: the props that we use to hold the windows open need to be more secure.

This one was the victim of an unruly gust of wind that lifted the open window and dropped it on the frame base, smashing it and beheading the lettuce and onions beneath it. As the bed is completely contaminated with glass, I think I'll let everything go to seed (the mesclun mix is already there) before removing all the soil and starting again.

On the whole, growing under glass has been a hugely rewarding experience and as the weather heats up and these greens near the end of their growing season, I can't wait to see what grows next.

Between the rains

We've had a lot of rain lately, and while the day started out clouded by a thick fog and the weatherman said to expect more heavy showers, we were pleasantly surprised by a large orb in the sky that resembled something called "the sun."

I took advantage of this calm between storms to capture some of the new life in the garden.



Even the lilac buds have started to sprout!

As I was clearing away last year's leafy debris from under the lilacs, I noticed this garden friend. Ever since reading Kenneth Graham's The Wind in the Willows, I always think of toads as being "distinguished" -- like Mr. Toad Esq. of Toad Hall.


Isn't he handsome? OK, maybe handsome isn't the right word. Did I mention I got a bit too much sun today?

Back to the garden:

The rhubarb is filling in, which is exciting as the kids are already asking for fresh rhubarb crumble.

The garlic chives are also growing well, but the kids aren't nearly as excited about these.

Over in the cold frames, the spinach is still in its spikey stage...

... but the heirloom Mesclun mix is greening up nicely, though the leaf lettuce (not shown) isn't nearly as leafy yet.

Besides the cold frames, there isn't anything growing in the garden yet. I know, I'm late -- I was hoping to have my peas in by now, among other things, but there is so, so, so much tidying up to do in the kitchen garden. Then there's the rain.

It's been hard not to get overwhelmed with what needs to be done before any seeds or seedlings even touch dirt, but I decided to try on some patience and perseverance and simply take advantage of today's sunshine, while it lasted.

As I was pulling weeds and grass, I was thrilled to find loads of thick, juicy worms in the ground. Just three years ago, the soil was devoid of all life as the previous owners had used chemicals on this site. Today, it was teaming with it. Unfortunately, I also found lots of Japanese Beetle larvae. Talk about raining on my parade...

While gardening with hand tools is slow going, there's something delicious and satisfying about this kind of quiet and intentional work. Slowing down and working deliberately helps strengthen the connection to the land that grows your food, making the relationship that much more personal and intimate. That's what I find, at least.

I didn't get all that I wanted accomplished, but I got the root beds cleared and ready for the first outdoor planting of carrots, parsnips, onions and beets. (This is only the first section; I got the left-side done, as well as the next section down. And if you're wondering what that leafy clump is, it's a patch of perennial wormwood, good for repelling deer and carrot fly.)


I was hoping to get some veggies seeded, and perhaps transplant some beets, but just as I finished up, stretched my back and shook the dirt off my hands, the sky opened up and the rain began to fall. But this time, after several lovely hours playing in the newly-warmed dirt, I welcomed it.

Madcap Monday -- Cold frame update

Today's outdoor temperature at 12 p.m. : 6 degrees Celsius/42.8 degrees Fahrenheit

Today's temperature inside the new cold frames: 19 degrees Celsius/66.2 degrees Fahrenheit

Bring on the four-season growing! Now if I could only get my compost pile to thaw out...

Ed. update: As of 9:30 p.m., the outside temperature has dropped to minus 2 degrees Celsius, but it's only 1 degree in the cold frames -- a three degree difference, versus today's 13 degree differential. So once the sun sets, it looks like the frames are losing heat like a sieve. Tomorrow I'll try snugging some straw bales around each frame for some external insulation. Stay tuned!

Building our cold frames

When we first moved to our farm, our barn was filled with decades of, ahem, stuff. Much of it was beyond salvage, but we did find many well-seasoned tools that linked us to the hands that once worked our land and treasures from a time when this smallholding provided a livelihood and sustenance for its caretakers.


The farmhouse has been renovated and upgraded over the years, but there are still some relics from an earlier homestead that are tucked into a dark corner of the barn. While I'm grateful for our energy-efficient windows, I knew these old storm windows could once again help shelter our family from the cold.

I was fortunate to attend a conference where I heard Maine farmer Eliot Coleman speak about his ingenious and yet simple strategies for extending the growing season. Much of his knowledge is captured in his inspiring and sensible book, Four-Season Harvest -- a must-read for anyone interested in tending to, and reaping the delights of, a year-round, fresh-food garden.

Coleman got me turned on to the idea of growing, harvesting and eating fresh in every season. While we're still enjoying preserved goods, onions & garlic and root crops from last season, my body is craving greens from the garden. So today, we built our first cold frames.

We originally planned to build the boxes according to Coleman's suggestion for the simplest cold frame: a rectangular wooden box, 8' long and 4' wide with a 12" back wall and an 8" front wall.

But as we were collecting scrap wood from the barn and driveshed, we found these pieces that seemed just right.

We did measuring and some cutting...


... and constructed two small boxes measuring 4-1/2 feet wide and about 2-1/2 feet deep -- much less than Coleman's recommendation for two 4' x 8' cold frames per person.

We mounted the four windows on the top using eight hinges - the only materials we purchased for the project...

... and we set the two frames outside the perimeter of our existing kitchen garden.

Over the next few days, I'll begin to stock them with our first scallion, spinach, leek and lettuce seeds.

These frames are small but to me, they represent another step on our family's path towards self-sufficient living. And I can't wait to taste farm-fresh greens next February!