recent musings

I have really been neglecting this blog. We have been having really great luck and feel very fortunate for all of our blessings. The downside of engaging, awesome opportunities is less time for the stuff I normally do on my downtime. Hopefully with the semester coming to a close and farmers market season beginning to pick up, I will remember what it's like to relax and be more consistent with this blog. Until then, here are some things keeping me busy

xo

Natural egg dyes:

Turmeric *
Turmeric + paprika *
Strawberry juice *
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll + green tea
Red cabbage + red onion *

Add vinegar to the eggs while hard piling them. This helps them to absorb the dyes into their shells.

For the ones with an asterisk, they require being boiled. Add enough water to be able to submerge the egg and enough of the spice to make your desired color.

For the strawberry juice, I soaked the egg in the cold juice for atleast 1 hour then boiled the egg and juice for another hour.

For the green tea and chlorophyll, I steeped the tea bags in enough ware to completely submerge them then added cold water and a couple drops of chlorophyll.

The rest of the photos are of my garden. So far I have: collard greens, broccoli, mesclun, Swiss chard, basil, parsley, French lavender, lavender, a third kind of lavender, sunflowers, heather, nettles, sunflowers, two types of beans, morning glory, poppies, wildflowers, bluebonnets, pansies, phlox, hot peppers, Roma tomatoes, bell peppers, and a few othr types of flowers like daisies.

Vermicomposting

Composting with live worms. From wikipedia:

Vermicompost is the product of composting utilizing various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and earthworms to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. Vermicast, also known as worm castings, worm humus or worm manure, is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by species of earthworm.^[19]

The earthworm species (or composting worms) most often used are Red Wigglers (Eisenia foetida or Eisenia andrei), though European nightcrawlers (Eisenia hortensis) could also be used. Red wigglers are recommended by most vermiculture experts as they have some of the best appetites and breed very quickly. Users refer to European nightcrawlers by a variety of other names, including dendrobaenas, dendras, andBelgian nightcrawlers.

Containing water-soluble nutrients, vermicompost is a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner.^[20]

Vermicompost tea has been shown to cause a 173.5% increase in plant growth by mass over plants grown without castings. These results were seen with only 10% addition of castings to produce these results.^[21]

Items needed:

a bin or worm container

a premade binor a fancy bin

or two everyday tupperware bins, preferably dark colored

Bedding

Shredded newspaper, cardboard, egg cartons and natural fibers such as cotton

worm food such as: tea bags, banana peels, veggie scraps, egg shells. Stay away from meats, dairy and anything too oily. Citrus and onions should also be avoided as they are too harsh for the worms

Note: Worms eat about half their weight in food everyday, so a pound of worms could eat 3-4 pounds of food in a week. (The worms are feeding on the microorganisms on the food, not the food itself.)

Worms

from a place such as Uncle Jim's Worm Farm

references:

Small Notebook- A step by step guide on how to vermicompost in small spaces, in case you're feeling inspired

Grow it Organically

elephant garlic

According to wisegeek:

Elephant garlic or Allium ampeloprasum is a variety of garlic with very large cloves and a tender, mild, slightly sweet flavor. Some consumers enjoy elephant garlic because it can be eaten raw and used in cooking for a hint of garlic flavor without being overwhelming. Others turn their noses up at elephant garlic, claiming that it is too weak to be considered a true garlic. Many grocers stock elephant garlic when it is in season, and it is also very easy to grow at home.

Technically, elephant garlic is not garlic at all. It is actually a leek, although it looks distinctly like garlic sincegarlic is a member of the leek family. Unlike leeks, elephant garlic has been bred to producer larger edible cloves underground, with less of a focus on the green stalks of the plant. When allowed to fully mature,elephant garlic can develop cloves which are as big as cloves of regular garlic.

The large size tricks some consumers into thinking that elephant garlic will have a large flavor. In fact, the flavor is actually quite delicate and complex, but it is also very mild, without the biting burn associated with truegarlic. However, this mild flavor can be used to advantage, as elephant garlic is great raw in an assortment of foods, and it can be added to dishes at the last minute for a garlicky note. Care should be taken when cookingelephant garlic, as it can turn bitter if it is cooked too long.

When selecting elephant garlic in the store, look for firm, evenly textured heads without soft spots or areas of browning. The outer layers of the elephant garlic should be fine, white papery skin which is not moist or moldy. Areas of softness or browning suggest that a head of garlic may not be terribly good, and it should be avoided.Elephant garlic also has a shorter shelf life than other varieties such as the pungent American garlic, so it should be kept under refrigeration and used in a timely fashion.

To grow elephant garlic, plant out separated bulbs in the fall months. Garden supply stores often sell cloves specifically for planting, although garlic from a market can be used as well. The garlic is hardy in USDA zonesfive through eight, and sometimes in other regions as well. After overwintering during the fall, the elephant garlic will produce small shoots in the early spring, and the heads ofgarlic will mature in the mid to late summer.

13TH ANNUAL ELEPHANT GARLIC FESTIVAL

Organic heirloom tomato transplant sector shows delicious interplay of supply and demand

Sustainable food networks link producers, retailers, chefs and eaters in virtuous upward agro-economic development cycle.

By Greg Bowman

Continue article.....

Transplants here

The list for organic heirloom tomato transplantsis is local to southeastern Pennsylvania, but  let it show what is possible wherever you are when real food supply and demand create a new economic opportunity. 

Rodale Institute, Kutztown 
May 7 and 8, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
Organic annuals and perennials,compost and gardening supplies. Rodale’s organic gardening experts will lead workshops, give tours and answer questions.

Jack’s Farm of Pottstown at
Phoenixville Farmers' Market
May 8 opening: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays

Happy Cat Organics company/farm/nursery/retail store
1. Kennett Square Farmers’ Market 
May 14 opening: 2 to 6 p.m. Fridays
2. Headhouse Market in Philadelphia
May 2 opening: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays
3. Winterthur Farmers’ Market
Opening in late May Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Wolff's Apple House, Middletown (Delaware County)
Open every day. Tomato transplants (some organic) starting about May 7.

Willow Creek Orchards, Collegeville
Mid-May opening for strawberries, transplants. (Certified organic)

J&J Farm, Glen Mills, Pa 19342 
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 10 at Thornbury Township Farmers’ Market , located  in Chester County on Glen Mills road across from the Thornbury Post Office (Cheyney Pennsylvania, 19319)  near Pace One Restaurant

Red Earth Farm, Orwigsburg PA 17961 at
Emmaus Farmers’ Market 
May 2 opening; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays

In the article Mr. Bowman mentions the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture- here is their mission statement!

"Founded in 1992, PASA's consistent and driving vision has been to transform agriculture and food systems in Pennsylvania and beyond in a way that makes our farmers more viable, improves the land and restores the health and wellbeing of all our citizens. We are nonprofit in structure, but entrepreneurial in spirit, as we use our resources carefully to work collaboratively with others in achieving measurable results where we can, without compromising our values. For us, success is defined as the dual process of achieving our mission now while also building capacity to impact the future for many generations to come."

i cross posted this article from Greesngrow Farm's Facebook page!

tomato shortage

we can expect tomato prices to soar in the upcoming months due to 70% of florida's tomato crops failing due to inclement weather. the farmers hope to have more crops available by mid april. 

read more about the tomato shortage

luckily, we are at the perfect time in the season to begin sprouting our seeds indoors!

organic tomato seeds can be bought online or from one of your local stores. in order to cut back on waste, i do not suggest buying the plastic seed starter kits from major home improvement center. there are many, inexpensive and eco-friendly ways to start your seeds whether you want to go the DIY route or purchase. 

here are some great cedar handmade seed starter trays on etsy or here is a diy seed starter made from a TP roll:

there are many options for DIY seed starters such as egg cartons, yogurt containers, milk or juice cartons, TP or paper towel rolls, extra plant pots, etc. test your creativity and improvisational skills. if you are planning on having an indoor container garden, i would even say go right ahead and plant your seeds directly in the pots they will call home so you dont have to bother replanting them once they sprout. the most important part to starting seeds indoors is making sure you create a greenhouse effect. this can be accomplished by covering the container, tightly, with saran or plastic wrap. (sometimes i secure the plastic wrap with a rubber band, like for instance when using a water bottle.)

last year, we were fortunate enough to have a back yard, but even so, i did not trust the soil, so i still planted a container garden. but being that we had a backyard, i was able to go crazy and have a ton of plants, pots and containers.

 This year will be a bit more trying considering we live in a much smaller loft, and our window sill is already occupied with house plants (and a basil plant from my garden last year. ) Later today, I am taking a trip to IKEA to see if I can find something resembling a quarter of a bench or a maker shift shelf (it will have to have a bracket on one side, and a support beam on the other side) that will fit on the window ledge and create space underneath to accommodate our future seedlings.