Farmer's Market and What's Happening in the Greenhouse

I served as a volunteer on opening day of Farmer's Market yesterday, in Vancouver, WA.   It is something I've been thinking of for a while now.  Last summer was so chaotic with the forced remodel.  This summer I'm hoping for a few things:  (1) Be happy, (2) Have a garden I'm proud of which means the time to spend on planning and maintenance.  I've already started, (3) Be happy, (4) Do some canning and get some food put by.  My mother and grandmother spent all summer canning.  I have the most happy memories of it, (5) Support local small businesses as I want my own small business supported, (6) Oh, and I already mentioned the happy part. 

I think the Farmer's Market might be part of my plans.  I don't always do well or feel comfortable in a crowd and I sometimes get tongue tied with people I don't know, but the market folks made me feel comfortable.  I'm looking forward to going back, soon.

Can't garden much with record rainfall, but here's what's going on in my greenhouse.  It's running between mid 30's F at night and mid 70's F during the day.  I enjoy observing and recording the temperature changes.  There are flats of various clippings which I am attempting to root using powdered rooting hormone.  Some are a huge successes.  Others, a "failure."  My experiments aren't real failures because I learn from each and there are not consequences.  My "failures" end up making compost. 

"Hens and chickens" that Step Daughter's uncle gave me last summer.  Not sure what I'll be doing with them.  They are an old fashioned plant which reminds me of my grandmother's rock garden and makes me happy. 

Strawberry start volunteers that sprouted from a previous experiment.  Again, not sure what I'll do with them, but something.  

Flats and flats of lettuce sprouted from seed.  The only thing currently in my raised beds is radishes and carrots.  I suppose I'll be planting lettuce soon, if it every stops raining.

Other plants just waiting for their chance.  The greenhouse is a handy place to keep things. 

These logs have had holes drilled in them.  Plugs with spores of Shitake mushrooms have been hammered into the drilled out holes. 

I mist them daily.  They need to stay below 70 Degrees. 

As soon as there are sunny warm days, they'll need to go into the garage or a closet.  My greenhouse hovers in the 80 to 90 degree range on a warm sunny day.  Will I grow Shitake mushrooms?

If this seems foolhardy, Remember to have hope.

 

Notes from the Greenhouse - Week of March 14, 2010

When I was little, the place where my grandparents lived had a large English Walnut tree.  It was in the way and Grandpa wanted to cut it down, but Grandma won't let him.  She loved that tree, well not the tree itself.  She loved the walnuts.  I haven't seen walnuts grow for years, but as I remember it, there is some sort of fleshing coating around the shell.  As they fall, you just go around and pick them up, but then they need to dry. I can't remember whether the outer coating splits away from the shell as it dries, or whether it gets removed.

My grandparents grew crops that migrant workers would come to pick.  He built little cabins for them to live in while they worked for him.  They'd arrive to pick the strawberries and stay through the pole beans.  Then, quite frankly, they went back to Mexico.  Don't mean to offend anyone.  That's just what happened.  Many of them came back each year.

So at the end of the season, these little cabins would be vacant.  I remember walking through the place where the cabins were and seeing the floors covered in walnuts drying.  I can't imagine what she did with them all except every cookie we ate all winter long had nuts in them.  Grandma gave us sacks of them.  In the evening, mom would sit in a chair with two bowls at her feet, cracking nuts and putting the shell in one bowl and the meat in another.  Then she would carefully pack quart canning jars full of the nut meat and put them in the freezer for cookie baking day.

I mention this memory because I have a great crop of argula growing in my greenhouse.  Pear Walnut and Argula Salad will be on the Osborne table soon.  Looking forward to it, but I'll have to buy walnuts. 

• The beefsteak tomato starts are starting to come up.
• The lettuce starts in the greenhouse are looking good.  The two I put in raised bed 1 a week ago don't look that great, so that experiment wasn't so successful.  They can just stay warm for a few weeks longer. 
• Oh, and the spinach is coming up in raised bed 1.  I planted seed directly in the soil one day when I was feeling optimistic.  I've got the ground covered with a mulch of clippings from the ornamental grass.  I brushed it away this afternoon to see rows of little spinach plants.  Yeah.  Husband won't eat spinach, so more for me.  I think spinach and blue cheese goes together, so that will be my lunch at some point later in the season.
• The rhubarb plant looks good.  I've used the last of the strawberry rhubarb jam from last summer.  I plan to make quite a bit this year and give part of it away.  I'll buy strawberries at Bi-Zi Farms in late May and use my own rhubarb.  That will be fun.
• As previously mentioned, the argula in the greenhouse looks great.  I need to remember to put a pear and walnuts on my grocery list.    
• It rained a bunch this week, but temps were mild.  The ground is wet.  My work in the yard was mostly just cutting back the roses.  
• I'm hoping to take the day off work the next nice sunny day.  We'll see how that works out for me.  

Oh, and an update on the pickled carrots.  I highly remcommend that recipe.  They taste awesome and they are beautiful.

And a question for anyone who can answer it.  Foy?  Annette?  Some seeds sprout almost every seed in the package, but some seeds sprout like 80 % of the seeds in the package.  Why is that?  

Notes from the Greenhouse - Week of 2/28/2010

This week in the Greenhouse

• I dug out more of the bottom of the composter and spread it on Raised Bed1 and Raised Bed 2. 
• I'm enjoying my little bibb lettuce starts.  I planted out one in raised bed 1 and covered it with a milk jug with the bottom cut off.  Makes a little greenhouse for it.  Not sure that I should plant the others out yet.  Just playing. I'll save the milk jugs and the lid and use them to pick blackberries into late in the summer.  They make a nice scoup with a handle.
• Ordered a package of Napolian Sweet Pepper seeds from seed saver.org.  Haven't received them yet.  When I get them, I'll start them in the greenhouse.  I'm actually pretty excited about it.  I didn't like the peppers I planted last year.
• My snap peas will go in RB2.  Also my bush beans.  Need to get my snap peas started.  Last year I started them in the greenhouse.  Can I put them outside?  We've been getting 50-60 degree days and rain, but no severe nights in sight.
• Will I ever be eating argula?  Patience.  It's fun to watch, but I want to eat it.
• Bought a flat leaf parsley and rosemary plant at the nursery.  Yes I know, but I couldn't resist. 
• Planted my spinach seeds directly in the ground in RB1.  Seems to early, but we haven't had a frost for a while and the ground drains well there.  May have been a mistake.  We'll see.
• Weather report is mild this week with some possible rain a few days.  The greenhouse is maintaining 60 or 70 during the day and high 30s at night.
• No sign of the beef steak tomatoes yet, but the volunteers are going great gun.  Pace yourselves guys, you've got a long ways to go.
• I'm researching pressure canners.  I don't have one and I want to do some more canning this summer. 

Remember that spring is on its way.

Notes from the Greenhouse - Week of 2/21/2010

I have a little greenhouse which gives me pleasure.  This time of year I use it to seedstart and to plan projects for my garden later in the year.  I keep a journal of my greenhouse projects.  My intent is to share a summary of my notes from the greenhouse journal each week.  So here goes.  I live in Vancouver, WA

60 degrees on the patio and 85 degrees in the greenhouse.  12:30

• Moved the spearment plant to the patio
• 1st planting of dwarf dahlia seeds are up and looking pretty cute.  Planted more
• Bibb lettuce starts spouted at a rate of 7 out of 8.  Planted 16 more
• I'm a sucker for volunteers.  Spotted 3 volunteer tomato plants in the pot that had the patio tomato last summer.  Dug them up and moved them to the greenhouse last week.  They are five inches and looking good. 
• No show on the beef steak seed starts I planted, but it is early.  
• The chives plant in the greenhouse is all back and going to get clipped for the potato soup I'm planning.  The chives plant in the raised bed is MIA but should reappear.  
• I have oregano.  Everything else is questionable or worse.  I miss Parsley, Basil, and Tarragon
• Too hot to stay in the greenhouse comfortably, so I opened a window.  Need to remember to close it this evening
• Weather report for next week:  Some nights low in the mid 30s but rising to the 40s later in the week.  During the day, 60s.  But of course going back to showers by Thursday, so back to a high in the 50s by end of week.
• Buds are popping on the blueberries.  Yeah.

Life is good.  Remember that the details are important.