End of the 2011 Organic Farming Experiment & the Last Harvest of the Year!





2011 brought a lot outdoor fun for Damian and I. We decided to take on a project of organically farming a quarter-acre of land in Defiance, MO. We were so thankful for the opportunity to lease farm land from a man named Dr. Granger and start experimenting with growing vegetables and fruits.

We had our successes and our "learning experiences" in 2011. We grew hundreds of cucumbers and numerous watermelon, cantaloupes, and pumpkins.  We learned about squash bugs and cucumber beetles - the hard way.We shared our edamame and sugar snap peas with the deer, but still got enough for several meals. As for the Fall, we were able to grow enough romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, and pac choi to sell to a restaurant and make a profit. We learned that broccoli, cabbage, and pac choi are amazingly winter hardy plants. We also learned that some Fall plants need to be planted earlier than October so that we can harvest them before the first frost kills them. Weeding... ahhh, yes, we learned that weeding a quarter-acre of land is a time consuming and never ending process; however, we decided that it is a good back and upper arm muscle workout and can be more fun when music is playing. :)


A few snapshots of what our farm produced

We are amazed by what we accomplished in 2011. For two people who got inspired to start organically farming in February 2011, we were able to pull together the resources and the physical determination that it took to start a small farm. We shared "couple time" by weeding and marveling at the growth of the seeds we planted in the earth. We used fun new farm machinery and shared in the giddy excitement and the frustrations that came along with the 2011 growing season. We bought less vegetables from the store and learned how to can our own pickles, relish, jelly, and more. We became creative, resourceful, and productive in a way we hadn't been before. It is beautiful to watch seeds grow and marvel at the full extent to which vegetables and fruits can feed us and sustain us for months to come. Also, we were grateful for the opportunity to share our bounty with our family and friends as well.

Sharing bounty with family

This last day of 2011, we decided to go clean up the farm and get it ready for the new year. We harvested our last vegetables. YES, we harvested 30+ broccoli, 15+ cabbages, 5+ pac choi, and 3 lettuces on December 31st! UNBELIEVABLE! I would have never thought that be possible for vegetables to continue growing into the cold months without a greenhouse. When we got home, we made a delicious pot of broccoli cheddar soup to celebrate our last harvest of the year.

December 31st at the farm

We definitely are motivated to keep growing in the next year. As I type this, there are still garlic, carrots, and brussel sprouts growing through the winter under a blanket of straw at the farm. We thank you for following our blog and invite you continue to follow our farming journey in the new year!

Garlic is in the ground. Vampires beware!

12 different types, 27 heads, and  220 cloves of GARLIC were planted yesterday! We were worried that we may have missed window of opportunity to plant it, but luckily it was a beautiful 50 degree day yesterday. Supposedly, garlic is a very easy plant to grow. As long as you plant it before the ground freezes in the Winter, it will start to grow through the cold months and be ready for harvest in late Spring. It prefers loose, organic soil; however, it can grow in a variety of soils and pH levels.  Garlic plants are usually very hardy, and are not attacked by many pests or diseases. Garlic plants are said to repel rabbits and moles. I wish it could help with repelling deer, but I will take what I can get! :)

We planted our garlic in a mixture of soil and compost. We punched 3 rows of holes about 8" apart and dropped 1 clove in each hole, root side down and pointy end up. They were covered with about 4" of compost and we plan to get enough straw to make another 6" buffer for the garlic against the elements.



Bags of Garlic

We are growing both softneck and hardneck varieties of garlic. Almost all supermarket garlic is a softneck variety. This is because softneck garlic is easier to grow and plant mechanically and also keeps for longer than hardneck. garlic. Softnecks are recognised by the white papery skin and an abundance of cloves, often forming several layers around the central core. Hardneck garlics have fewer, larger cloves then the softnecks. They also have less of an outer bulb wrapper, sometimes none at all. This makes them more sensitive and reduces their shelf life.

Each of the garlic cloves has its own unique color and flavor. Some are spicy and hot while others are mild flavored.  We planted the following types of garlic:

• Persian Star
• Georgian Fire
• Georgian Crystal
• Broadleaf Czech
• Chesnok Red
• Music
• German Extra Hardy
• Siberian
• Lorz Italian
• Bogatyr
• Elephant
• Erik's German White



Chopping broccoli in November and December

We planted the transplants in September and are finally harvesting our delicious broccoli! It took longer than we expected to grow and we were wondering if the plants would produce broccoli after the temperatures started to drop into the low 30's in the evening. It has taken about 90 days to grow but the broccoli plants have proven themselves to be very cold hardy plant. Usually when stressed, the lower leaves of plants start to yellow; however, our broccoli leaves don't show any signs of yellowing. We expect for the broccoli to continue growing into the middle of December.

Some of the broccoli is a deep green color while others have a little bit of a purple hue.  Eating it fresh, it is crisp and flavorful! When cooked with cheese, it is even better! I tried two new recipes with the fresh broccoli we picked - Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Pasta Con Broccoli.  Here are the links to the recipes:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/broccoli-and-cheddar-soup/
http://www.food.com/recipe/pasta-con-broccoli-80704

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Pasta Con Broccoli

The Joys of Pac Choi

We have eaten more pac choi this year than we have ever eaten in our lives! In fact, I believe that we are officially, "pac choi eating fools!" Due the large size and quantity of our pac choi harvest, we had to get creative in the kitchen in order to make use of this wonderful vegetable!

Damian holding pac choi

Beautiful bottom of pac choi

After looking for recipes online, we were a little disappointed to see that pac choi was basically only used for stir fry. We followed a few recipes and made the basic soy sauce sauteed pac choi and added pac choi to stir fry rice. Both were delicious. However, we wanted to take pac choi out of the Asian cuisine realm and have some fun with it. We decided it tasted like a sweeter and lighter spinach when cooked, so we chopped it, wilted it, and used it as if it were spinach in several newly invented dishes. We added pac choi to the following: pizza, ravioli, soup, quiche, etc.

Try it! You might like it to! Let us know if you are interested in experimenting with some pac choi because we still have some growing at the farm!

Pac choi stir fry rice with Korean BBQ rib

Pac Choi, chicken, mushroom, and cheese ravioli





Pac Choi, ham, mushroom, and onion quiche



Pac Choi, steak, and rice soup

Beg, Barter, and SELL!





We begged for the plants to grow and the weeds to go. We put a lot of time in planting, weeding, and protecting the plants from pests. And, it has payed off! We are proud of the beautiful Fall plants that are growing and everything we have tasted and created out from our veggies has been delicious.



We bartered a box of lettuce for eggs, persimmons, and kale



We got our first invitation to barter our lettuces for fresh eggs. I was excited about the opportunity tobarter with one of our blog followers and fellow Art Therapists, Rosemary. She has her own backyard farm in St. Louis city where she and her husband are growing everything from a fig tree, fennel, and 5' tall kale. She has four beautiful hens that lay eggs daily and we agreed on bartering two lettuces - romaine and red leaf- for a dozen fresh eggs. After touring her backyard farm, I also left with kale, persimmons, and baby onions. We have already made fabulous omelets with the eggs and I look forward to making my first batch of kale chips in the oven soon.  

One of Rosemary's beautiful hens

 

With regards to selling, we have been able to establish a relationship with a upscale local restaurant specializing in European cuisine. We met the executive chef and he was willing to purchase as much local and organically grown vegetables as he can. We were able to sell him our romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, and pac choi. Yay! Our farm is making money and we are feeding families at a local restaurant!



Boxes of lettuce ready to deliver

Amber boxing up the lettuce

Lastly, we also came up with a new slogan for our farm: "Good People, Growing Great Produce."

Ready... Aim... FIRE!

 

My fiance is a flamer; that is, he likes to throw flames with our new weeding torch. Actually, "likes" is too casual of a word. He LOVES throwing flames with our torch, much like most men are instinctually drawn to fire. He grinned the whole time while torching the weeds. Perhaps, it was because it was gloriously faster than using a hoe or a weed eater, or maybe he has a pyro inside him.

Flaming the weeds is an experiment much like everything else. We talked to a farmer in Springfield, Mo that was successfully using a torch for weed suppression. So, I found a torch for $15.99 at a local hardware store and planned to use the bbq grill propane tank as the power source. I loved how the flame torch  advertised that it was: "An environmentally safe way to eliminate weeds organically. It's an organic weed killer! No expensive chemicals, no dangerous threats to our environment."

We had to we wait several weeks to hook everything up because the weekend winds seemed to be at a consistent speed of 90 mph. We wanted to kill the weeds and not catch the whole farm on fire. Smoky the Bear finally gave us the green light this weekend because the winds had died down. 

When we took the torch out of the box to hook it up, I saw that the torch was a lot bigger than I expected. It was not going to be able to do the precision weeding I had in mind. Unfortunately, it would probably char our plants if we got within 5 feet of them. It looked like it would be great to kill large areas of weeds only, so that is exactly what Damian did...I turned on the faucet and grabbed the hose - just in case!

Damian is firing it up

Getting two rows ready for garlic by flame weeding

Smoldering rows by our cabbages

Flames killing the weeds

Lettuce Be Healthy. Eat More Leafy Greens.

Romaine lettuce leaf lit from behind

We are getting ready to harvest about 140 heads of lettuce and 60 pac choi and I want to do a little more investigation about the health benefits of these leafy greens. Whenever I think of leafy greens, I assume they have to be good for me because THEY ARE GREEN!  However, I want to know HOW they benefit my overall daily health.

Romaine, red leaf lettuces, and pac choi are packed with the following nutrients:

• Vitamin C - reduces your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration. Vitamin C helps the body make collagen too; collagen is a major component of cartilage that aids in joint flexibility, may reduce your risk of arthritis, and keeps your skin and hair healthy and beautiful. Lastly, vitamin C aids in the prevention of the oxidation of cholesterol, which can reduce risk of stroke and heart attack.
• Beta-carotene/vitamin A- contributes to the growth and repair of the body's tissues. 
•  Potassium - helps lower high blood pressure, which can contribute to heart disease, and protects against osteoporosis.
• Fiber - Helps aid in digestion, helps satisfy your appetite to prevent overeating, and lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It can also help to temper blood-sugar swings by slowing the absorption of carbohydrates into your bloodstream after meals.
• Folic Acid - helps keep blood vessels healthy and clear, which also reduces the risk of heart attacks and stroke. Also plays an important role in cell maintenance and repair.
• Vitamin K - used by your body to regulate blood clots, essential in forming various bone proteins necessary for bone formation and repair, and contains anti-inflammatory properties.
• Folate- can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and memory loss. Folate also contributes to the production of serotonin, which may help ward off depression and improve mood.
  

Another fascinating fact is that a one cup serving of romaine lettuce can provide you with 82% of your daily value of vitamin A, 60% of vitamin K, 19% vitamin C and 16% folate. This is an amazing amount of nutrients in just one small cup of lettuce.

Our lettuces are growing big

We have already enjoyed fresh salads

And added lettuces to our sandwiches

There will be a super salad eating extravaganza!

Our Fall crop is looking great! We planted most of our crop in early September & we are so  happy  to all of the beautiful greens  growing. Fall in St. Louis means that temperatures fluctuate greatly and  evenings are a little chilly, but these plants do not seem to mind at all.

We have about 140 lettuces thriving right now.  We have romaine, red leaf, and iceberg varieties. I have already done a taste test on some of the baby leaves and they are delicous. The super salad eating extravaganza will hopefully start in early November!

We are also noticing that Pac Choi, a type of Chinese cabbage that I did not know much about earlier this year, are amazing plants. With almost 100% germination rate and transplant growth, we are expecting about 60 fully grown Pac Choi in late October.

Our sugar snap peas, carrots, beets, and broccoli are also looking great. Unfortunately, we had some transplant casualities  in the cauliflower and cabbage rows. I think I may have been too rough with some of the delicate transplant roots when planting, but I am not sure. It is really curious when you use the exact same method, dirt, and amount of water on each plant and  some thrive while others shrivel up and don't make it. I can't figure it out yet. My mother told me that I planted in the wrong astrological sign. :)

Check out the pictures of the beautiful growth at our farm.

Damian planting more lettuce

Red Leaf Lettuce

Pac Choi and broccoli growing in our rows



Pac Choi





Pac Choi is huge



Almost done with our Fall planting!

We are almost done with our Fall planting! I am so glad because planting takes its toll on the lower back and knees. So far we have the following plants in:

• Cabbage (red and green)
• Pac Choi (red and green)
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Artichoke
• Carrots
• Lettuce (romaine, red leaf, and iceberg)
• Brussel Sprouts

Next, we have to plant the onion, spinach, and radish seeds, but that should be easy! :)

Here are a few more fun videos of our progress! More specifically, they are videos showing the process of planting cauliflower, lettuces, and brussel sprouts. Enjoy!

Watermelon, watermelon, and MORE WATERMELON!

I love watermelon! I could eat watermelon everyday and not get tired of it! When we harvested 30+ watermelons from our farm, I was I watermelon bliss! However, I quickly remembered that watermelons only keep for 2-4 weeks before they can get mushy or sour. So, I had to come up with a strategy to make the most out of all of these delicious watermelons.



Harvested watermelons



First, I decided to pile up all of the watermelons in my car and drive my "melon-mobile" around to deliver watermelons to friends and family. I gave away about half of the melons and felt good about feeding others with our organic produce. They all seemed very happy to receive the melons too. :)



Melon-mobile makes its deliveries



The remaining watermelons were not so visually attractive because of scars or imperfections, but they were still tasty! So, I ate AND I ATE watermelon until I could eat watermelon no more. I cut watermelon in half and ate it with a spoon. I sliced it up and ate it that way. I even ate it on a stick like a popsicle! :)



I ate A LOT OF WATERMELON



After all that watermelon eating, I almost reached a point where I didn't want to eat watermelon anymore, so I decided to look up a few recipes for preserving watermelon. I found two, pickled watermelon rinds and watermelon jelly.

Pickled watermelon rinds may not sound that appealing, but they are preserved in a cinnamon and allspice sugar syrup and almost taste like candy. In order to make them, it is a 2-day process of peeling, soaking, and cooking. When they are finally done, they are these beautiful pieces of watermelon rind in a  golden amber syrup. I love that gorgeous color! :)



Pickled watermelon rinds



The watermelon jelly was not as time consuming, but still tricky. I decided to make a sugar-free version, so I could share with my mom who has diabetes. Instead of 3+ cups of sugar, I used 2 cups of a cherry juice concentrate and some lemon juice. It turned out wonderful and tastes like watermelon-cherry jelly. When spread on a warm piece of toast, it goes FAST!



Watermelon-cherry jelly



We have used up most of the watermelons now and I have plenty of canned watermelon products to last me through the winter and maybe until next watermelon season!

Pickled watermelon rinds and watermelon jelly

Visually documenting the process of farming

I am still trying to figure out the best ways to visually document our process of organic farming. I have taken over a thousand pictures since our farming journey began. I have made several videos walking around the farm and narrating a tour of what was growing and what we had done; however, I haven't really been able to capture the "process" of farming until now.

I have finally found a way to show "how farming is done." I am playing around with video and play back speeds in Windows Live Movie Maker. I created two videos - one of Damian and I "tilling it up" and another of me planting 1000 carrot seeds in about 2 minutes!! In real time, both of these videos took about 45 minutes to record, but altering the play back speeds shorten the videos to about 3 minutes and make us seem like amazingly fast farmers.

One more thing... I want to give credit to Damian for the creative music selection for these videos. :) Enjoy!

Tilling It Up for the Fall Season

Planting 1000 Carrots!

Rock N Row Covering Up Our Fall Plants

Last week, we had 6,000 mph winds and we decided to start putting row covers over our Fall transplants. Managing the 40' by 5' pieces of lightweight fabric in those winds was challenging, but we thought it was necessary because loads of hungry, evil squash bugs and cucumber beetles still lurk in 1/3 of our farm plot. We weren't taking any chances with those bugs eating any of our transplants.

  

Row cover billowing in 6,000 mph winds :)

This week, the winds calmed down, but the rains came in. We were able to manage the fabric easily; however, our shoes were sinking into the footpaths like quicksand. Oh well, we can't have it all! :) After all, the rain is good thing for our plants. We continue to put our Fall transplants in the earth and direct seed some other things. We are hoping to harvest most of our Fall crop in late October.

So far, we have planted the following:

• Green cabbage
• Red cabbage
• Pac Choi
• Broccoli
• Purple broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Artichoke



                    

                 Broccoli transplant

Dual drip tape rows of broccoli

Row covers at sunset

Next, we plan to plant lettuces, carrots, brussel sprouts, radishes, beets, and more!

Ode to Edamame

Freshly picked edamame

Cooked edamame

I first tried edamame at a sushi restaurant and fell in love with it! In general, I love vegetables, but edamame is particularly fun because you get to pop the beans out of the pod and into your mouth. 

In the last few weeks, we have harvested several bowls full of edamame and it is great! I was worried that we wouldn't be able to harvest any edamame this year, because I found out that deer have the same affinity toward edamame as I do. Luckily, the deer were kind enough to share and they didn't eat all of our edamame! Thanks deer!

In Japan, edamame is a popular snack food.  In fact, edamame is the Japanese word for soybean, but it was only recently that America come to learn about the wonders of edamame. It seems funny to me that I hadn't heard of edamame earlier in my life because Missouri and Illinois are filled with soybean fields; however, I just read that approximately 85% of the world's soybean crop is processed into vegetable oil and soybean meal, which is used for livestock feed.

 Edamame are basically baby soybeans. They’re picked when they’re immature and fill about 80% of their pod, which means that they’re still plump and green and relatively sweet.

I do want to note that I did buy specific edamame seed from High Mowing Seed Company. I bought the Organic Shirofumi Edamame Soybean and it was described as "a gourmet edamame soybean known for exceptionally sweet, nutty flavor and smooth texture."


Not only does it have a great taste, but edamame is super easy to prepare. Fresh or frozen, all you need to do is boil them for 5 minutes, drain, and then sprinkle with salt. 

Lastly, edamame has many health benefits. They are packed with protein, low in carbs and calories, and are generally thought to be a heart-healthy food because it has the good kinds of fat and is high in fiber.  Edamame is also a good source of folate, calcium, vitamin K.

The end of Summer DOES NOT mean the end of farming for the year!

Do you think summer is the only time that plants grow? Well, you are wrong!!

So many people miss out on the opportunity to grow produce in the Fall growing season. We definitely are not stopping with our summer harvest. We plan to grow a number of vegetables that are able to grow in slightly cooler temperatures such as cabbages, broccoli, lettuces, and more!

We have partnered with an awesome couple named Kathy and Irv to help us grow our Fall transplants. Due to the limited space in our 2-bedroom apartment, we needed to find someone that had the space and willingness to help us grow the 800+ organic transplants we wanted. Originally, we were told to contact Kathy and Irv because of they grow transplants and own a vermicomposting business called ESP of MO. After getting to know them, I am in awe of the down-to-earth and hands-on life they are living in their retirement. They agreed to help us grow our tansplants and I am so impressed with the quality and heartiness of the transplants they are giving us. It must be all the vermicastings in the soil!

Today, we began to plant some of our Fall transplants. Damian's step-father and my mother and father came out to help us. We were so thankful for the help and time spent together with our families.

Kathy and Damian talking transplants

Healthy lettuce transplants

Prepping the beds with drip tape and rocks to hold the row cover

My beautiful mom helping us transplant

Damian making sure the transplants are looking good

Baby cabbage and the wire frame work for the row cover

Doesn't look like much but this is a hard day's work at the farm