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