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!