In the Garden

[Szdfan]

Cute furry animals ate all of our beans. We’re putting in a fence next year.

[JimFoxvog]

Here's what we've been taking to farmers' market.



Peas …………………………………. $2.00 / basket
Strawberries …...… (limit 1 / family) $4.00 / pint
Lettuce ……………….…$2.50 / bag; $5.00 / pound
Spinach ……………………...………$2.50 / bag
Lambsquarter (Wild Spinach) ……………. $2.50 / bag
Green Garlic ..………………...……... $2.00 / bunch
Garlic Scapes ………………...……... $2.00 / bunch
Green Onions ...……………………... $2.00 / bunch
Stinging Nettles ……….……………. $2.00 / bag
Red Japanese Mustard ………...…. $2.00 / bag
Yellow Wood Sorrel ………………… $2.00 / bunch
Kale ...……………….……..…….…... $2.00 / bunch
Oregano, mint, cilantro, or dill ……. $2.00 / bunch
Chives ...…………….….……..……... $2.00 / bunch
Garlic Chives ...……….……..……... $2.00 / bunch
Garlic scapes …………..…………….. $2.00 / bunch
Plants ……………….………………… $1.00 each
Red Canna Lily bulbs … $4.00 potted or as marked
Arugula …………….…….……..……... $2.00 / bunch


Seed of Hope Farm is a non-profit offering hospitality and growing food for the Food Pantry, Our Table, the Senior Center, and others in need. Your purchase here or donation helps support this work.

[MaxPC]

Tonight we finished planting our apple orchard. 16 trees. We’ll see how they do!
King
Golden/Yellow Delicious
Macintosh
Gala
Red Spy
Arkansas Black
Red Delicious
Gravenstein
Granny Smith
Braeburn
Fuji
Pink Lady
Yellow Transparent
Cosmic Crisp
Honey Crisp
Zestar

That was hard work, RZehr. Do those varieties cross pollinate well? I’m a novice when it comes to apple trees. One orchard also kept bees to improve pollination.

Many years ago we had planted a few apple trees but the deer ate them down to a nub. We switched to blueberry bushes afterwards.

[QuietlyListening]

Wow, RZehr, that is a lot of trees. We planted 3 persimmon (Asian variety) this year and last year 5 paupau (my son really wants to try them and he has no room so they are here) but 16 is a lot. Apple trees require a ton of insecticide and fungicide around here - we tried for years- so we gave up. Now blueberries do great.

[ohio jones]

Stinging Nettles ……….……………. $2.00 / bag

After getting into a patch of these in the woods years ago, I can't imagine cultivating and commercializing them, let along buying and (presumably) eating them. But I guess it can be done.

In the UK, an annual World Nettle Eating Championship draws thousands of people to Dorset, where competitors attempt to eat as much of the raw plant as possible. Competitors are given 60 cm (24 in) stalks of the plant, from which they strip the leaves and eat them. Whoever strips and eats the most stinging nettle leaves in a fixed time is the winner. The competition dates back to 1986, when two neighbouring farmers attempted to settle a dispute about which had the worst infestation of nettles.

[QuietlyListening]

We just received 8/10" of wonderful wonderful much needed rain.

[JimFoxvog]

Stinging Nettles ……….……………. $2.00 / bag

After getting into a patch of these in the woods years ago, I can't imagine cultivating and commercializing them, let along buying and (presumably) eating them. But I guess it can be done.

I don't enjoy getting into them either and harvest them with gloves.

Stinging nettles are the most nutritious vegetable on the market. They are palatable as a cooked green and great in lasagna or quiche. Some people make smoothies, and some make a tea out of them. They are edible raw and not irritable if rolled or crushed, breaking all the stinging hairs, which are like miniature hypodermic needles. Doesn't attract me this way, but I did test it. People claim all sorts of benefits as a medicinal herb; I don't know enough about it to say whether these claims are true.

[QuietlyListening]

Picking lots of cucumbers and have started making B&B pickles. Most go to my one son in law but I keep a certain amount for myself too. Love the refrigerator ones.
Also picking tomatoes. Green beans are done. Blueberries are done. Raspberries are coming in.
It's really hot but if we go out early we can pick, weed and be in before we melt.

[JimFoxvog]

We picked about seven gallons of cucumbers today. I hope folks at the farmers' market will be interested.

[Somebody]

I didn't plant pickles this year. Hope to next year. We are ready for some more 7 Day Sweet Pickles.