Wrapping Up and Making New Plans

 This will probably be the last post for this blog this calender year. We have had some pretty amazing accomplishments. They would include making our goal of 200 KG in November which was the basic goal and then surpassing that when the tomato crop took us up to 500lbs+ for year.
In fact we are still eating tomatoes that are ripening in the house as you can see from the photo. All of the food has been chemical free and organically fertilized.
So where do we go from here? The New Farmer and I will be studying the seed catalogs and making our selections. I want to grow some old favorites but also substitute some new varieties for versions that seemed less successful. The Farmer's daughter has suggested a specific tomato varietal that she would like to have us grow.
Goals and focus for the coming year.
Try new varieties
Devote more space to preparing and cooking the produce we gather
Eat out of the garden all year. Last year we started in January but only started to eat from the garden in late February. This year with the winter greens we have the possibility that we have something to eat in the garden every day of the year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
The Suburban Farmer

Hallelujah 500 Pounds of Produce Seasons Greeting

This is what the Farmer and the  Farmer's Wife have done to celebrate the season but also mark our front yard which this week has produced a little more leeks and kale that has brought our total of food produced organically and freshly in our front yard to over 500 Pounds. It is an amazing thing to think that so much food has come out of our front yard.
We are still getting fresh tomatoes with the green tomatoes we brought in almost 3 weeks ago  that are still ripening. A lot of friends and colleagues at work have benefited from the rapidly ripening fruits.
However, it was some kale that helped push us over the next goal.
I don't mind these deer visiting the garden since although they graze they are doing no harm to what we still have planted in the vegetable plots. 
227.482 KG which is over 500 lbs

Leeks and Collards

These stringy things are part of my leek beds. I have now been trying to grow leeks for almost a year.  Even for the professional farmer leeks take a long time to mature. You start them inside and the transfer them outside. When about 10 inches tall you make a 6 inch deep hole and plant the leek deeply into the earth to get the blanched part. So I will try them in some soup tonight.
I also picked up some collards. These greens look very vigorous. The weather is unusually cold. I found some water drops that had turned to ice.
This was 770 grams for a total of 227.182 KG which is 499.8lbs.

Turnips and Green Tomatoes turn RED!!!!

Turnips can stay in the ground even through a frost and not be damaged. Some people think  they taste better after a freeze. Today we picked 1.3 KG of turnips that the Farmer and the New Farmer will be sharing.

There are not that many plants in the garden still. The weather was strange with really warm temperatures and no frost till late November.  That might be good for tomatoes but not so good for my winter crops.























Now we are dropping down into the 20's and even teens overnight and things like broccoli that normal like cold weather are looking a little rough. This is usually the best time to grow theses kinds of crops in the South because in the spring it gets too warm to quickly and cabbage moth is a real problem. On the other hands the collards look robust.

This picture of red tomatoes was taken today. These are nearly 2KG of tomatoes that have ripened from the green tomatoes we had brought in to place under the light. Now that is great to have fresh tomatoes in December.

1.726KG to add brings the total to 226.412KG

I had made a calculation error last post and this new amount is  498 LBS so the New Farmer will be disappointed  we did not pass her goal of 500lbs; we will soon.




 

Red and Green for the Season

I have not been able to post for the last two weeks. The New Farmer has been busy. It has gotten cold and she has worked hard to cover and protect the tomatoes. Today we decided to take down the tomatoes as it is too cold outside for them to ripen.

The New Farmer has found that if you took some fruits into the warm and put them under the light they finish ripening.I sampled one of these December tomatoes and it is still much better than what I could get from the store.

Since this test was successful we decided to bring in much of the fruit and see if we could ripen it. I will share some of the green tomatoes with friends if they want to try to ripen some tomatoes for themselves. We picked 15KG of green tomatoes and took up the dead and dying plants and the front yard garden is starting to look pretty good again.
















With the New Farmers pickings over the last 2 weeks plus the large harvest of green tomatoes today I have 24.633KG to add to the 200.053KG gives us

224.686 KG which for the 

English System means that we are now at 498 LBS

The Sweet Taste of Success: 200 Kilograms!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today has been a rainy day with more than an inch of rain. Coming back into the house I found a tomato and picked some arugula. This modest addition of 158grams tasted great with my dinner.

Importantly, though, this addition now pushes the total of the produce from the garden to over 200 Kilograms. It will be interesting to see how much further we can get in the next 6 weeks.

199.895 KG + 158 grams 200.053KG

Almost There: Some New Plants

I have planted a lot of cruciferous vegetables this fall. These plants are called this because they all have a set of 4 leaves coming off the stalk. This means broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and even kale are all closely related. I did not do a very good job of labeling the plants and I am not sure what this 3 foot tall plant is but I hope it is a cauliflower.
I can recognize fennel. This one is now about a foot tall and I can see the bulb is starting to form. This plant has a  strong anise or licorice flavor. For many people this is a love it or leave it plant. I am looking forward to trying it out in about a month.
I could also pick spinach as I now have a goodly supply particularly for a salad.

We are so close to out goal at the Suburban Farm.
199.895 KG. We just need about 105 grams to make the goal. I don't want to pick something I cannot use or give away because it is likely to go to waste. Therefore I will post again in few days when we cross the goal line.

Collards and Tomatoes

This is a strange time of year. Tomatoes and collards do not usually co-exist in the a garden but this year with the very warm weather this can happen. Interestingly, I think because the days are short and the temperature a little cooler the tomatoes do not ripen as fast. If you bring them in though in just 24 hours they will be amazingly red, ripe and delicious.
These are not the prettiest tomatoes but they taste good.
Here is about a half pound of collard greens that are going into a pot of soup that I am making for work.

The New Farmer has been rambling in the north country but some snow has shooed here back home. She robbed the garden today picking turnips, tomatoes, okra, lettuce and rocket to make up 846 grams off food.

I have 1.798 KG to add today and this brings the total to 199.331KG

Success; The Tomato's Live Own

The wrapping of the tomato plants was successful and we got through the two nights of cold weather. I don't even think there was a frost last night.
The plants look great and I was even brought in a few red tomatoes that got knocked off the bush.
These are the sweet potatoes that have been seasoning. This is drying for several weeks so that they can be stored in the basement.
I did go ahead and pull up some more sweet potatoes that the frost had killed the vine. These vines came from slips that the New Farmer brought with her from Florida. The potatoes look a little redder the the other sweet potatoes.
Some have been damaged by the rain with the sweet potatoes swelling and splitting. One of the hills that probably did not get as much watering during the drought was particularly affected.
I have cooked up some turnip and turnip greens. I learned recently that in Europe before the potato was introduced from the New World that turnips were used instead. Ye Oldie  Mashed Turnips? Yum?
I have cooked some butter beans and I must say that though they taste good they are a disappointment for the Suburban Farmer in that the yield can seem quite meager. 

I weighed the potatoes before they dried and the beans before I shelled so that may make the total a little on the high side. However, I have given things away to people walking by that did not get weighed. With that caveat I have 7.485 KG to add to my total which is now
197.535KG

A Killing Frost Postponed?

Last night was a chilly one. We had a frost warning in the paper and on the radio. However, I was optimistic since we often seem to be a few degrees warmer here than at the airport. The weather was ominous with dark clouds, spitting rain and actually sleet and hail. This is such a change from just last week when it was up in the 80's. I was hoping to save some of the large tomato plants that have lots of fruit on them since much was just starting to ripen,
These ghostly forms are the work of the Farmer's Wife.  She labored long and hard to cover the plants. It looks as if she has robbed some of beds in the house. Ironically, she does not really like tomatoes, particularly raw.
Clearly she loves the Farmer and his project.

We will leave the covers on till tomorrow since it is suppose to be cold tonight then warm up. We only had 35 degrees on our thermometer at the house; 31 degrees was reported at the airport. There was however a frost on the neighbors roof this morning and on the pine straw in the garden. The only thing that looks limp in the sweet potato vines. I haven't and want look under the tarps until tomorrow.
The cold is good for many fall crops that have struggled with the lingering heat. Therefore, some turnips and turnip greens will be coming in for dinner today.

With the addition of 1.498 KG of produce since last report the total is 190.053KGs.

Carrots and Lettuce

Today I pulled up the rest of the carrots. They may look pretty rough but they were fine in the pot roast that I made.  I am not sure that I will grow carrots again. They take a lot of time and room and the yield is not so great. It might be fun to grow some funky varieties and maybe the novelty would be worth it.
I have great bunches of basil. I pick and pick and there are new leaves to bring in. The aroma is amazing. Some people have never smelled fresh basil and are surprised at the delightful fragrance that fills the room.
The Moskivch tomatoes are full of fruit and I hope that they will have time to make. These varieties are interesting. This plant which is a great spreading mass puts on groups of three fruits on a branch and when ripe they are delicious. I think that they will be good variety for next year.
The New Farmer came over for dinner tonight the surprise of the night is a was a great cucumber. Who would think that you could have fresh cucumbers in November. A great salad with rocket, tomato and cucumber to go with lamb chops.
 

In addition I have been keeping the office in stock with heads of romaine and buttercrunch
 

2.564 KG of produce to add to the total which brings the total to 188.555 KG

Swiss Chard and Cucumbers

 

 The New Farmer and the Farmer's Wife, with the help of some rain, have done themselves proud  while I was gone. I think that one of the most stunning of the the garden plants is Swiss chard. The leaves are an iridescent green and the ribs can be amazing colors. In this case the the ribs are crimson. These greens are great with a blanch and the the ribs cut thinly cook up well for a crunchy counter point. We are likely to have chard from now on for most of the winter.

Oddly at the same time we are getting a second crop of cucumbers. They are growing, not as quickly, and continuing to bloom. With the onions, cucumbers and tomatoes I may be able to make a late season gazpacho.  I will certainly enjoy some fresh cucumbers with the pickles.

Here is the curly kale. The cooler weather seems to have limited the caterpillars.  This kale was just stubs eaten off to the grown and now I have great leaves and will be able to cook them in the next few weeks.
Finally the fennel is starting to look healthy with new shoots and the beginning a bulb at the bottom of the stalk, There is so much more to show that I will have to feature other plants tomorrow.


With all the produce that has been picked I have almost 5KG in weight to add.
Now the total is 185.991KG for the year