Rocks for Sale

I have to tell you there is not a square inch in any garden on this property that does not have a rock of some shape and size.  Every single time we put in a stake or a shovel or a row cover hoop, we hit a rock.  It does make me wonder how anything can possibly grow in this region of ours.  But it does.  And it does very well.

I also have to share something else with you.  Arugula is not a team player.  It's more of a leader by showiness.  Surely you noticed that your Salad Greens last week consisted mostly of Arugula, that wonderful, spicy and fresh taste of the green which falls into its own category.  It's sort of a cross between a lettuce, a spinach, a mustard and a cress.  But it is delicious.  Arugula has decided to take over the salad space in the little greenhouse.  Once we eat bunches of Arugula, though, the green and red deer tongue lettuces, the tango, the black seeded simpson, the red salad bowl lettuce and batavian endive, the various mustards, mizuna, tatsoi et al,  will be able to see the light and get a little larger themselves. 

   

see what I mean about the Arugula

We built raised boxes in the new Greenhouse on Sunday.  We filled them with garden soil today and planted several cucumber seeds - lemon, marketmore, english telegraph, suyo long, longfellows and national pickling - that should get us started at least.  Think ahead a month or so and imagine climbing vines thick with broad leaves, dripping with cucumbers waiting for a place on your table. 

Some plants are getting used to being outside and are waiting to be transplanted.  We have hundreds of leeks, more kale, bunching onions and some herbs in this holding bay.  

With the recent afternoon heat, our days begin much earlier.  The up-potting, seeding and any constructing in the new Greenhouse get done before 9ish as it's just too hot in there after that.  We then move the operation out to the Salad Garden in the north field where there's usually a lovely gentle breeze blowing across the rows in which we're transplanting and seeding, placing row cover and cutting and laying soaker hose.  By just after lunch it's time to go in, write and answer emails and read much about organic gardening and chickens and make tomorrow's planting plan.   Don't get me wrong, I'm loving this weather, it's just hard to work out in it after a certain point, the body and mind both slow down after about 8 hours of digging, lifting, bending, pushing, climbing . . . you get the picture.  

We're expecting to have three new gardens prepped to plunk plants into in the next week.  Then we'll be getting ready for the Big Plant Sale which begins May 23.  I'll post a list of plants and prices soon.  You can reserve plants for your own garden if you like.  

So if anyone needs rocks, we got 'em.  Actually, they're free.  Let me know what time you'd like to pick them up.  

Until next post, have a great every day.  

Jo

Okay, this time it's here, really. Spring IS here, no joke, right?

We're not fooling around anymore.  All the signs are here, again.  

Most of the songbirds are back, waking us with their delightful shrills and trills each morning, now that we can open the windows for that lovely fresh cool spring air.  

The warmer nights are a promise of seeds popping up from the soil wherest they were planted a couple of weeks ago.  The longer days are providing more light to the hundreds of seedlings waiting to earn their place in your garden beds and our acreage of food plots.  

We had a great time at the North Grenville Sustainability Fair on Sunday.  We saw many familiar faces from years gone by and lots of new eager gardeners-to-be.   

The tomatoes are starting to gain their second, third and fourth leaves.  The precious peppers are still indoors and their leaves are hitting the grow lights.  They're excited about going out in the next few weeks.  They can't get out to the Greenhouse until the plants in the Greenhouse are selectively placed in their plots outside.   The plots outside can't be worked and rowed up until the ground is a tad drier.  What a process!

Meanwhile, in the Herb Department, we have Chives, Sorrel and Thyme available, the Winter and Summer Savory, Cilantro, Tarragon, Sage, Oregano, Parsley and Chervil (at least I think it's chervil-time will tell) are not quite beautiful enough to make an appearance, but they are working on it.  They hope to garnish our plates next week.  

Our Salad Greens contain pretty much everything green which is edible and grows on the property plus edible flowers.  Therefore, every week will be different.  I don't put controversial herbs such as cilantro or chives into the Salad Greens as many people find them - um - too flavourful.   For instance this week, you'll find a mix of spicy greens, mizuna, pepper cress, spinach, lamb's quarters, dandelion leaves, baby kale, lettuce varieties soft and crunchy, arugula, mache, mustards, red orach, parsley, batavian endive, baby chard, tatsoi, colourful pansies - that's all I can think of for now, but there's probably more.  A nice mix, I must say.  

Just keeping you up to date.  

Until next post, have a great every day.  

Jo

Delivery 2015

Hi, We would be delighted to deliver Excellent Organic Produce, Herbs and Edible Flowers to you this eating season.  Deliveries begin now.  

We grow the usual summer vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and bean varieties.  I like to say we specialize in Salad Greens because that is our biggest seller and has been for the last 3 or 4 years.  The Salad Greens are provided to you washed and table ready.  We grow varieties of summer and winter squash, root veggies such as onions, leeks, beets, turnips, parsnips.  We grow fall veggies - cabbage, kale and chard - we're presently trying cauliflower for the first time, that should be interesting.  Then there's the other foods like celery, broccoli, the list goes on.

Herbs love to grow here and we've expanded our list of edible flowers, which we also include in the Salad Greens as often as possible.

I strongly encourage everyone to grow as much or as little as you can yourself so we sell hundreds of plants to new and avid gardeners at the end of May each year.  I like to save most of my own seeds from the previous year's harvest.  Our Plant Sale begins May 23 until you're done shopping or we run out of sale plants.  

I hate wasting food so have begun preserving, freezing and/or dehydrating any food that may not sell at the end of each week so it's always fresh in the end.  

Delivery:  Each Special Customer on our Delivery List will receive an email on Wednesday setting out what foods are available that week.  Customers who are interested in purchasing from this list order by Thursday afternoon.  Deliveries are made Friday to your home or business.  We understand that it's more exciting to eat a variety and maybe try new items from time to time, rather than receiving the same food each week.  Sometimes people are just too busy to eat at home one week, or might be on holiday for a week or two and would prefer not to order.  We're not offended by this at all.  We know you'll want to order again as soon as possible. 

Payment:  Some of our customers pay cash at time of delivery, others provide a certain amount every few weeks and whittle away at that until they owe more.  Also, some prefer to stop by and pick up their order as they're not quite sure what they'd like.  Seeing all the colours growing here is very inspiring to eat well.  The farm is open to visitors, we love showing off the work we do.  

If you have friends or family who might be interested in the services offered by Day Brighteners Farm, please let them know about us, let us know about them.  We currently deliver to North Grenville, Merrickville and parts of Ottawa.

Thanks.  

Jo

North Grenville Sustainability Fair - today

Come see us at the Municipal Center today - specifically the North Grenville Sustainability Fair - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Day Brighteners Farm has a booth.  I'll also be at the COG (Canadian Organic Growers) booth for a bit as well.

Jo

April showers, yes and April wind, Big Wind

Trying to keep the backyard furniture in the backyard is an issue these days.  We bought a couple of IKEA items, table and chairs, which are really heavy and weren't moved at all by the wind the last few days.  But the lightweight stuff - right across, upside down and sideways - yup. 

         

  

Our seedlings are doing great!  

We're running out of table space in the greenhouses as every 72-plant tray we up-pot turns into four 18-plant trays.  That's a lot of trays of future food.  

Seven new chickens moved in last weekend, 3 silkies and 4 d'uccles.

We get about 3 eggs a day now, the newest hens are about 6 months old and are starting to lay eggs.  They're awfully adorable, both the chickens and their eggs.  I'm thinking of selling the eggs 1/2 dozen at a time at first, until each girl steps up to the plate and contributes to the cause.  

I got a good response on the new Sprout Blend last week so am preparing that one again.  I'm hoping to have for your eating enjoyment next week (subject to weather co-operation of course) baby sorrel, thyme, sage, baby arugula, small portions of salad greens.  Pay particular attention to the "subject to weather" part.  The snow peas are becoming more recognizable each day - future yumminess.   

We'll be at the North Grenville Sustainability Fair Sunday April 26 - 10-2 at the Municipal Center.  I'll have some Sprouts with me if you find you've run out by then and can't get through another day without them.

And HAPPY LOVE THE EARTH DAY.  

Until next post, have a great every day.  

Jo

Happy Wednesday, Happy Week, Happy Spring, Happy Happy!

Doesn't the sun just massage energy into your whole being?  It's hard to believe that last Friday we were up to our knees in water and mud.  Then came the rain, the wind, the sun and yesterday we were kneeling on the ground weeding out garden rows, planting carrot seeds and transplanting companion flowers and not getting wet.  Go figure.  

We've been up-potting peppers, tomatoes, herbs and flowers almost every day and watching all our little ones facing and racing towards the light.  We've now planted almost all of the tomatoes that will grow here (I found a variety we haven't yet planted so will do that this week).  We've planted with everyone in mind - for the Plant Sale, good eating during the summer and for sauces to be put up in jars for the Winter months.  We also started some eggplant seeds.  Eggplant is just fun to grow and such a treat to eat - mmmmm think pizza, stir-fry, lasagna - mmmmm.  We've seeded in the little old Greenhouse, the plan being we should be eating salad greens from there until we can harvest from the outdoor gardens. The radish seeds we planted in November are showing signs of life and we have a lovely toad standing guard over the whole affair.  

a few trays- several hundred plants

Interim Salad Greens starting

plants and some hundreds of
 tomatoes on heat mats

waiting to move outdoors

We made "pallet tables" in the new Greenhouse which are now holding trays of new tomatoes, kales, broccoli, cabbages, herbs, leeks, onion varieties and flower seedlings.  We've built more shelves and installed more lights and heating mats in the house for the abundance of peppers and starter tomatoes until it's time for them to all live outdoors.  

In a few weeks, when the floor in the bigger Greenhouse is actually soil and not pure boot-sucking mud, we'll start some rows of cukes and the starter plants of squash varieties which many of you will choose for your own gardens. We decided to build a few raised boxes for the specialty cukes like the Soyu Long and the English which do much better in a greenhouse than outside. 

We'll be prepping more rows today, planting golden and red beet seeds and making trellises for the peas and beans.  We still have some up-potting of newer tomatoes and various other veggies to keep us busy indoors for the next few rainy days.

Oh, and we're getting ten more chickens by the end of this week some bantam d'uccles and more silkies - they are so pretty. 

That's it for now.  You may notice less posts nowadays, we're just busy outside, which is a wonderful thing.  Grounding and earthing, good for our health and well being.  

Until next post, have a great every day.
Jo

Seed Starter and Seedlings and Sprouts - Oh My!

EARLY PLANTING AS EACH VEGETABLE TAKES ITS OWN TIME

It's not just about plunking seeds into some soil-less seed starter mix.  There's the hours of that final wash, even though we did clean up in the fall, the pots and trays just sitting garage gathered a few bits of this and that moth and spider webbing.  My hands are a bit tender today, must remember to pick up rubber gloves for next time.

all washed and ready to grow

trays eagerly waiting for tomorrow

Leeks are the first to be seeded, they take the longest to grow.  We started the seeds at the end of February, hundreds of them.  They should be ready by September for our wonderful soups and stews.

hundreds of happy little basils

 Of course, herbs can be grown anytime.  We plan on having a very large selection of basils this year so why not get started as soon as possible, right?  We'll have all of the popular herbs as well.  I'm not sure if the rosemary survived the winter in the greenhouse in their pots, we'll see in about a week, it looks pretty good out there.

Our celery went to seed in the greenhouse last year so I tested to see if the seeds were good.  Yup, looking pretty good.  Celery here we come.  

celery and arugula

The hot peppers were started just after the leeks, our season is so short.  I'll put as many into the small greenhouse as I can to let them get the maximum heat they need, respecting their required space at the same time.  Some will go into the garden and will need special care during the late summer/fall nights.  

We started some of the edible flowers that will be enveloped into the Salad Greens.  They're coming along quite nicely.   

SPROUTS

THE IDEA IS PLANTED
I thought you might be interested in the sprout growing process.  I'd never grown sprouts before January this year, was really itching to have something growing before the spring salads began and I wanted to eat green food that came from my own doing.  So, enter sprouts.

THE SHOPPING FOR SEEDS BEGINS
I had seen the sprouting packages at Rainbow Foods while shopping there for the most possible local kale and remembered my friend Cynthia telling me how easy it was to sprout.  I had my doubts, did some research and made the commitment by telling my customers I would soon have sprouts for them.  There was no turning back at that point.

THE LEARNING WAS EASY
I began with a couple of selections of Mumm's Sprouting Seeds; Crunchy Bean Mix and Spring Salad Mix.  I learned very quickly that if I began the process Sunday evening for the Salad Mix, we'd all have Sprouts by Friday.  The Crunchy Bean Mix was different, they actually come about in about two days.

I believed I had this down to a science when lo and behold the days started to get longer.  Apparently longer days means that Sprouts take less actual days to develop.  Now I'm soaking them Tuesday and Wednesday to be ready for delivery Friday.

Sprout seeds waiting to grow their "tails" in a north window.  

YOU CAN DO IT TOO
The Spring Salad Mix is soaked for 2 to 6 hours, then rinsed at least twice per day (I rinse about 4 times per day, I'm a little nutty about that).  The Crunchy Bean Mix is soaked for 8 hours or overnight and rinsed twice (aka 4X) a day.
Sprouts are so nutritious, all of the goodness of the entire plant is in each teeny tinny little bitty seed - wow.  And they taste wonderful!

Oh and I do end up buying kale each time I get more sprout seeds.  Thank goodness for those Quebec farmers who have the means to grow for us through the winter.  Oh, I can hardly wait until I can go out to the field and pick my own.

 I'll report in soon after the Big Plant-athon tomorrow.  Have a great every day from now until then.

Jo

March = Mud

usually, but not so much this March with all the snow, ice and more snow.  BUT there is definitely mud under all of that surface stuff.  I know because I step in it, slip on it and bring it into the house every time I check the coop for eggs or check the greenhouse for temperature or get more pots and trays from the garage.  The mud is there waiting patiently for the big melt, more patiently than am I.  

We've been constantly planting and planning for the upcoming season.

So far all planting has been done in the house, except for the experimental seeds started in the old greenhouse last week - they're not up yet.  Tomorrow, finally, we'll be starting any new seeding in the greenhouses.  The daytime temps in the greenhouses are in the teens or low 20C ) and outside ranging from -3C up to +9C during the day and down to -17C !!! tonight.  Hopefully the warm days' air will hold it all together through the cold hours. There's just so much more room out there than inside.

 We up-potted all the ready hot peppers last week and a few more stragglers yesterday.  There will be more next week I'm sure.  Hot peppers always keep you wondering:  was the seed good?  was the soil too wet, too dry?  did you plant the seed too deep?  then voila they pop up when you were just about to toss the soil mix into your compost.  

The hundreds of leeks will be ousted from the house this week which I'm sure will make them very happy.  Once germinated and up to their current height, heat isn't their friend.  The leeks, onions, mustards and pre-seeded Salad Greens will be the first to be plunked into the soil, once we can see the ground.

We started more herbs, getting ready for the North Grenville Sustainability Fair Sunday April 26 and some sweet and paprika peppers, more edible flowers and some ornamental flowers (I can't resist if I have the seeds).  We'll plant tomatoes and lots of brassicas tomorrow.  I love those early cabbages with the pointed tops, the leaves are so tender.  They are definitely meant to be eaten raw, not cooked, too delicious to cook.  

Our plans include squashes of all kind, particularly the delicata which I discovered last fall from the Ottawa Market was The Most Delicious squash Ever.  You'll see us grow cucumber varieties, several colourful heirloom tomatoes, huge numbers of paste tomatoes for canning, yellow and green beans, snow peas (yum), lots and lots of herbs, carrots, beets and, of course, our ever popular washed-and-table-ready Salad Greens.  

We're still accepting customers for the upcoming eatin' season and have moved into the "CSA" weekly or bi-weekly boxes for those interested.  Some of our customers want to stay on the weekly email/order list and that's perfectly fine too.  Let me know if you're in by emailing me: joanne.daybrighteners @gmail.com

I`ll report in next week, or before.  Have a great every day from now until then.

Jo

and then POOF it's Spring

One day we're scraping and shoveling and racing from car to building and from building to car, warming up the car first - then a couple of days later, we're shedding a layer of clothing and our mitts get left behind as the day warms us.  Spring - bouncy, sproingy, can't make up it's mind Spring.  And we've just begun.  

The unheated greenhouses are now, in fact, heated by the sun, that wonderful star of ours which is holding on to every last hour of daylight with us and keeping the greenhouses at about +20C these days - that's with the doors open too!

The seeds I started indoors over the last month are growing well and some will be up-potted tomorrow.  More seeds will be planted this week and next week and more the next week and the next week . . . you get the picture.

I have several goals set right now:

a.  to keep the Sprouts growing for you - they are nice to keep us healthy in the meantime;

b.  to have potted Herbs and Salad Greens ready for our booth at the SNG Sustainability Fair - Sunday April 26;

c.  to have hundreds of Vegetable, Herb and Edible Flower plants available for our Annual Plant Sale - May 23 to May 31;

d.  to start each plant indoors to be ready for transplanting outdoors at the precisely correct date;

e.  to start and maintain plants in the greenhouse until the soil outdoors is ready, get them out of there in time to transplant the plants waiting indoors to be deposited into the greenhouse;   

f.  to get all the gardens started in time to ensure a good harvest;

g.  to keep all of you happy and well fed over the next nine or more months; and 

h.  all the other stuff that isn't coming to mind right now and there's a lot.  

Whew, that's a big plate to fill and a good portion of this "planning" is left to the weather.  

I now have all seeds I need for the upcoming season, that's a good start.  This will be my first year with the Market Garden full-time.  I'm looking forward to every minute of it:  being outside by 5 a.m., having hands and feet in the soil, watching the hummingbirds a few inches from my face slurping from the bean flowers while I'm weeding (the birds are slurping, I am not), noticing a small family of deer watching me from a hundred feet away (or maybe it's the beans they're watching), sleeping soundly at night after filling my lungs with fresh air all day and knowing that I can provide totally nutritious foods to my customers.  

With all of this said, if you'd like me to start a particular item for you, best to let me know now. I love helping people get their own gardens started each Spring.  If you have certain herbs you'd like to grow in a sunny window, order a mixed container for yourself or a gift for a gardener friend.   

I'm currently putting together the best system for us to ensure your orders are filled and delivered to the best of your schedule.  If you know someone who is looking for food delivery, please let them/me know soon so they can jump on the band wagon.   I'll soon send out a survey asking for your likes/dislikes and will have to set a cut-off date for new customers.  

Please note:  Ottawa deliveries will be made Wednesday so my emails will go to everyone Mondays beginning April or the soonest date when Salad Greens are ready to eat.  

I`ll report in next week.  Have a great every day from now until then.  

Jo

Which is best for you? Placing weekly orders or CSA boxes?

Hi,
I've been thinking about you: our customers for years now; our recently new customers; and our customers to be this coming season.
I've been paying attention to your buying trends, your wants, your needs and the time you have or may not have to actually place weekly orders.
Over the past five years, I've stayed away from the usual CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) system as it wouldn't be the way I'd like to shop and most of you are in agreement.  I prefer to choose the foods I eat from day to day, from week to week and my choices change as I become more aware of ways to prepare foods I've never before tried.  But I recognize that some of you, as much as you truly would like to order each week, don't have the time to actually place your order.  I totally understand this.

So . . . this coming season, which is now, I'd like to offer you choices.
A.  If you like the way we've been communicating (I send you an email of available foods, you respond, I deliver), I'm happy to continue this method of shopping and delivering with you.
B.  If you're finding it difficult to get that email out to me and would prefer to have a standing order of a box of vegetables each week, I'm good with this.
C.  If you'd like a box of vegetables delivered to you every other week, this could work as well.

There is always an option for you to pick up your order if you let me know in advance - how fresh could food possibly be, eh?  Also, some weeks you may need more food as you could have company coming, or may want to freeze or put up some of those extra pounds upon pounds of beans, or you may be going away and not need food from us at that time.  I can throw flexibility into the mix too.

You are most important to Day Brighteners Farm and I'd like you to enjoy as much of our produce as possible and to not miss out.  Give my idea some thought and let me know what would work best for you.  The food we grow here from seed to transplant to nurturing to harvest to table is so very special.  I hate to see any of it wasted or not enjoyed by you and your friends and families.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts so we can come up with the best method for you to enjoy fresh, local, organic, colourful eating in the months ahead.
Thanks.
Jo