our maine home – zone 5b
Peas and spinach are up! And enjoying today’s sunshine. So happy to see them. And the favas are poking through.
However, almost all the broccoli and most of the kale has been eaten by critters. Brokenhearted.
You win some, you lose some.
Mostly about trim lately. Cutting, installing, painting… The pocket doors are in too.
A light snow fell off and on all day. It didn’t stick to the ground, but it was caught in innumerable spider webs scattered around the orchard and blueberry meadows.
The crops in the hoophouse suffered significantly from voles this year. The voles ate all the claytonia, spinach, lettuces, and whatever else I had planted – with the exception of kale and arugula. Not to their taste, I guess. So we had a meager crop of kale and arugula for our green supply this winter. We even had to supplement a little with purchased greens. But now the kale is lush and the arugula is going by.
Sam put an electric wire around the central beds, but we only found one dead vole. I don’t know if they left the scene for greener pastures or if the wire clicking scared them away. In any case, new baby greens are coming up undisturbed. And I’m using the heat of the sun during the day to baby my tomato seedlings and help germinate my parsley and peppers (at bottom of photo).
Eighty tomato seedlings – 8 cherries and 72 non-cherries of various varieties. The cherries include the delightfully named: Sunrise BumbleBee, Tropical Sunrise, and Principe Borghese. The most impressive of the non-cherry varieties so far are the Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye and the Italian Heirloom.
The seedlings are looking pretty sad and spindly at the moment. I just moved the tiny blocks into the larger blocks, which is a delicate operation. I’m counting on the natural vigor of tomatoes to make these guys want to grow!
I really enjoy the garlic crop. It’s so reliable. I take the mulch off to give the sprouts a chance to develop and declare themselves. Then I tuck the mulch back around them. Like tucking them back into bed. Maybe someday I’ll interplant something around them, but for now this is working.
Here’s a view of the unmulched bed on the left and the mulched bed on the right. Just reused the same hay mulch, which has already broken down quite a bit over the winter. So it is easy to grab handfuls and tuck. I handle the green leaves minimally when I have to pull them out of the hay. They feel so fresh and new.
Regarding hay carrying weed seeds and therefore not preferred for mulch – I have heard this from many many sources, but I’ve never found it to be the case. We’ve put a lot of hay on the garden over the years. Maybe it’s because we pile it on pretty thick. But isn’t that the point of mulch?
Still working on the big section in the middle. Excess mulch is on the ground outside the bed. Maybe I’ll add more.
It feels a little early to plant these but they are outgrowing their pots and I need them in the ground. So here are my little vigorous Speedia brussels sprouts seedlings and a few Mammoth red cabbage. I never leave enough space between my seedlings. I think I like the idea of them growing companionably in a cluster. And I’m usually short on space in the garden. I know they would most likely do better with an adequate amount of space. It’s something I’m working on as a gardener.
On the left, half a bed of brussels sprouts and cabbage under row cover. In the center, peas and fava beans. On the right, a row of broccoli seedlings under row cover. Eventually, the garden will look greener.
I planted the new baby kale seedlings in the same patch as the hoary old grandpa kale stalks. This is not following principles of crop rotation, but I did it anyway. I liked the idea of sheltering the babies amongst the elders that are starting to grow new shoots from their stems.
The dazzling blue lacinato is looking especially dazzling. No flea beetle damage yet. I may need to put these under row cover. Flea beetles can kill them when they are young and tender. Last few years, some of my kale survived the spring onslaught and grew well into the summer and fall, and even survived until the following spring (as the two stalks above).
I posted on social media about having extra squash at the end of the year and requested recipes to use up squash. Eleanor sent one that was perfect. The recipe called for butternut squash, but I used a small butternut and a small red kuri. We polished this off in one meal – no leftovers, unfortunately. The kale came from the hoophouse, where it is growing like a champ.
Here’s the recipe. I didn’t use oil and the squash roasted just fine. I also didn’t have the fancy additions, so I just added some currants. The amounts for the dressing make quite a lot, so I mostly halved it.
Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Kale and Cider Dijon Dressing
Salads
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Servings: Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
FOR THE SQUASH:
4 cups cubed butternut squash (1/2 inch pieces)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
FOR THE SALAD DRESSING:
1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (strained to catch the seeds)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
FOR THE SALAD:
1 bunch lacinato kale, stripped off stems, rinsed and patted dry
4 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup dry)
1/3 cup roasted pumpkin (pepita) seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup golden raisins
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Toss the cubed butternut squash in the oil, sugar, paprika, salt, coriander, cumin, black pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Spread out evenly onto a rimmed sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. No need to toss, just rotate the pan halfway through.
Meanwhile make the dressing. In a glass jar combine the mustard, honey, vinegars, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add in the oil, secure the lid and shake well.
In a large salad bowl add the chopped kale, cooked (warm) quinoa, roasted butternut squash, pepitas, dried cranberries and raisins. Season with a pinch or two of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Drizzle with 1/4 cup of the dressing or more to taste. Serve warm.
Source: https://www.simplyscratch.com/2015/10/warm-butternut-kale-quinoa-salad-and-fair-trade-giveaway.html
The row with the trommel at its head used to contain the legumes – peas and fava beans – which have been moved toward the house one row. For some reason, a lot of grass invaded the bed around the edges and it had to be removed. Sam hooked up the solar-powered trommel to regain the soil from the clods of grass. He’s sweeping dust off the solar panel to get it to function well.
It’s not exactly no-till gardening, but it is satisfying to look at the nicely prepared bed.
I haven’t been at camp very often, but work continues. Sam has hooked up the water – see black pipe heading for camp from the lake. The camp looks majestic next to its neighbors. No leaves yet, but the trees are budding out. Black flies expected by Mother’s Day if not sooner.
