Little Sprouts...

We have had some really baking hot weather here the last few days and lots of new seeds are sprouting…carrots, pumpkins, artichokes and of course our little lady bugs are sprouting around to find their new home in the garden – so fun to watch! Busy watering everything and putting new seeds for corn and melons. Over the weekend we prepped our soil for some new tomato plantings, this year I am really anxious to get some beautiful tomatoes so decided to follow some wonderful advice from Love Apple Farm which has the most delightful tomatoes I have ever seen. This is the farm I spent a few months volunteering and harvesting, hopefully I learned something! I was fortunate enough to pick up some tomato plants from Cynthia at the farm a couple of weeks ago. Over the weekend we planted a White Cherry, Rose and Sweet Horizon…cant wait to see the results!

Ladybug, ladybug please make a home...

Yesterday Dante and I went to the local nursery and picked up a container of ladybugs (1500 apparently) to put in our garden and hopefully keep away our unwanted pests. This was a fun project for him and he was quite excited to get the ladybugs at the store. I of course knew nothing about the process of releasing ladybugs until now. Since it was so windy yesterday we decided to wait to release them until tonight, I was worried they might have blown away yesterday? We put the container of ladybugs in the fridge for the night because when we bought them they were in a fridge so I figured they like to be cold at night? So here is what I learned:

1. Release the Ladybugs in the evening out of direct sunlight and after you have watered area


2. Ladybugs do not fly at night so they should have a chance to settle down and search for food and water


3. Release them in an area with some plants and leaves so hopefully they will find food


4. After a few days they should start laying clusters of eggs under leaves


5. The eggs will then hatch into larvae which look like little black alligators with orange spots (who knew?)


6. In about two weeks they should become adult ladybugs
   

Just before bedtime tonight, Dante and I went to perform our release...we both really hope they decide to stay in their new home.

Wind, Mildew & Aphids

Yesterday we had winds of up to 50 mph...our little farm did not like that at all. Today I discovered our artichoke plant had bent and blown over, the Pea Vines had blown so hard they were sadly hanging in their place looking miserable. Lots of sticks, debris and leaves everywhere - it was a clean up...today I was reminded of how Mother Nature helps our veggies grow but can also do damage. Must be tough being a real farmer! After cleaning up and trying to secure the artichoke and peas, I discovered some of the pea leaves had a sort of white dust on them thinking I must have some kind of pest. After researching and matching images online I realized it is mildew and most likely caused from planting the vines too close together which doesn't allow vines to dry properly when it rains. We still have peas and new flowers, just dusty looking leaves. After tending to the peas I moved on to what is left of our winter broccoli and discovered some uninvited guests all over the stalks - Cabbage Aphids! There is not much left of the broccoli except some of the flowering pods so I decided to clear out the pondering pests and open the veggie bed for something new. Lots of work to do!

Pickin' Peas & Plantin'

Our pea pods finally came in last week so we now are able to pick a few each day and have been sharing them with friends along with the bibb lettuce. Dante even took some to his school for his Teacher, he was so proud of his crops. Yesterday we planted some Green & Red Romaines next to a yellow pear tomato, hoping to dub that corner the "Caesar Salad Garden". We also just planted cantaloupe, pumpkin, and basil seeds. The carrot seeds have already germinated and we have a bed of little carrot top sprouts. Next week I will be picking up some wonderful heirloom tomato plants from a local farm...I cant' wait to try the special pink tomatoes this year. Lots to do in the garden - going to be a great season!

One More Parsley Recipe...

Not long ago I posted about the abundance of parsley we have and a pesto recipe... a few days ago we had our first real Spring dinner party and of course I wanted to incorporate anything that was ready from our garden in to the dinner. I decided to go after the parsley again and this time made a Chimchurri Sauce to go with our grilled rib eye. Found a fantastic recipe at Simply Recipes that allowed me to use fresh parsley and oregano from our garden, also happy to have found this site for future recipes! The sauce was fantastic and was simple to make and a yummy dipping sauce with the grilled steak and bread. The rest of our menu included some grilled sausages, grilled sweet corn, zucchini & eggplant salad, rice pilaf and salad of greens from our farm. Happy Spring!

Outstanding in Our Field...

Last summer I learned about a wonderful opportunity to have dinner on a local organic farm on the "field" of the farm cooked by some great culinary chefs. A culinary adventure as they call it... Outstanding in the Field. Unfortunately all of the events in our area were sold out last year when I stumbled upon their site, you have to book early! They have just released their calendar for this year, it is a pricey dinner but I think would be a wonderful experience to celebrate outside with your local farmer and chef. I will be saving my seed money to hopefully attend one but also have taken the idea to incorporate in my own San Jose Urban Field, our backyard. We hope to have many enjoyable dinners with friends at our tiny field.

Our New Plot

A couple of weeks ago I was getting all set to build two 4x8 veggie beds and place over the asphalt area in the back. This was going to be a bit of labor because I would need to chip some holes in the asphalt for drainage and then schlep tons of wood to build the boxes (plus buy the wood). I kept looking for a new location of potential planting and then stumbled upon an area that is about 10x8 right outside our back door! It had landscaping fabric on it and there used to be wood chips on it we moved here. We pulled back the fabric and it was all dirt and good dirt! Dante and I began working the ground, added some compost and now we have a new addition to plant more veggies. So far we have put in 3 different carrot seeds; French Babette, Romeo (round baby) and a Sunshine mix (yellow & orange). Here is a picture of our new plot of land...the potted plants are temporary placed their to deter our puppy Diego out of the bed.