Our first crop of 2012!

Patriot's Day weekend is a terrific time to plant the bulk of the spring seeds and seedlings (at least, here in Massachusetts). We were fortunate to have fantastic weather, and a 57.5° soil temperature.

We planted seeds of Arugula, Bok Choy, Carrots (a rainbow of varieties), Collards, Kale (green & dinosaur), Leeks, Mizuna, Mustard, Onions (red, white & yellow), Radishes, Scallions, Swiss Chard and Turnips (salad & cross types).

We also planted seedlings of Broccoli, Cabbage (green & red) and Spinach. Cauliflower seedlings would have been planted as well, but they weren't yet available from our local farm supplier.

The seeds and seedlings from previous weeks are growing fast. The Lettuce seedlings are particularly colorful!

Alas, our water supply remains unavailable, requiring the transport of dozens of gallons of water to the garden to give all the new seeds and seedlings a drink during the recent dry spell.

We knew we were in for a treat when our CSO (or Chief Signage Officer) arrived this morning. Bearing at least a passing resemblance to St. Nick, Dick had all the garden's new and remade signs in a satchel slung over his shoulder.

These lovely handmade wooden signs are a hallmark of Robbins Farm Garden. Not only are they handy for remembering what's planted where, they also act as garden ambassadors for each of the different crops -- from Amaranth to Zucchini -- 24/7.

 In this article from The Salt, NPR's food-focused blog, we learn that community farming often doesn't work. (One piece of evidence cited: 70 years of hunger and spare harvests in the Soviet Union.)

Among the complaints of cooperative communities farmers such as ourselves is that in the hotter weather, work crews dwindle. "Our experience is, it's an unequal participation, and an unequal sharing," says Judy Elliott, who's the Education and Community Empowerment Coordinator for Denver Urban Gardens.

The way we get around that is to link work and share: If you don't produce, you don't get the produce. 

Meanwhile, the story does say that if members get beyond that problem, the community that develops is even more valuable than the food. Certainly, very strongly, I feel that way.

Last week we puttered around a little, but today was Opening Day for Robbins Farm Garden 2012! A big "thank you" to Arlington's Parks & Recreation for letting us leave the garden in place over the winter so we didn't have to waste today putting the fence back up.

Lisa and Elisabeth started the day moving 3 yards of Bob & Guy Lalicata's excellent "black gold" (compost), distributing it among all the beds. Later we spread it out so that we wouldn't smother the winter rye, which can keep growing until we're ready to plant the crops. This could be the happiest winter rye in Arlington.

"Rock Star" Michael tackled a bed that had never been properly dug.

A few hardy spinach plants survived the snowless winter, so we're giving them a chance to enjoy the cool spring weather. The soil temperature was 50 degrees.

Melanie organized the cilantro volunteers that are sprouting all over the place and Sue got the fava beans (Windsor from Johnny's) into the ground nice and early this year.

The kale from last fall still looked good, but we had to get the peas in the ground right where last year's kale bed was. (We ate some for dinner tonight, and it was the sweetest, tenderest kale we've ever had.)

Three varieties of peas went in: Alderman heirloom shell peas (Thompson & Morgan), Mammoth Melting Sugar snow peas (Burpee), and Sugar Snaps (Johhny's). We planted them by the "Crockett" method: dug a wide trench about 4" deep, spread the peas an inch or two apart, and covered with 1" soil so we can slowly fill the trench in as the peas grow, keeping their roots down deep where it's cool. We'll be eating the first peas by the end of May.

It was a perfect day at Robbins Farm Garden thanks to this great early spring and having the privilege of getting back to work with our friends. As I've said many times before, gardeners are some of the best folks around. Come see us next Saturday at the EcoFest, then come on over to the garden.

It's the middle of March -- the perfect time to begin the gardening season. Unseasonable warmth is bringing everything quickly back to life. The Garlic is up, and last fall's Kale and a few Spinach seedlings have survived the winter. The Perennial Herbs are greening up as well. The soil is still a chilly 42° F, but it digs nicely. Next Saturday we'll officially open the garden and begin planting!

It's the latter half of February and most of our seed orders have arrived -- right on schedule.

The largest order was from Johnny's Selected Seeds (Albion, ME). We ordered onion sets, sweet potato slips and other seed from Burpee (Warminster, PA) and a few special items from Thompson & Morgan (Lawrenceburg, IN).

Well before we start planting, our 2012 crops list is already looking presentable.

The seed companies continue to expand their organic selections, so we were able to get an even higher percentage of organics for the garden this year. Another reason to be cheerful.

We're also experimenting with a more complete botanical reorganization of our seed box.

Visit us at EcoFest 2012. We'll have information about Robbins Farm Garden and how to join. It's likely that there will still be open slots left for a few local gardeners.

Today I turned our two compost piles.  Unfortunately, the piles were cold.  I had hoped to show the visitors -- we had about eight, mostly adults -- steam from the center.  But evidently I waited too long; next year, I'll try a December turning.  Cold piles means that the decomposing bacteria have run out of fuel (carbon matter) near them, and have depleted the oxygen.  Composting is like a slow fire, and needs oxygen to breathe.  Turning both mixes up stuff, so that bacteria are relocated next to fuel, and refreshes the supply of air.

Both piles had reduced since November, when they were overflowing, showing that some decomposition had happened.  The top halves of each pile had the least decomposition, so I set those aside.  I then combined the bottom portions of the two piles into a new pile.  There was significant dirt in those bottom portions, so I'm hoping we can get some garden-usable compost out of them by late April.  I then combined the set-aside halves into a new pile, which is really going to need summer heat to decompose.  And the thick sunflower stalk pieces may just take too long for us.

Very little was frozen, except at the bottom on the north side of the wire mesh bin.  Comparing the two bins, I'd say the black bin had somewhat more decomposed matter than the wire bin.  This may be due to the black plastic keeping the pile somewhat warmer, by absorbing more sunlight.  Or due to less exposure to the cold winter air and winds.  Or maybe I just preferentially put the better stuff (less stalks) in that bin in November.

Next turning sometime in March!

Vermicomposting, (the "official" name for using worms to do your composting), is a great alternative to outdoor composting, especially during the colder, winter months.  Using red worms in an indoor compost bin, you simply layer any plant-based scraps with some shredded paper (e.g., newspaper, but avoiding glossy paper and colored inks), wet with some water that has been allowed to sit uncovered over night (to off-gas any chlorine), and then cover the bin and let the little red wigglers do their thing.  I've been composting all of our kitchen scraps and indoor plant trimmings this way for over three years now, and it's very easy & low maintenance, especially with one of the commercially available bins. 

Vermicomposting produces "castings" (aka, worm manure) which is great for both outdoor AND indoor plants.  Vermicompost has NO smell, offers great organic matter to improve soil texture, contains excellent, readily-available plant nutrients, and contains beneficial microbes that should be a part of any healthy soil.  There are some great web sites that explain how to get started.  (Google "worm composting")

This is the worm composting bin that I highly recommend.  It's called "Can-O-Worms". This bin even has a tap which allows you to drain off any excess water, which itself makes a great liquid fertilizer!

You should also consider getting a book or two on vermicomposting.  Worms Eat My Garbage was extremely informative and helpful when I got started.  For the best price I could find, go to www.discountbooksale.com and search on the book's title.

Have fun with your worms!
- Mike

On January 28th at 10 AM, the Robbins Farm Gardeners will gather at the Community Safety Building (112 Mystic Street) to begin the gardening season by selecting seeds and crops. From artichokes to zucchini, all are invited to share in our excitement about what we'll be growing (and eating) this year!

Sadly, the lovely rosemary we grew in the garden isn'thardy in Arlington. So we potted the plant before the first hard freeze and are keeping it indoors for the winter. The progress, so far, is good.

The plant needs as much light and water as it can get in a New England home in winter. It's in a south-facing window and is checked for water every few days. We've also made a point to trim the leggy stems, which make fine additions to many recipes.

Let's hope we can keep it going until spring!

 As of a few days ago, we still had some greens in the garden, particularly kale.  Recently, I -- a bit of a "gourmet" potato chip fiend -- learned of kale chips as a healthy way to satisfy our cravings for crispy, salty snacks!  There are many, many recipes to be found online, most calling for oven baking, with a few instead calling for a food dehydrator.  I experimented a bit with the oven methods, since many people don't have a dehydrator and, also, I figured that baking was likely to give more flavor.  

The first step is to cut the heavy stem out from the kale leaves.  While some recipes I found suggested using a sharp knife, it turns out that you can tear the kale away from the stem readily.   Tear the kale into pieces that will be "bite size" once they're dehydrated.  About a 3 to 4 inch dimension seems to work fine. 

I washed the kale pieces thoroughly in water, and dried them as well as possible.  I used a salad spinner and then blotted them with a towel. 

Then, I placed the kale pieces in a bowl, and added some extra virgin olive oil (at least I hope it was EVOO -- mine was from Trader Joes). I massaged the olive oil into the leaves, so that all were as evenly coated as possible.  Then, I seasoned them generously with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.  The coated kale looks like this:

I then spread the kale in a single-thickness layer on a baking sheet.  Some of the videos stressed that the layer must be only one leaf thick, warning that if the kale is piled up, it won't become crispy.  (I chose not to test this theory, so have only tried the single layer.)  Before baking, it will look like the photo below, and will shrivel up considerably and darken in color, as described below, as it bakes. 

I baked the kale in an oven set for 350 degrees F.  Some of the recipes said that only 10 min was needed to get them fully dehydrated and crispy.  I tried the recipe in two ovens, and one took at least 15 min and the other took 20.  (Both ovens were set on convection, which automatically sets the temperature to 325 degrees.  This may have been the issue.)  It's a good idea to just watch them and make sure that they do not burn.  They should reach a fairly uniform dark green color, and appear curled up and considerably smaller than the original pieces. 

After they're fully crisped up as described above, the kale chips can be very gently blotted on paper towels to remove excess oil. 

These are incredibly delicious and crispy straight from the oven!  Whatever you do, do not store the uneaten chips in a sealed container. This makes them lose their crispiness.  If there are any leftover, I would suggest storing them in an open bowl.  The finished kale chips, with their dark green color, are shown in the third photo, below.  The moistness you see on the chips is residual olive oil.  These are definitely finger food, but you will want some napkins handy.  

While of course this is best with local, fresh-from-the-garden kale, if you crave this snack "off season", I found that a Trader Joe's bag of precut and washed kale works great.  One bag will fill two large baking trays.

By the way, this is by no means the "perfect recipe" for kale chips.  If anybody has variations to suggest based on their own kale chips experiences, please add them in the comments section.  I'm also curious about other seasonings, as well as other greens that might also be used to make chips.  

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To help save money when buying vegetable seeds, check the viability of seed varieties and order larger packets of seeds that are long-lived.

Assess your remaining seeds from last season. If you liked a particular variety, continue to use the seed. Because seed can remain viable for years, if properly stored, it is often economical to buy larger packets at reduced prices.

Here is a general list of seed viability for some common vegetable crops:

Short-lived seeds (1 – 2 years)

    * corn
    * leeks
    * onion
    * parsnip
    * spinach

Medium-lived seeds (5 years)

    * squash
    * pumpkin
    * peas
    * eggplant
    * parsley
    * beans
    * carrots
    * celery

Long-lived seeds (over 5 years)

    * broccoli
    * lettuce
    * collards
    * cabbage
    * cauliflower
    * brussel sprouts
    * kale
    * tomato
    * radish
    * cucumber
    * melon
    * peppers
    * turnips

RF Gardeners,

To help us plan what we'd like to cultivate next season....

Here's a list of the Top 10 Heirloom Tomatoes for 2012:

http://www.hortmag.com/plants/fruits-veggies/top-heirloom-tomatoes?et_mid=527783&rid=2167011


Please vote for your top 3!
- Mike

Hi All,

I just received my 2012 catalog from Johnny's Selected Seeds, and in it they offer this new cross between Brussels sprouts and kale, called Flower Sprouts.  The first new veggie to be developed in about ten years!  Sounds like it could be fun, educational and tasty to try!

See the attached scan of the catalog page, as well as the following related videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92Rtbm19-ec&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTbEet_KvF8

For more cultural info, go to http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8665-kaleidoscope-mix-f1.aspx  and click on the "Growing Info" tab.

TTFN,
- Mike

If it's November, it's time to harvest the Brussels Sprouts. They're one of the slowest crops in the garden -- but worth the wait. They're exceptionally cold hardy. In fact, they were growing so vigorously in late October that the snow didn't even stick to them! 

The last of the Scallions, Leeks, Collard Greens and Tatsoi were harvested this week. (Sadly, the Leeks never fully matured.) We're still picking small Broccoli florets (amazingly, from the seedlings we planted in April) and some of the sweetest Kale I've ever tasted. The Arugula and Broccoli Rabe also continue to produce. A few tiny Lettuce and Spinach seedlings remain, along with our marginal late-season Cabbages.  

After Saturday's work session, the garden was neat and clean and green. The following day, it was white! The fluke October snow was perfectly timed to weigh down the fresh compost of basil, bean, eggplant, okra, pepper, tomato and tomatillo plants.

The cabbage was snug in its white blanket, awaiting more warm weather and the Brussels sprouts were standing tall.