Farm School Spring Series Week Five

Welcome back to 
Farm School.
With overcast skies above,
we had an easy time completing a few critical tasks.

I sure wish you could visit us 

to experience the serenity that emanates here.

Tomato Town is bustin' at the seams.

Lynn is surprised at the short stature of these crops,

but does it really matter when you're loaded down with goodies like this?

It won't be long until we are sampling

and enjoying the juice dripping down our chins.

Last weekend we took out a few rows of sugar snaps,

but successive plantings will allow us to savor these sweet morsels

for a good while longer.

The black-eyed peas are looking strong and vibrant.

It'll be fun to see the growing habit of this initial planting.

For now, the leeks are in full sun,

but should they fail to thrive,

a nice, shady spot is ready for them.

The last of the collards are hanging in there.

They will be harvested for a few more market days.

Most of this part of the garden contains cold-hardy crops.

The kale, Swiss chard, even the beets are pretty well spent.

This area will be filled in with okra, more black-eyed peas, 

and possibly edamame to join the tomatoes and scallions

already content in their pots.

Broccoli has gone to seed, 

although we are still harvesting tips.

Isn't it amazing how a crop that is so densely filled with nutrients, 

can display such a lovely bloom when its purpose is complete?

God just keeps on giving...

The Brussels sprouts were harvested, 

as they did not reach their full potential.

When I brought them home,

they were roasted with just olive oil and salt

and were such a treat.

Lynn suggested adding them raw to a salad, 

in lieu of croutons.

Alas, my beloved Red Salad Bowl lettuce has turned in for the season.

We cleaned up the pots so that we could do some transplanting.

Although temperatures are steadily in the 80's now,

Lynn wants to attempt to grow some lettuce in the shade.

It's worth a shot.

If we don't try,

our salad bowls will sit idle for a good, long time.

We worked on transplanting two varieties:

Red Salad Bowl and Simpson Elite.

So far, in the cell packs, they look just fine.

Lynn grows everything from seed.

Lettuce is planted using a tweezer

and when the seedlings are large enough,

they are planted into their final growing pot.

Shade cloth as well as overhead tree branches

may give these cuties a fair chance.

These Surinam cherries were a new experience for me.

The trick is to find the reddest on the bunch.

Yum, sweet and juicy.

They are often used to make jams and jellies.

These were snagged for munching on the job.

Lynn is perplexed by this specimen.

We've featured it before, but still don't know the name of this unique plant.

This amazing datura is simply stunning.

Lynn has some seedlings started to keep the beauty coming.

It's so satisfying getting a few things done on The Hill.
It's been over a year since we began this endeavor,
and the learning has just begun.
Farm School is a blessing indeed.

The Farm School adventure began here.