Gone Too Soon

 

I hope I said "thank you" enough to someone 

who taught me so much.

Each one of the "Farm School" posts 

underneath the header of this blog,

represent lessons that are life long and life changing.

Apart from learning so much about gardening,

we had a heck of a good time.

What a colorful life he led, always on his own terms,

and going forward full throttle.

His devotion to his wife, friends and farming was unshakeable.

The other side just got a whole lot brighter,

and his legacy will remain steadfast for those left behind.

Lynn Greenfield

1947-2026

May you rest in fields of clover.

With me in spirit always, my friend.

Please keep his wife Faye in your prayers.

Farm School Visit

This past weekend, we took a trip back down south.
Big K had a ham radio event in Orlando,
and we had a few things to pick up that were left behind when we moved.

We had time to stop by and visit with Faye and Lynn.
It was bittersweet, as I miss these two generous souls,
but it is always good to spend time with them.

 

Of course, I got a tour of the farm.

Things are hoppin' and it was good to see

how well they are faring.

 

The mustards were exploding out of the containers.

Folks in this part of the south love their greens.

 

The eggplant was abundant.

Lynn said it is the best crop he's had in years, maybe ever!

(On Friday, I'll show you what I did with these beauties.)

 

The banana peppers numbered more than I could count.

The secret's in the sauce 

(turkey poop).

 

Tomato town was overflowing with gorgeous globes.

These plants look like the best crop I've seen since I've known Lynn.

 

Unfortunately for me,

they weren't ready for the pickin',

but it was good to see how vibrant and healthy they were.

 

This is the first time that Lynn is growing juicing carrots.

They were a request from one of his steady customers.

We were gifted with a couple to try them out.

 

There are plenty more where those came from!

Every pot was just bursting at the seams with juicy goodness.

Hootie the Owl supervised our tour.
It did my heart good to spend time with Faye and Lynn.
It's always a "hoot" 
and we enjoy talking about all things gardening.

They gifted us with a truckload of produce,
which, somehow, 
we managed to fit into the car for the ride back.
Oh, how I've missed Farm School.
But it remains forever in my heart.


Happy Valentine's Day!
Hope you get to spend it with someone special.

Farm School Fall Garden Update

My time at Farm School is coming to an end,

but the fall garden is going gangbusters!

My farmer friends Faye & Lynn

have a 7,000 square-foot organic container garden

on their 10-acre farm in Lake Wales, FL.

I've been blessed to be able 

to help them out every weekend
over the last 3 1/2 years.

It's always an adventure!

We uncovered the lettuces to take note 

of how well the squirrel-proofing was working.

The shade cloth protects not only from critters,

but from harsh winds that frequent this area.

Looks like they are doing just fine, thank you!

Take that, you pesky varmints!

More lettuces are awaiting their time in the main garden.

Grow, babies, grow!

The shade cloth has also been used to cover up the 
newly-planted sugar snap peas.

 Guess what?

It worked!

We'll be eatin' some of these tasty morsels in a few weeks!

The pigeon peas and eggplant are growing like nobody's business!

So many goodies, so little time.

On the other side of the garden,

the Asian greens are doing well,

along with the Swiss Chard, tomatoes and kales.

We seeded a new batch of Swiss Chard

in order to be able to have enough

through the rest of the season.

Amazing how such a little seed can feed so many.

Time will tell if these need to be covered as well.

tat soi

So much scrumptiousness in one place.

God does good work.

And so does Farmer Lynn.

A Good Morning's Work

Our days at Farm School are winding down,

and we are cherishing every moment we get to learn from 

The Master.

This past weekend,

we worked on a couple of projects that needed doing.

The first one involved one of my favorite herbs.

We have a thriving rosemary plant out by our mailbox.

It loves the spot and requires very little care.

The bonus is the scent greets our mail carrier

with every delivery.

Win-win!

At Lynn's request, 

I had taken some cuttings from the Mother plant

and stripped the bottom third of the stem of leaves.

(These discarded leaves can be used for cooking or potpourri.)

I brought the cuttings with me to Faye & Lynn's,

so they could be transplanted for market.

Faye filled a large tub with pots,

then shoveled the magic soil mix into the vessels

and leveled them off with a straight edge (butter knife).

 Here we are all set up with filled pots and rooting hormone.

We worked near the garage,

as the day was too blustery to have much success 

with this endeavor out in the garden.

We simply took the cuttings, dipped them in water,

then coated the entire bare stem with hormone

and placed them in the center of the pots.

A dibber was used to create the perfect-sized holes.

They were watered in well and placed in a shady spot.

They will be watched and when they seem to be taking off,

they may be placed in a more sunny location.

You can read more about this fragrant herb 

in our Seed to Table Series here.

 The other job that Faye & I did together

was to pick pigeon peas.

These yummy morsels are akin to black-eyed peas,

in that they are nitrogen-fixers for the soil

and have a similar waxy taste.

We picked the greenest ones we could find.

They'll be shucked and sold at market this coming weekend.

Faye reminded me to use the sun 

to determine if they were ready.

The shadow of the peas in the pods helps to see their size.

The pods are not eaten in this case,

as they are quite tough.

You can read more about pigeon peas here.

It will be hard to say goodbye to this place.

The memories of all I have learned here

will be treasured in my heart.

My time here has made me a better person.

How do you repay that?

Farm School Update

With the fall garden in full swing,
we thought we'd do an update on Farm School.
About three and a half years ago,
I met my gardening mentors, Faye & Lynn,
who have been teaching me about being a farmer here in Central Florida.
(We have a year-long series on our sessions
posted underneath our header.)

A few weeks ago,

sugar snap peas were sown.

They germinated well,
but took a little while to get going.
They love the cooler temperatures of autumn.

 

This weekend they looked quite happy.
These snap peas are a vibrant green, crisp and crunchy,
and sweet as sugar.
We're looking forward to seeing those blossoms show up
because we know that we'll soon be enjoying these tasty morsels.

In the lettuce patch,
Faye & Lynn have been dealing with pesky squirrels.
They have attacked the delicate leaves of all of the varieties
including Romaine, Buttercrunch, Simpson and Red Salad Bowl.
Staying true to their organic practices,
they found a way to thwart the nasty critters without using pesticides.

 The shade cloth has done a remarkable job
of keeping them out
and keeping the plants safe.

More shade cloth was added to the garden on the west side of the property.

This time, Lynn used the shade cloth as a wall,
because the pots in this garden are much bigger than the containers in the lettuce patch.

 Inside this protective fortress
are kales and Swiss chard.

So far, the crops outside of the protected area seem to be untouched.

peppers

tat soi

tokyo bekana

The eggplant is lookin' good.
I sure hope I get to sample some of these beauties.

Once they reach a certain height, 
Lynn places cages over them for support.

Another crop that we are patiently awaiting
are the Celebrity tomatoes.
Nothing like home-grown maters.
The combination of Lynn's tomatoes and eggplant
is one of my favorite pairings for a peasant stew called ratatouille.

The fall garden is well underway
and we are enjoying spending every minute we can in it.