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?

The Maple Hill Hop 142

Welcome to 

The Maple Hill Hop.

This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.

Feel free to post about anything that's going on

OUTSIDE

in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.

(Please share only outdoor posts.)

*Grab the button above to link back to Maple Hill 101.*

Today we return to Farm School,
where we are updating some of our recent tasks
at Faye & Lynn's 7,000 square-foot container garden.

Summertime is not our peak growing season.
Due to our heat, humidity,
and an abundance of bugs,
it's a difficult time for a vegetable gardener.
Here are three crops that are faring well
so far this season.   



About a month ago,
we showed you how our pigeon peas were doing.
They germinated well and haven't needed much care.  

Four weeks later,
you can see how much they've grown.
We have spotted some leaf rollers on them,
but they seem to be holding their own.
The insects are hand-picked and sent to their doom.
Each of these plants will grow upwards of 5 feet tall,
and provide us with oodles of podded peas.
We profiled this crop here.  

Another new crop we're trying this summer
is Malabar spinach.
Here it is newly sprouting,
about 4 weeks ago. 

With ample rain, it's coming right along.
This is a new crop for us,
so we are enjoying learning about its growth habits.
I sampled some and it is quite an unusual texture.
The tender leaves were very subtle in flavor,
and almost seem to melt in your mouth.
 

I'm looking forward to using this food source
in a variety of ways to add more nutrition to my diet.

One summer staple that Faye & Lynn
have had consistent success with is okra.
This crop is undaunted by the scorching sun
and constant soaring temperatures.
Lynn has almost 500 okra plants growing. 

 Once this crop starts blooming,
the okra is on its way.

Being a Yankee,
I never had a yearning to add this to my plate.
Since sampling pickled okra,
I'm a believer.
I plan to have this planted in my garden
during the finicky summer days of growing.
Good to know at least something can stand the heat,
even if this gardener can't.

That's what's happening where we are.
How 'bout you?
HOP to it! 

   

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The Maple Hill Hop 138

Welcome to 

The Maple Hill Hop.

This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.

Feel free to post about anything that's going on

OUTSIDE

in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.

(Please share only outdoor posts.)

*Grab the button above to link back to Maple Hill 101.*

Today we are going back to Farm School,
so that I can share a bit of an update 
on Faye & Lynn's 7,000-square foot container garden.
(You can see all of our Farm School posts under our header.)

Summer is typically a slow time for the Florida veggie garden.

Lynn grows hundreds of okra plants at this time,

as well as a variety of herbs.

He's working on keeping lettuce going through the summer

by using the shadier parts of the garden,

 and he wants to be able to offer his customers something new.

This is Red Malabar spinach, 

an alternative to lettuce or conventional spinach.

While traditional varieties of spinach do well here in cooler months,

this is the perfect time to start up a batch of this heat-lover.

It germinates within a week,

and given sufficient water, it will continue to grow

with very little help from the gardener.

Lynn seeded his plants every 2 inches apart,

and has them aligned down the center of each pot.

The trellises are already in place,

so that this climber can reach for the sky.

It's so exciting trying new crops.

Knowing that this particular spinach doesn't mind the heat,

gives us something to look forward to.

The other new crop being grown this season is pigeon peas.

We had some growing in our backyard,

and thought that Lynn & Faye might like to try them out.

(They were profiled here.)

They enjoyed the taste when we picked some for them,

and we were happy to share the harvested seeds 

so that they could start their own crop.

At right around a month old,

these babies seem to be doing fine.

For now they are unsupported,

but Lynn may add stakes if need be.

It's fabulous to have another goodie to grow during this season,
when the veggie garden slows down due to heat and humidity.
Looking forward to seeing this crop flourish!

That's what's been happening at Farm School.
What's going on where you are?
Let's HOP!

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