Summer in March, and what to plant?

Wow, wow and wow. 


It's hard to know what to be doing these days.

One day I'm stoking my fire to fight off a damp chill in my house, the next I'm throwing open all the doors and windows and welcoming a warm summer-like breeze into the house to revive my spirits.


As a grower, I'm trying to juggle a whole bunch of seasons at once. 

Winter crops are fading

There are beautiful little dry-enough patches of land that are all set for planting. But indoors, it's time to get the tomatoes (ad infinitum) seeded.  Hundreds of tomato varieties, categorized by colour, then planted within their category in alphabetical order. Somewhat of a logistical nightmare I tell folks. And it's true.

"Tomato Days" cometh

But it never fails to be exciting. I have some amazing "new to me" varieties this year, from all over the place with the most wonderful stories. Can't wait to see them...and taste them!

Hot peppers can take lots longer to germinate than sweet!

The eggplants and peppers are done, and up nicely for the most part, with some of the super hots lagging behind in germination as they are prone to do.


But outside, what can be planted now?


I have no doubt there will be some return to the chill of spring and continuing temperature fluctuations.


So it needs to be cool weather crops all the way.


I've planted my first peas this week, and a number of varieties of radishes. I've got lots of lettuces seeded in the hoop houses, but it can most definitely go outside as well. I've started a zillion different brassicas and chards that are ready for transplanting now, as well as head lettuce. 
So kales, chards, greens of every sort can get into the ground. 

But I won't plant any mustard greens or arugula now. The flea beetles have returned, and that is a most certain guarantee of little hole-filled leaves of these plants. So not till the fall for them.


I'm going to soak some beet seeds to plant, but I'll divide up my planting methods. Some I'll direct seed in the garden, but others I'll sow in either soil blocks or 200 cell trays and grow them on in the hoop house, until they are large enough to plant out. 
A race to the finish..which ones will grow best? That's the fun of gardening-we'll see!


I'll also get in some nice little Paris Market carrots, the cute little rolly-poly ones. 
Scallions too, although my Walking onions are shooting up their lovely greens now, and there is no onion shortage at all. 
How the heck did they get themselves planted throughout my flower gardens? And for that matter, why is there garlic everywhere too?
Strange things are happening.


And the growing season? Who knows-but it sure appears to be starting early!

Our food is disappearing-do you know?

Heirlooms may be trendy, but they are so much more than that. Read a superb article that appeared in The National Geographic in July 2011 here about the importance of heirlooms and the tragic story of varieties of food lost forever.

CSA baskets for March 13

I suppose it does seem a little odd starting a CSA season in March.
What actually is growing right now?

Well if you received a CSA basket from me today it is clearly a buffet of greens!

Some of these crops were planted last year...last September and October to be a tiny bit more precise, whereas others were planted in what should have been the deep chill of winter in January.

These are winter crops that are finishing up in the hoop houses, and will be replaced within a month's time by some other spring crops like radishes, onions and summer crops such as the early tomatoes.

The weather being unseasonably mild may make me reconsider any more spring crops being planted in the hoop houses though. They may just hit the soil outside if we get a continuation of the balmy weather we're seeing this week.

When I planted these crops, I counted about 36 different greens.

In your baskets today there are cute little pac choy, many varieties of mustard (Giant Red, mizuna, Purple Mizuna, Indian Mustard, etc) and collard greens.

Some of these greens have tender broccoli-like buds, which are delicious stir fried, with a bit of the onion and garlic greens.

My Mollie is addicted to these greens chopped up and served as salad with a simple vinagrette...bowl after bowl she eats. And of course that makes mama happy!

These greens will fill your baskets for the next several weeks, and there will be a few other surprises you'll see in your baskets as well.

Then I anticipate a break in the season, until some of the new crops I have planted mature. Hopefully a short break.

Here's another delicious idea for your greens, adapted from Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything Vegetarian " Fab-fab-fabulous book!

Beans and Greens

8 oz dried chickpeas, soaked
1 med onion, unpeeled
1 bay leaf
1 clove
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch greens-1 lb
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp good olive oil
1/2 cup fried bread crumbs to garnish

Put beans in large pot and bring to a boil
Cut a slit in the onion and insert clove and bay leaf, and add to the bean pot. Turn the heat down to med-low so the mixture bubbles gently, cover partially and stir occasionally.
When the beans begin to soften (30-60 mins), sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender but still intact. Add more water if necessary.
Add the greens to the pot and continue to cook until tender, 10 minutes or so, depending on the thickness of the stems.
Remove the onion, taste and adjust seasoning. About 3 minutes before serving, add the garlic and olive oil and stir. Spoon the mixture into individual serving dishes and garnish with the bread crumbs. Serve immediately!

(Fried Bread Crumbs-Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet and add the bread crumbs. Cook, stirring occasionally until light brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, and drain on paper towels.)

March is time to seed!

Busy yet?


Right now on the farm things are heating up.

Winter harvesting in the hoop houses continues, but will be coming to an end quite soon. 
Most of the plants are taking their cue from Mother Nature. Longer days and warmer temperatures encourage the plants to do what they are designed to do and that is reproduce. 
They are sending up their delicious and tender little seed stalks, flowers are appearing and then in a matter of weeks, it's over for another winter's harvest.


And that can only mean one thing. 


Spring!


But before winter officially signs off, a good deal of seeding is being done indoors and under lights in preparation for the busiest season of the year.


What have you seeded ?

  
My onions and leeks went into their pots in February. These ones need a bit of a haircut, so they will refocus their energy into their root system. In the ideal world, they'll go into the gardens in April, as long as my clay soil has died sufficiently. My favourite onion? Has to be Long Red Florence!

Then there are the brassicas, which went in a week ago. 9 different kales, early broccoli varieties, cauliflowers and cabbages. The thrill for me has been seeing fabulous germination from a very cool variety of kale I had tucked away in my freezer. It was ten years old, and germinated particularly well. The tiny seedling leaves are tinged with yellow, this should disappear as they grow. 


 These tangled little plants will be transplanted into cell packs next week. In my ideal world.

Pretty chards went in last week as well. This funky tray is Wild Garden Seeds "Better Beta Mix."
Pretty, n'est ce pas?


All these cool weather crops will hit my gardens as early as possible. There will be lots left over for sales and I'll start selling these plants mid-April.


Early March is also time to get the eggplants and peppers all seeded before the rush that is tomato seeding. Weeks and weeks of tomato seeding.


I always try to get the hot peppers in first. They generally take longer to germinate than the sweet varieties, and the super hots, like Trinidadian Scorpion and Bhut Jolokia, can take weeks. 

 I have an amazing collection of hot peppers this year. I'm pretty excited.

Last year I swore I wouldn't start as many eggplants. But I have. (Or I should say, my friend Holly, who was helping me has!)  But I encouraged it.
If they weren't so unique and beautiful it would be easy. But they are so lovely and it's hard not be to be swayed but the mauves and whites, purples, greens, yellows, oranges, reds and beautiful stripes. And the shapes. You see how it goes.


Then March 15th I begin seeding the tomatoes...hundreds of cool varieties and thousands of plants.
My 884 lbs of soil-less mix arrived today, and I stacked the bales in the driving cool rain. All okay.
I'm thinking about the tomatoes that will grow in it, the taste of them when they ripen. 
Yes.

                                                       March is when it all begins.