Late March at the Toy Box

March is stressful. I am anxious to get my garden growing but at school, children are starting to realize that if they want to avoid summer school, they better get cracking! Somehow I have managed to get most of my chores done.

The early peas are in, so are the carrots and greens. Fava beans are showing but there is still so much to do.

I love my greenhouse. It lets me go out no matter what the weather is. By doing just a little each day I feel OK about being ready to plant. Those onions are a little disappointing this year. I usually have water from an aquaponics tank to water the greenhouse. Fish tank water is powerful and makes onions fatten up fast! Not so much this year.

Broccoli and Cauliflower hardening off before going into the ground.

Winter-sown artichokes up-potted. I have no idea where I will put them all, but I am confident that I will find a place.

If only I could find a day to plant the sweet peas out.

This little bed is doing well. Early in March I put in mixed greens, peas and lots of volunteer garlic. Every thing is growing well. We have actually been harvesting small salads from the greens.

Sunrise at The Toy Box Suburban Farm. We are still here and trying to share what is going on in Everett, Washington. Sometimes we just keep up with the work and do not have time to write. Never mind, only nine weeks of school left. We will be back soon enough!

Produce from the Toy Box August 1-10

• 26 Eggs
• 1 lb, 1 oz fruit (mostly blue berries)
• 5 lbs 15 oz mixed vegetables.

Sweet Momma squash…maybe it will be ready before first frost.

The flint corn “BlackTail Mountain” is already showing signs of being ready (that cannot be right can it?) I have Cinderella pumpkins all over the place. All over the place being in a 10 foot circle around the base of the plant. I finally went outside the fence and pulled the vines that grew through the pickets back inside the fence.

Fortex “French” green beans

Maybe most exciting is the amount of green beans I am picking every day. Both the bush beans and the pole beans are about to go into full production. Recently I watched a video on canning beans. I am convinced that unless I can put a pressure canner on the stove part of the BBQ, I will have to be content freezing beans. The frozen french beans I get from Trader Joe’s are good so I have hope that mine will be just as good.

Empress, Dragon, and Royal Burgundy snap beans, Gold Nugget Tomatoes and a few calendula petals.

I don’t think I have mentioned that I am getting little finger carrots and three kinds of beets. I took a peek at my potatoes yesterday, I will be harvesting those very soon!

Cauliflower……really?

Shabot Shalom! It is a beautiful day to Rest in YHVH. Blue sky 77/57 and 0% chance of rain. WooT! Sunrise at 5:59. Fourteen hours and 25 minutes later it will set at 8:27. The Thunder Moon (Av) is in its last quarter.

Cold, cold July (until today)

The Toy Box

Suburban Farm Episode #25 (Season 3)

I have no idea why or how you-tube chooses a cover picture. This looks liked my pumpkin vine growing outside of the fence. By the way, I did finally get my lawn mown. Sorry about the mess.

Is that a dragon fly sitting on my corn?

Today was warmer outside than it was inside, we have not had many days like that. Blue sky, 75/57 sunrise at 5:37, 15 hours and 15 minutes later the sun set at 8:52. I am missing my late walks with the dogs.

Winter Garden in a cold frame

I have been thinking about giving this a try.

Direct seeding Cold Frames…in Winter

The Toy Box, December 4, 2010

In late August and early September I am busy with school. Too busy to put in my winter garden. When winter arrives I want to add winter vegetables to the menu but there is precious little to add. Keven Kossowan, a gardener-blogger in Edmonton, Alberta, writes that he is direct seeding his cold-frame as late as November. Western Washington State is a banana belt compared to Kevin’s farm. This gives me hope for success. I am jazzed about trying in my little cold-frame.

On the winter cold-frame menu? Peas (of the seed I have I’ll choose the shortest growing), golden beets, spinach, carrots, greens, a square of microgreens and some kale. Maybe parsley and leeks too (how big is that cold frame?) I’ll probably video-document it all.

Boing!

It tasted good! Cork-screw carrot from a Carnival Blend packet of carrots. 11/9/11

When carrots reach the bottom of the SFG.