Andy's Specialty Garlic & Produce

Onions and Leeks

2011-02-21T17:18:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures of the onion and leek crop! The sweet onions in the front are up and growing; toward the back of the pictures are the storage onions that were seeded later and have not germinated yet. I also just started a couple trays of lettuce today for planting early in the high tunnels. Can't wait for Spring!

What is going on at the farm

2011-01-10T17:56:00.002-05:00

As a farmer, I'm always thankful for a new year and a fresh start. This year is no different, and I'm hoping for a very successful year producing more quality fresh produce than ever. Winter is a more quiet and restful time for a farm, a chance to work on projects there was no time for in the hectic days of summer. Lately I have been preparing this years seed order, extending the seed starting greenhouse for more production room, working on a new Farmall Super A cultivating tractor I purchased late last Fall, and doing other various tasks around the farm. We are hoping to be erecting a new 34' x 72' high tunnel in March, where all the cucumbers will be grown this year. We had a big problem with disease on the Fall cucumbers last year, and hopefully the plants will stay drier and healthier in the high tunnel. Here is an old picture from last season of me in the high tunnel with cucumbers and one of the new extended seed starting greenhouse.

Tomatoes and cucumbers!

2010-06-01T22:16:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of cucumbers being trellised in one of the high tunnels. The cucumber plants are loaded with small cucumbers! Should be ready in a couple weeks. We also just started working on staking the tomatoes today. They were starting to run on the ground and were really getting out of control, but they look much better now. Working in the high tunnels in the cool evening is much more pleasant than the heat of the day.

Planting, weeding, and more planting

2010-05-14T21:42:00.002-04:00

Lots of plants and seeds have been going in the ground lately: broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, beets, swiss chard, lettuce, carrots, spinach, radishes, arugula, turnips, scallions, peas and more. We've also been working to stay ahead of the weeds in the first rows of greens that were planted in late April. Here are some pictures of greenleaf lettuce, scallions, onions, and swiss chard seedlings planted on the muck.

2010-05-14T21:36:00.002-04:00

With the rain we've had lately, the garlic is growing really fast. It's also making the weeds grow fast too, so we've been working on hoeing and cultivating the rows with the tractor. I'm looking forward to pulling those first big bulbs. Only 2 more months to go!

Our Egg Layers on Pasture enjoying the beautiful weather

2010-04-30T19:36:00.002-04:00

Our egg laying flock is housed in a new movable coop we designed and built over the winter to be able to move our flock every few days to fresh green pasture. It is amazing how fast they can tear up the thick clover as they eat it and forage for bugs. The chickens are also very safe from predators at night because we take down the ramp to the door so there is no way in.

High Tunnel tomatoes and cucumbers all planted!

2010-04-24T21:30:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we got all the high tunnel tomatoes and cucumbers planted. About 253 tomatoes and 100 cucumber plants. Before planting, I spread a few yards of composted goat manure and amended the soil with aragonite(a sea mineral high in calcium), greensand(contains 30+ minerals) and a bagged organic fertilizer. Then drip irrigation was laid. Can't wait for the first tomato and cucumber salad!

New bee hive

2010-04-24T21:22:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of my younger brother(14) installing our new bee colony a couple days ago. We had purchased the hive box and all the supplies about a month ago and were waiting for the bees to arrive. They should be very useful for pollinating all the tomatoes, peppers, melons, squash, etc. We also hope to get a small amount of honey by the end of the season too. Its important when working around bees to move very slowly and calmly and not agitate them.

Garlic Growing

2010-04-19T21:47:00.003-04:00

The garlic continues to get taller, especially after it was amended with a high nitrogen organic bagged fertilizer and 400 lbs of kelp meal to the acre. Kelp contains many minerals and micronutrients from the sea and is very beneficial to plant growth.

First Spring Broccoli and Cabbage

2010-04-19T21:35:00.003-04:00

Last Friday we got the first Spring broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale planted. I was also able to get a second planting of sugar snap peas in. The rain over the weekend was very good for the transplants to get rooted in the ground. Can't wait for the first cabbage to make sauerkraut with!

Preparing and planting on our muck land

2010-04-14T22:37:00.002-04:00

Yesterday and today we got some planting done on our rented piece of muck land. First, I used the big New Holland tractor to Chisel Plow the ground, then the small New Holland tractor to rototill the ground. Then I marked the rows and we planted about 3800 sweet onion transplants, 250 scallion and pearl onion transplants, 200 lettuces, and direct seeded spinach, arugula, turnips and radishes. It was really nice to be able to plant without dealing with any stones, unlike our sandy loam ground. Muck is excellent for growing onions, spinach, carrots, lettuce, celery, etc., so I'm very excited to see the yields.

Plants ready for the field

2010-04-10T23:06:00.000-04:00

We're anticipating having a few days of mild, dry weather to get the first broccoli, cabbage and lettuce in this week, and start working on getting the sweet onions in. In addition to the transplants, I should be able to get in the first sowings of radishes, turnips, spinach, arugula and carrots. They will be going in on the muck ground we rented down the road from the farm. I will have pictures of that soon.

2010-04-10T22:59:00.002-04:00

These young celery plants won't be set out in the field until early June - temperatures below 50 degrees for more than a few days will make the plants bolt. They will also be going on the muck soil. It's rich and moist - perfect for a high water demanding crop like celery. Celery is one vegetable that is hard to find organically grown, so I believe our members will especially appreciate having it in their boxes this summer.

2010-04-10T22:52:00.002-04:00

Tomato and cucumber transplants getting ready to go in the high tunnels late next week. The smell of the those tomato plants is wonderful, to me its one of the great smells of summertime.
I'm hoping to have cucumbers to put in the first or second share boxes, and tomatoes for the boxes by mid July!

Garlic

2010-04-03T13:49:00.002-04:00

The garlic has grown a lot in the last week. Very soon I will be putting the Spring fertilizer application on and then start cultivating it

Out discing today

2010-04-02T21:00:00.003-04:00

I disced up some ground today and planted oats as a straw crop. I'm going to let it grow to full height and then mow it and use it as mulch around tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

New happenings at the farm

2010-03-22T20:30:00.002-04:00

Here's a shot of our garlic field. Young garlic plants just emerged earlier this week.

2010-03-22T20:29:00.002-04:00

trays of tomatoes that will be planted in the high tunnels

2010-03-22T20:23:00.003-04:00

Broccoli and cabbage plants growing. We're hoping to have broccoli in the first or second share box.

2010-03-22T20:16:00.002-04:00

Yellow sweet onions and red onions growing very well in the greenhouse. In another month they will be going in the field.

2010-03-22T20:12:00.004-04:00

We were also able to get some ground tilled up. Our ground is early ground and drains well. The soil was shallowly plowed with a moldboard plow to turn it over and get rid of the clover cover crop that had been growing since last Spring. Then it was disced and oats were planted as a cover crop to protect the soil until it's time to plant warm weather crops in late May and early June. The soil will then be chisel plowed for deep aeration and then disced to form a seedbed before planting.

2010-03-22T20:02:00.003-04:00

With the warm weather the last week and a half, we were able to get the plastic on two high tunnels, which will be used for growing early tomatoes to put in our members share boxes. We hope to have these by mid July!

New Baby Chicks

2010-03-10T10:24:00.002-05:00

Here is some pictures of our new 5 day old chicks. They should be laying eggs in about 5 1/2 months from now. The main flock is Delaware's, and for an experiment we ordered a few Golden Polish. They seem to be doing very well, and we'll have them out of the brooder and on pasture at 4 weeks

2010-03-01T20:04:00.003-05:00

First tomato seeds of the season started today! I'm growing four varieties of heirlooms and also a hybrid variety that has worked out very well. They will be on a heat mat until they germinate, then after they've been up a couple weeks will be transplanted into 36 cell trays. These tomatoes will be going in my three high tunnels around the 3rd week of April.

New high tunnel

2010-02-22T21:20:00.002-05:00

The last few days I have been working on constructing a new high tunnel. This tunnel is 26x48 and will not be heated. Just a single layer of greenhouse plastic will protect the plants from the weather. I will be using this tunnel to grow heirloom tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes, while very tasty, have little disease resistance, which makes a high tunnel perfect for them, because they are protected from weather extremes, mainly too much rainfall. The plastic will not be going on until the first week of April.

starting onions

2010-02-16T13:20:00.004-05:00

Although it was cloudy and chilly out, today we were starting the first seeds of 2010: onions. About 3700 of them. 2500 Ailsa Craig Exhibition, which is a yellow sweet onion and 1200 Redwing, a red salad onion. The onion plants will be transplanted on muck soil in about 10 weeks. They'll require frequent cultivation and hand weeding, but hopefully by early July we'll have the first sweet onions ready for the share boxes.

Unheated high tunnel with Spinach

2010-02-11T10:44:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of one of my unheated high tunnels. Spinach is growing in two of the beds, kale in one and arugula in the other one. This is one of the high tunnels where I will be growing tomatoes this Spring.

Spring Update

2010-02-11T10:19:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of my new greenhouse for raising field transplants. I was originally planning to heat the sand bed in the greenhouse with a hot water radiant system, but after researching the size of the system needed and the cost, I decided to just purchase some electric heat cables for bottom heat and a couple of electric space heaters. I built a tent in the greenhouse from row cover to help prevent heat loss from the sand bed. This is where I will be starting all my transplants for the field this season. Next Monday the first Sweet Onions are going to be started, and towards the very end of February I will be starting the high tunnel tomatoes: a slicing variety and 4 different heirlooms. I am getting very excited - already anticipating those first ripe tomatoes!

2009-10-08T20:17:00.000-04:00

its fun to drive

2009-10-08T20:16:00.001-04:00

My new tractor

2009-10-08T20:11:00.000-04:00

Try this recipe with your collard greens

Kickin' Collard Greens

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 pound fresh collard greens, cut into 2-inch pieces

My folders:

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, crumble and return to the pan. Add onion, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until just fragrant. Add collard greens, and fry until they start to wilt.
Pour in chicken broth, and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until greens are tender.

2009-09-30T21:40:00.001-04:00

Here's some recent pictures of our free range, heritage breed turkeys

2009-09-30T21:05:00.000-04:00

Here's a great soup for these chilly October evenings:

Kale Potato Soup

1 large onion
1 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic

2 big potatoes
1 large bunch kale
5 cups chicken broth(or water)

1/2 tsp salt(or to taste)
black pepper

Saute onion in butter, cooking and stirring until clear and slightly golden. About halfway, add the garlic; when the onion is done, crush the garlic with a fork.
Add the potatoes and 2 cups of broth. Simmer, covered, until potatoes start to soften around the edges. Meantime, wash the kale, remove the stems, chop and
steam.
When the potatoes are very well done, puree half of them with remaining water and the salt and pepper. Combine all and heat gently, correcting the consistency
if necessary by adding hot water or milk.
Makes about 6 cups.

fall spinch and radishes

2009-09-10T23:18:00.000-04:00

here is a bed of fall spinach- it had exceptionally good germination and also radishes and arugula. Fall crops always seem to have less bug and weed pressure than Spring and Summer crops.

garlic field in buckwheat

2009-09-10T22:47:00.000-04:00

This field was in clover since Spring of 2008. It was plowed under the last week of July and seeded to buckwheat. Its almost ready to disc before it goes to seed. We use cover crops to build and protect the soil.