No Garden Can Still Equal Fresh Just Picked Veggies.

Some readers of my blog know that we have a garden and a greenhouse. Fresh veggies are not a challenge for us. I mean FRESH veggies. But to those of you who have no time or no yard there is a way you too can have fresh veggies for most of the year.

Community Supported Agriculture or "CSA"
It's a concept that originated in Europe and Japan and has been in the US for about two decades. It has really taken off though in the last 5-6 years.
Basically city slickers join in with a local farmer and buy a "share" in the farms bounty.

Usually a payment is made up front early in the year and in exchange you receive a delivery, usually at a central point like a church parking lot, weekly of bags of what the farm produces.

Some CSA's include fruits along with produce and some provide meat and eggs. I know one that has mushrooms, goats milk and cheese and apple cider along with the vegetables.

Now how cool is this?

It is also a way to introduce food you may have never tried before, like broccoli rabe, eggplant, fennel, endive and salsify (look it up).
Some farms produce right up to Thanksgiving and a few even longer depending on what they are into and the climate.

What a way to eat healthier, introduce new foods, go pick up a bounty you helped to produce, meet new friends, one CSA here in Ohio has a potluck dinner every month and they include recipes along with your delivery.
Everyone wins.
Some may even have a way to work off the join up fee.

To find a CSA in your area go to www.localharvest.org and enter your zip code.
Vegg Out.....

Greenhouse is up and running

For the last few years, when trying to garden, I have been fighting bugs, the drought, and the scorching sun during the drought.
So haveing a hothouse to grow some food in raised beds is truly a blessing.

We used some materials left from building the house along with some new stuff and came up with a 12 x 24 building that could be converted to a garage or a small house if ever the need arises.

Raised beds were built and the bottoms lined with hardware cloth because we have a crazy mole and vole problem here.

Then we laid newspaper down 4 sheets thick a good 2 inches of straw and a soil less mix of peat,organic manure and hummus and compost.

Across the back is unfinished as we had to start getting things planted, time was already running a bit late as I have not been able to have a spring garden. But a good summer and fall one. And soon across the back wall will be a raised platform with a sink, our wringer washer and a shower.
In the center of each bed is a trellis that goes up to the ceiling and tomatoes, cukes, squash and melons can be tied to.
There is some great netting at Lowes for this. Very inexpensive. Like 8.00 for 2x50 feet.


Everything is doing really well. Here are some pics of what's growing so far...




This is a bed of "blue Lake Bush Beans" and over by the wall are 3 "Armanian" cukes. The little seed tray has my home made markers made from an old mini blind.




This is a bed of 3 "Big Bertha" peppers in front, with "German Johnson" tomatoes in the back. You can see "Sugar baby" watermelons on the other side of the trelli.
There are also a couple of "Yellow Pear" cherry tomatoes and some red onion sets and a couple of Borage.




These are "Roma" tomatoes, a couple of dill "Bouquet" and some "Pickling" cukes by the wall (gherkin type).


And here is a pic of some of the potatoes coming through the straw in my garbage bag potato garden.
Take a big good quality trash bag. Poke a bunch of holes in the bottom.Lay it on a bed of mulch or straw. Fill the bottom with a layer of straw, then a layer of peat (taters love a bit of acid) lay in your eyes and cover with a layer of straw. Wet it down till moist but not soggy. Wait about 10 days and you will see some growth peeping through the straw. Then keep layering straw and misting well. At the end of the season, you can bust the bag open and have a bunch of taters. Set them out in the warm air for an hour or so till nice and dry and store.
Of course I reach in and pull out baby taters all summer.
These are red potatoes and I also have some Kennebeck.



I will post pics of the other beds in a day or so, we are having some thunder now and I must sign off. Damn Satellite internet....