Wonderous Week(s)

OK...so it's been gorgeous since last week. For the last few days, the extended forecast has only shown one night with temperatures below freezing. What month is it? 70...really?! I remember one January a few years ago in Charlottesville, VA when the whole month was like this. I worry that all the plants and insects, etc. are going to be woken up only to be creamed by a hard frost or huge snow. My buddy, Dr. John, was telling me that he's seen trees leaf out three times in one season. We'll see, maybe it'll stay like this. Hopefully, this doesn't mean it's going to be a crazy hot and dry season.

I want to clear something up. I started this blog with the intention of chronicling the progress of my permaculture site, Sweet Aspect Mini-Farm. The farm is near Mars Hill, NC, zone 6ish (somewhere between 6 and 7). I am also the gardener at the Penland School of Crafts. In that capacity, I care for ornamental flower beds adjacent to dozens of buildings. I also started a food growing operation and acquired a permit to compost most of the organic waste the kitchen produces. I helped develop a forest stewardship program to manage the undeveloped portion of the 400-acre campus. The difference in elevation between the two sites is about 1,000 ft. There are many differences between the Penland and Sweet Aspect, so I'll start to be more clear about which one I'm talking about.

At Penland this week, I tilled in all of the compost and Complete Organic Fetilizer (COF) I laid on 6 out of the 12 100' rows within the last couple of weeks. I wound up using about 8 quarts of the COF on each row and about an inch of compost from 2009. On Tuesday, I even planted a 100' single row of 2009 Winter Bloomsdale Spinach from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (SESE). I also did a 30' single row each of Ruby Streaks Mustard from the 2010 Organic Growers School, 2009 Tat Soi from SESE, and 30' of 2011 Sow True Seed's Appalacian Greens Mix, a combination of Seven Top Turnips, Champion Collards, and Green Wave Mustards. I hope they survive the next cold wave if they come up within the next week.

Before I tilled, I used a really handy trick to see if the soil's ready in clay conditions: take a handful of garden soil and make a ball with the soil in one hand. Stick the thumb of the other hand into the ball of soil. If it crumbles, you know the soil is ready for working. If you're not able to make a ball, you know the soil is too dry and if the thumbprint remains and the ball stays intact, you know the soil's too wet. If you till when the soil's too dry, the soil will slump the next time it rains and you will be left with an airless, concrete-like slab. If you till when the soil's too wet, the tiller will cause clods in the soil which will become like stones or bricks instead of the fluffy crumbly brown soil we all love.

Pili's Question

Hi Ryan,

I found your blog! and now i have questions. I've been doing some yard work - cutting down ugly stuff, and things that seem out of place. In doing this, i decided that i would like to plant some flowers - something pretty and colorful - that will be low maintenance and work in the local climate. Do you have any suggestions? I don't have a lot of money so suggestions for an affordable way to do this would also be great! Also, I would need to know when to plant them. If this is on your blog already - just point me in the right direction. I was going to post this as a comment on your blog in case it would benefit others.

Thanks!

Pili.

Low maintenance is SUPER key! The perennial flowers I always turn to in sunny situations are Black-Eyed Susans, Echinacea (Coneflower), and Globe Thistle. The no-brainer annual flowers that I always recommend for a sunny spot are Zinnias, Cosmos, and I really can't do without one called Celosia. You can easily find seeds for all these except for Celosia in the Fall. These plants are really easy to find and grow...I can definitely slip you some plants in the Spring. Anytime you can work the soil is a good time to plant from now until around June 1st, when you've kind of missed the Spring planting window. I'll also tell you later how to figure out if the soil is too wet or dry.

I want to know more about your site...I need to know how sunny it is and whether it is wet or dry. I can go into more detail once I know this info. Favorite colors, height requirements/preferences, and size of the area are other important details.

Coop

Leeks, Rosemary, Geraniums and Begonias

Just started my Leeks and Rosemary on Monday. Repotted my Geraniums, already gettin' big and lookin' good. Lisianthus comin' up. Still no word from the Begonias, but a couple of my Arums are sprouting. None of the Fringetrees have come up yet. Tons of flats of Green Onions.

Gonna have a hard time fitting all those Green Onions (Gronions, as I call 'em) in the unheated greenhouse with all of the Cabbage and Broccoli.

Also in the greenhouse are Curly Willow, Agapanthus, Paw Paw trees, Rosemary, and Green Onions. I'm trying to winter sow Garden Phlox and Foxglove, but that never seems to work for me.

Pruned ornamental and fruit trees like crazy all this and last week. Curly Willow, Redbud, Cornelian Cherry, a Yellow Cherry, Pears, and Apples. I'm done, now that the moon is getting full again. I'll fertilize and sheet mulch them later in the Spring.

Harvesting Beets, Red Giant Mustard, Thick-Stemmed Mustard, Kale, and Tat Soi from under row cover. Even Lettuce is sprouting and growing. I have a few plants of Parsley and Cilantro under cold frames, but the whole rows are alive with no protection at all!

Working on getting Tunis Sheep for next year, possibly females with an eye towards breeding

them...ahhh dreaming about the growing season...

Much Love

Coop

Clear and Cold

2011 has been pretty wonky so far.

My cat, Courdoroy, got super messed up when something got it on the bottom chin, it festered, her face got huge, and now its better, but here bottom jaw is hairless.

I think one buff orpington got way too cold last week and could barely walk and had its feathers all fluffed up and just looked crazy (crazier than normal). It wouldn't roost at night and just slept in the corner. I'm pretty sure that chicken has disappeared, but right before it did, a barred rock joined it on the floor and wouldn't put any weight on its left leg. It was eating and drinking, but getting pretty beat up by the other chx so I brought it inside in a dog crate. It laid down on the good leg and to my knowledge never got up again. It was alert for three or four days, but wouldn't eat or drink so I killed a couple nights ago. Killing hens is so much harder than rooster or broilers. Kind of scarring, especially because I have no idea what happened to it. I tried to look under the feathers, but I didn't dunk it in hot water and pluck it because I wasn't going to eat it. I probably could have, but I was sketched out that it might have had an infection.

I spent almost $1500 for a new tie rod end, steering rack, and a radiator/heater core flush for my truck. $1500 and still no heat in the ride. Damn!

Mecury in retrograde? Well, its clear and crisp and gorgeous today. I needed it! Clearing a road and cutting firewood all week (red oak) and taking down black walnuts and dead apple trees. Nice to clear vines multiflora rose and such this time of year when its not quite as overwhelming.

Geraniums came up and look nice. I swear, even though they're not even an inch tall, they make the room smell good already.

Some of the green onions I planted that were packed in '08 are coming up! The others are just popping.

The arum I planted is not up yet, even though some of the seeds were sprouted when I planted them from being in room temperature, moist vermiculite for a few weeks.

My fringetree seeds aren't up yet either. I'm afraid both might have dried out in the flats, even though I put plastic on top.

Still waiting for the begonia and lisianthus. I bet they'll both take a couple of weeks to come up. Keeping my fingers crossed.

In good news, the ladies are laying eggs like gangbusters and I sold enough of the lamb to at least cover the cost of processing from Little David's. The customers seem to be happy.

Gettin' ready to sheet mulch my perennials and lay the COF (complete organic fetilizer) and compost on the annual garden.

Happy that some of the snow finally melted and I can see the ground. Stoked to be working outside doing something other than shoveling snow. What a January!

Peace

Coop

Margo and Lisa come to visit

Hangin' out with Margo and Lisa, who spent last season working for Charleston Farm, was super fun! It gave me all kinds of insight on the fine tuning of growing that I really only learn from other growers. Subtle ways we do things differently.

I just put in my seed order for the year. I am trying a local open pollinated organic seed company here in Asheville called Sow True Seeds. I also ordered from Johnny's and Fedco. Bummed that I won't get the Evergreen Hardy White Green Onions in time. I started eight flats of that seed from two years ago, but I don't have very high hopes. I'm in the midst of rearranging my propagation area to make maintenance easier, but as soon as I get that squared away I'll be planting geraniums and begonias. Last year, the geraniums were the best ornamental flower I had with petunias a close second. Check back for pictures of my growing space.

Here's my veggie seed list:

Fedco

Mustard Chinese Thick-Stem OG, Mustard Red Giant OG, Lettuce Green Ice OG, Lettuce Green Deer Tongue OG, Lettuce Royal Oakleaf OG, Lettuce Slobolt OG, Lettuce Tom Thumb, Lettuce Buttercrunch, Lettuce Wunder von Stuttgart, Lettuce Jericho OG, Lettuce Parris Island Cos, Lettuce Anuenue OG, Lettuce Summertime, Zucchini Jackpot, Zucchini Costata Romanesca OG, Patty Pan Benning's Green Tint, Cucumber Marketmore 76, Cucumber General Lee, Tomatillo Verde Puebla OG, Bell Pepper Purple Beauty, Bell Pepper Feherozon, OG Bell Pepper King of the North, Tomato Peacevine OG, Tomato Old German OG, Leek King Richard OG, Leek Bleu de Solaize, NZ Spinach, Okra Red Burgundy OG

Johnny's

Green Onion Evergreen Hardy White, Green Onion White Spear, Green Onion Nabechan, Cilantro Caribe, Chard Brightlights, Zucchini Cashflow, Dill Fernleaf, Squash Superpik, Squash Yellow Crookneck, Rosemary, Shiso, Cayenne Joe's Long, Tomato Mountain Magic, Leek Tadorna

Sow True

Arugula, Slow Bolt Mizuna, Organic Beet Chioggia, Cabbage Early Jersey Wakefield, Cabbage Perfection Savoy, Cabbage Red Acre, Broccoli Green Sprouting Calabres,e Carrot Red Core Chantennay, Cauliflower Self Blanch, Cilantro Slow Bolt, Dill Green Sleeves, Organic Eggplant Black Beauty OG, Lettuce Buttercrunch, Lettuce Green Oakleaf, Mustard Old Fashioned, Radish Daikon, Japanese Minowase, Appalachian Greens Mix, Turnip Purple Top Globe, Organic

Definitely dreamin' of Spring...

Coop

Let It Snow!

White Christmas!
Thank goodness for the silence and peace that white blanket of snow puts over the land. Like Nana says, it covers a lot of things we don't want to see, like that chicken coop that needs repairing or those tomato plants that still need to be cleaned up. It makes us chill out and reflect and enjoy our friends and family and food and not go anywhere! It's a good excuse to sit inside and look at seed catalogs and think about next year. It gives us time to plan and prepare for the amazing busyness and bustle of Spring, Summer, and Fall.
The Winter Solstice time is perfect for enjoying the greens that are still hanging on and the meat that is still fresh from the harvest. Come March, the time of workable soil and mild weather will be a distant memory and only the heartiest kale and mustard, stored and pickled veggies that haven't rotted and frozen meat from the year before sustain us through the long cold season. The snow and ice seem to keep coming until it becomes summer in our flip-floppy North Carolina Spring.
Oh well, here we come long cold January and February and this year's chicken and lamb (and some of last year's...). I'm ready to keep cleaning up and building and dreaming. It doesn't ever seems like enough time to actually rest. Maybe next year has been my motto for the last couple of months and pretty soon I'll get the chance to prove it.

Peace
coop

Back Again

This is for you Pili!
Hope everyone is having an amazing Holiday!
Just harvested this year's sheep and trying to keep the chickens and cats warm, fed, and with liquid water. I really need one of those heated water bowls. Snow and cold came early this year and we're settling into winter's chill. The shortest day is behind us though and we have Spring and Summer to look forward to.
Working on nursery plans...
See ya soon!

PEACE
coop