May 5, 2009
Those blueberry plants that came yesterday were planted inside the fence today:
Highbush
4 Blue Crop
6 Blue Gold
2 Blue Jay
8 Blue Ray
2 Chippewa
2 Friendship
2 Jersey
2 Meader
8 North Blue
4 North Country
6 Northland
2 Polaris
2 Rubel
2 St. Cloud
Low Bush
4 North Sky
2 Ruby Carpet
2 Blue Boy
2 Little Crisp
2 Partridge Lake
2 Green elf
3 Blue Sunset
3 Leslie
3 Princess Jenny
2 Baby Blue
There are 2 high bush Bonus blueberry plants that are backordered.
Besides the blueberries, Hub and our eldest daughter planted the 2 Ben Lear and 2 WSU cranberries by the small pond in the southeastern corner of the fenced area. They also watered as the pump setup is working again as of yesterday! Yay! Thanks God!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Bees are Home Sweet Homin' It
May 4, 2009
Ok. Today's the day. I have to get those honeybees transferred into their new hive. Remember what the instructor said in the bee class? Sunny day...happy bees. Rain is in the forecast so it's now or never. Gulp. Before I head for the farm, UPS drops off our 86 blueberry and 14 raspberry plants. I bring them to the farm in case Hubby wants them but he'll probably be ready to wait for another day to plant any of them!
It IS sunny today but also windy. Thanks to Hubby Dear, the bee yard has a nice, tall (at least 12 feet!) windbreak.
I read my instructions once again. I suit up in my grey sweatpants, white inside-out sweatshirt, bee hat and gloves. Press the bottom grate down into place in the smoker. Break off a small amount of smoker fuel and place into the smoker. Light the smoker and give the bellows a few puffs. It's smokin'! Yay! Whoops. It's not smokin'. Relight the fuel. Now we're cookin'!
Remember, slow, deliberate movements. Calmness prevails. Hubby has already turned the electric fence off (3rd day running on deep cell battery with charger on it!) and opened the two strand handles for me. I approach the nuc box. The bees are buzzing. Are they happy (it is sunny!)? They sound a little fired up to me. I approach the box and see that the little door indeed did NOT stay open well and they are having a difficult time getting in and out. I puff a little smoke towards the door and gently pry the door open further. I puff more smoke into the box. They are a bit wilder than I like. I open the top of the box and puff a bit of smoke inside. It is my first glimpse into hive life in person. It's very active! Okay. I'm not experienced enough to know if they are happy or not but they feel a little upset so I walk away and let them simmer down and eat honey for a bit (that's what the smoke gets them to do and it calms them down). I need to do the transfer before I lose my nerve so I approach the box again. Some are still whizzing around and a few like my hat growing louder. I talk quietly to them, welcoming them to their new home, etc. I open the top of the box but it is attached to the box and doesn't just come off so I gently struggle to make it stay open without tossing the whole box around and upsetting the bees. The book said the frames inside the box will be stuck together with propolis so I need to gently pry with a little pressure until they loosen, being careful not to jar too hard. Hmmm. The first side comes off and then voila! The first frame is loosened. Put the tool down and now I gingerly stick my fingers into the box and pick up the first frame by the edges, slowly and carefully lifting it into the nearby hive. I do the same for all five frames and the transfer is complete, thank the Good Lord! Now I just gently slide the five frames from the nuc box together and place five frames from our new hive on the sides (2 on one edge and 3 on the other) to make a total of ten frames. I am supposed to gently turn the box over and "knock" the stragglers down into the hive. It doesn't work well for me but perhaps I am too dainty with it. I now have bees buzzing around me in earnest. I place a small patty of food on top of the frames, set the queen extruder over it (probably didn't have to leave it there), put the top and cover on. I prop the nuc box, as suggested in the book, near the hive entrance so the stragglers can find their new home. I make sure there is fresh water and sugar water near the hive entry and I slowly retreat to watch. I want to be sure the bees have found the entrance to their new home. I double check that we have the entrance reducer on the small opening and bring the five extra frames and my tools outside of the bee yard. I close up the fence and reset the switch. Whew! They are home! Thanks God! You're awesome. Those critters are very interesting. Welcome home, bees!
Hubby decides to stay longer and plant raspberries. He finds out they gave him an extra of two different types so we have 16 he planted inside the fence today. Autumn Bliss, Autumn Britten, Caroline, Anne, Polana. I wanted some inside the fencing since the deer have munched on Raspberry Lane recently. Thanks Dear. Hon.
Ok. Today's the day. I have to get those honeybees transferred into their new hive. Remember what the instructor said in the bee class? Sunny day...happy bees. Rain is in the forecast so it's now or never. Gulp. Before I head for the farm, UPS drops off our 86 blueberry and 14 raspberry plants. I bring them to the farm in case Hubby wants them but he'll probably be ready to wait for another day to plant any of them!
It IS sunny today but also windy. Thanks to Hubby Dear, the bee yard has a nice, tall (at least 12 feet!) windbreak.
I read my instructions once again. I suit up in my grey sweatpants, white inside-out sweatshirt, bee hat and gloves. Press the bottom grate down into place in the smoker. Break off a small amount of smoker fuel and place into the smoker. Light the smoker and give the bellows a few puffs. It's smokin'! Yay! Whoops. It's not smokin'. Relight the fuel. Now we're cookin'!
Remember, slow, deliberate movements. Calmness prevails. Hubby has already turned the electric fence off (3rd day running on deep cell battery with charger on it!) and opened the two strand handles for me. I approach the nuc box. The bees are buzzing. Are they happy (it is sunny!)? They sound a little fired up to me. I approach the box and see that the little door indeed did NOT stay open well and they are having a difficult time getting in and out. I puff a little smoke towards the door and gently pry the door open further. I puff more smoke into the box. They are a bit wilder than I like. I open the top of the box and puff a bit of smoke inside. It is my first glimpse into hive life in person. It's very active! Okay. I'm not experienced enough to know if they are happy or not but they feel a little upset so I walk away and let them simmer down and eat honey for a bit (that's what the smoke gets them to do and it calms them down). I need to do the transfer before I lose my nerve so I approach the box again. Some are still whizzing around and a few like my hat growing louder. I talk quietly to them, welcoming them to their new home, etc. I open the top of the box but it is attached to the box and doesn't just come off so I gently struggle to make it stay open without tossing the whole box around and upsetting the bees. The book said the frames inside the box will be stuck together with propolis so I need to gently pry with a little pressure until they loosen, being careful not to jar too hard. Hmmm. The first side comes off and then voila! The first frame is loosened. Put the tool down and now I gingerly stick my fingers into the box and pick up the first frame by the edges, slowly and carefully lifting it into the nearby hive. I do the same for all five frames and the transfer is complete, thank the Good Lord! Now I just gently slide the five frames from the nuc box together and place five frames from our new hive on the sides (2 on one edge and 3 on the other) to make a total of ten frames. I am supposed to gently turn the box over and "knock" the stragglers down into the hive. It doesn't work well for me but perhaps I am too dainty with it. I now have bees buzzing around me in earnest. I place a small patty of food on top of the frames, set the queen extruder over it (probably didn't have to leave it there), put the top and cover on. I prop the nuc box, as suggested in the book, near the hive entrance so the stragglers can find their new home. I make sure there is fresh water and sugar water near the hive entry and I slowly retreat to watch. I want to be sure the bees have found the entrance to their new home. I double check that we have the entrance reducer on the small opening and bring the five extra frames and my tools outside of the bee yard. I close up the fence and reset the switch. Whew! They are home! Thanks God! You're awesome. Those critters are very interesting. Welcome home, bees!
Hubby decides to stay longer and plant raspberries. He finds out they gave him an extra of two different types so we have 16 he planted inside the fence today. Autumn Bliss, Autumn Britten, Caroline, Anne, Polana. I wanted some inside the fencing since the deer have munched on Raspberry Lane recently. Thanks Dear. Hon.
The Bees Are Here!
April 3, 2009
Although it's the Sabbath and we normally refrain from work, the bees have arrived and we need to pick them up.
We picked the bees up about 45 minutes from the farm and so they had another jostling ride today after a very long ride yesterday from IL or somewhere way down yonder. We ordered 3 lbs of a new Minnesota variety in a nuc box and that's what we received. We brought the bees to the farm and followed the instructions in the book "Keeping Bees and Making Honey" by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum that our 8year old daughter had ordered from the library. It tells exactly and specifically what to expect and what to do, step-by-step! It was an excellent resource and greatly appreciated!!
I "suited up" in my plain white sweatshirt, bee hat and gloves and took my hive tool with me. I had grey sweatpants and white socks and shoes with my pants tucked into my socks. Hub turned off the electric fence and opened the two strands by their telltale yellow handles and hooked them onto the pole he conveniently placed for such a purpose. Then Hub and I went into the bee yard and set aside the hive cover and 10 frames on our extra pallet strategically placed for working with the hives. We set up the water bowl with a few twigs floating in it for a fresh water source nearby and placed the sugar water (1:1 sugar:water ratio) on the feeder. Then Hub handed me the nuc box and I slowly walked back down to the bee yard and placed the box on the hive bottom. The nuc box was too long for the bottom board of the hive so we just placed the hive right next to it on the pallet for easy transferring. Now for the nervewracking part. I gingerly began prying open the little cardboard door for the bees to become acquainted with their new home area. They were diving to get out! I spoke to them quietly telling them to hold on and finally got up the nerve to open the door so they could really get out. They came piling out! Pushing and shoving like little kids in line for ice cream! They even pushed some right up into the sugar feeder! I wasn't sure I had the door opened well but had also placed a clump of grass by it as suggested in the book to keep them from coming out too fast. I did wonder if they had a big enough opening but since there were many flying around, I didn't go back to recheck. I had quite a few sticking to me as I calmly (reminding myself to remain calm!) walked away. As I got close to the edge of the bee yard, they were all back to business. As of 2:24pm EDT, our Snowflake Farms honeybees are on site in our bee yard. Hubby went back later and redid the fence. So far so good!
As a side note, we also worked on getting the well pump running to water all those awesome strawberries but it wouldn't cooperate. So....guess who watered by hand again??
Although it's the Sabbath and we normally refrain from work, the bees have arrived and we need to pick them up.
We picked the bees up about 45 minutes from the farm and so they had another jostling ride today after a very long ride yesterday from IL or somewhere way down yonder. We ordered 3 lbs of a new Minnesota variety in a nuc box and that's what we received. We brought the bees to the farm and followed the instructions in the book "Keeping Bees and Making Honey" by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum that our 8year old daughter had ordered from the library. It tells exactly and specifically what to expect and what to do, step-by-step! It was an excellent resource and greatly appreciated!!
I "suited up" in my plain white sweatshirt, bee hat and gloves and took my hive tool with me. I had grey sweatpants and white socks and shoes with my pants tucked into my socks. Hub turned off the electric fence and opened the two strands by their telltale yellow handles and hooked them onto the pole he conveniently placed for such a purpose. Then Hub and I went into the bee yard and set aside the hive cover and 10 frames on our extra pallet strategically placed for working with the hives. We set up the water bowl with a few twigs floating in it for a fresh water source nearby and placed the sugar water (1:1 sugar:water ratio) on the feeder. Then Hub handed me the nuc box and I slowly walked back down to the bee yard and placed the box on the hive bottom. The nuc box was too long for the bottom board of the hive so we just placed the hive right next to it on the pallet for easy transferring. Now for the nervewracking part. I gingerly began prying open the little cardboard door for the bees to become acquainted with their new home area. They were diving to get out! I spoke to them quietly telling them to hold on and finally got up the nerve to open the door so they could really get out. They came piling out! Pushing and shoving like little kids in line for ice cream! They even pushed some right up into the sugar feeder! I wasn't sure I had the door opened well but had also placed a clump of grass by it as suggested in the book to keep them from coming out too fast. I did wonder if they had a big enough opening but since there were many flying around, I didn't go back to recheck. I had quite a few sticking to me as I calmly (reminding myself to remain calm!) walked away. As I got close to the edge of the bee yard, they were all back to business. As of 2:24pm EDT, our Snowflake Farms honeybees are on site in our bee yard. Hubby went back later and redid the fence. So far so good!
As a side note, we also worked on getting the well pump running to water all those awesome strawberries but it wouldn't cooperate. So....guess who watered by hand again??
Planting is the Berries
May 1, 2009
With Hubby tilling and preparing the beds, the three eldest children came along behind and planted the 1k strawberry plants in only 8 hours! What a great crew! They made 33 rows, 35' each. Hub also put several small groups in our standing PVC pipes for vertical plantings to see how they do out there in the field.
May 2, 2009
Hubby gets battery setup in place for the electric fencing around the bee yard. We're all set now for the bees' arrival anytime now.
With Hubby tilling and preparing the beds, the three eldest children came along behind and planted the 1k strawberry plants in only 8 hours! What a great crew! They made 33 rows, 35' each. Hub also put several small groups in our standing PVC pipes for vertical plantings to see how they do out there in the field.
May 2, 2009
Hubby gets battery setup in place for the electric fencing around the bee yard. We're all set now for the bees' arrival anytime now.
Strawberry Field
April 28, 2009
Hub and eldest daughter spent many hours tearing up the sod to prepare the bed for our new plants. The 1,000 strawberry plants are shipped via FedEx from California.
April 29, 2009
Rented a sod busting machine, a Husky. Sure lives up to it's name! Ate up that sod in no time. What a lovely thing to see all that sod being cut and ready to be rolled! We were able to remove half the sod from the new strawberry field. Need to be ready soon as the berries have been shipped!
April 30, 2009
Strawberries arrive!!
Hub and eldest daughter spent many hours tearing up the sod to prepare the bed for our new plants. The 1,000 strawberry plants are shipped via FedEx from California.
April 29, 2009
Rented a sod busting machine, a Husky. Sure lives up to it's name! Ate up that sod in no time. What a lovely thing to see all that sod being cut and ready to be rolled! We were able to remove half the sod from the new strawberry field. Need to be ready soon as the berries have been shipped!
April 30, 2009
Strawberries arrive!!
Fencing the Hives
April 24, 2009
We went to the farm today with our own plans of getting things done. When we arrived, the deer had gotten through the old deer fencing and made a mess. The tulips and rhubarb had been munched and the fence was a disaster. Good thing we were planning on expanding the orchard and adding fence already. We spent the whole day doing and redoing fence.
Actually, we didn't fence the hive today but our beehive arrived after being backordered. Wow. What timing! God is awesome. Thanks God!
April 25, 2009
Before going to celebrate our youngest son's 3rd birthday, we put the hive together to be ready when the call comes that the bees are here.
We went to the farm today with our own plans of getting things done. When we arrived, the deer had gotten through the old deer fencing and made a mess. The tulips and rhubarb had been munched and the fence was a disaster. Good thing we were planning on expanding the orchard and adding fence already. We spent the whole day doing and redoing fence.
Actually, we didn't fence the hive today but our beehive arrived after being backordered. Wow. What timing! God is awesome. Thanks God!
April 25, 2009
Before going to celebrate our youngest son's 3rd birthday, we put the hive together to be ready when the call comes that the bees are here.
Tomato Transplanting, More Planting
April 22, 2009
To offset that winter blast, we planted more spinach and tomato seeds! We also transplanted tomatoes today.
To offset that winter blast, we planted more spinach and tomato seeds! We also transplanted tomatoes today.
This is Northern Michigan!
April 20 - 21, 2009
Snowstorm. This is northern Michigan in spring. Need I say more?
Snowstorm. This is northern Michigan in spring. Need I say more?
Peas, Spuds and More Mowing
April 18, 2009
What a day! Planted peas and potatoes at the farm. Also got the road frontage mown in front of the fence. It took way longer than I estimated as we have a total of 1/4 mile frontage. I was unable to mow the whole area due to banking and bushes on both sides of the field but that's fine as we can leave some wild growth habitat for beneficial critters.
What a day! Planted peas and potatoes at the farm. Also got the road frontage mown in front of the fence. It took way longer than I estimated as we have a total of 1/4 mile frontage. I was unable to mow the whole area due to banking and bushes on both sides of the field but that's fine as we can leave some wild growth habitat for beneficial critters.
Greenhouse Goes Up
April 17, 2009
After several configurations of greenhouses, both at the house and the farm, our new greenhouses are up at the farm. Heavy-duty plastic over metal frames from Menards, this go-round. Hub placed the frame on top of leveled cedar posts cut from our woods. He placed two 6'x8' greenhouses side-by-side and used both of the door ends so we have a door on both the west and east sides. He then had our eldest daughter sew velco strips so he could attach the bottom sides around the cedar logs to control flapping in the wind. When we need to get more air into the greenhouse, we just have to undo the velcro and roll up the sides. Very handy! They are in the northeast corner of the orchard, which is enclosed by deer and snow fencing.
After several configurations of greenhouses, both at the house and the farm, our new greenhouses are up at the farm. Heavy-duty plastic over metal frames from Menards, this go-round. Hub placed the frame on top of leveled cedar posts cut from our woods. He placed two 6'x8' greenhouses side-by-side and used both of the door ends so we have a door on both the west and east sides. He then had our eldest daughter sew velco strips so he could attach the bottom sides around the cedar logs to control flapping in the wind. When we need to get more air into the greenhouse, we just have to undo the velcro and roll up the sides. Very handy! They are in the northeast corner of the orchard, which is enclosed by deer and snow fencing.
A Milestone!
April 14, 2009
The field is completely mown! Wow! After 4-1/2 years of hand-cutting, push-mowing and now finally riding ... the field has been completely fluffed up! Yay!!
The field is completely mown! Wow! After 4-1/2 years of hand-cutting, push-mowing and now finally riding ... the field has been completely fluffed up! Yay!!
Bee Supers Arrive
April 10, 2009
It's 6am and it's 12 degrees...above zero, at least! Later, the two bee supers we ordered arrive and Hub and our eldest son put them together. Now we just need our other package which contains the main hive, the protective gear, the hive tool and the smoker.
It's 6am and it's 12 degrees...above zero, at least! Later, the two bee supers we ordered arrive and Hub and our eldest son put them together. Now we just need our other package which contains the main hive, the protective gear, the hive tool and the smoker.
Mowing, Mowing, More Mowing
April 8, 2009
Since the riding mower is now functioning, I spent three hours mowing the field. Hubby put together and setup the log signpost for the farm! Nice to see things coming together.
April 9, 2009
This day, I spent 6 hours on the riding mower. That old field doesn't know what hit it. It's been sitting fallow for years and years and all of a sudden it's getting a severe haircut! While I was mowing like ever, Hub and our eldest son put up a windbreak for our awaited honey bees. Hub already cut an area into the woods right at the edge of the field to set up our bee yard. Wow. We're really doing it!
Since the riding mower is now functioning, I spent three hours mowing the field. Hubby put together and setup the log signpost for the farm! Nice to see things coming together.
April 9, 2009
This day, I spent 6 hours on the riding mower. That old field doesn't know what hit it. It's been sitting fallow for years and years and all of a sudden it's getting a severe haircut! While I was mowing like ever, Hub and our eldest son put up a windbreak for our awaited honey bees. Hub already cut an area into the woods right at the edge of the field to set up our bee yard. Wow. We're really doing it!
Field and Raspberries
April 7, 2009
Got the riding mower running today. Will work on getting the rest of the old hayfield mown to give it a chance to revive (maybe help get rid of some of those old ticks?)
Planted the beginnings of "Raspberry Lane" down on the west side of the farm with six canes (2 red, 1 gold, 3 purple).
Transplanting Tomatoes and Harvesting Green Beans
April 3, 2009
We transplanted our beefsteak tomatoes that were getting big. We also planted colored peppers and banana peppers.
Today's harvest included two green beans from our indoor plants with three more flowers on last year's tomato plant. The red geranium we brought indoors last fall is blossoming nicely in the window box again. So nice to see that bright patch of color so early in the season!
We transplanted our beefsteak tomatoes that were getting big. We also planted colored peppers and banana peppers.
Today's harvest included two green beans from our indoor plants with three more flowers on last year's tomato plant. The red geranium we brought indoors last fall is blossoming nicely in the window box again. So nice to see that bright patch of color so early in the season!
Harvesting Spinach
Mid-March 2009
We harvested spinach from our indoor planting of spinach. It was very scrumptious on our homemade pizza! What a lovely early harvest!
We harvested spinach from our indoor planting of spinach. It was very scrumptious on our homemade pizza! What a lovely early harvest!
Our Bee Journey Truly Begins
March 17, 2009
We attended a beekeeping class at our local "big city" library hosted by our local co-op store. We've been investigating and contemplating taking this honey bee journey for many years. After attending the well-run, well-attended class, we joined with other participants in jumping in and ordering our first bees. A local bee club was also established. We have around 30 members already!
Now, we need to brush up on our knowledge, order our beehive(s) and other equipment. Any honey produced will be a bonus to the pollination those little critters will supply our farm!
We attended a beekeeping class at our local "big city" library hosted by our local co-op store. We've been investigating and contemplating taking this honey bee journey for many years. After attending the well-run, well-attended class, we joined with other participants in jumping in and ordering our first bees. A local bee club was also established. We have around 30 members already!
Now, we need to brush up on our knowledge, order our beehive(s) and other equipment. Any honey produced will be a bonus to the pollination those little critters will supply our farm!
Skating
Due to the cold weather and the melted runoff into our driveway, the children enjoyed two days of ice skating on our long driveway March 11th and 12th. What fun!
Composting Class
Look in your area for classes put on by the extension service of your local ag university, co-ops, etc. We attended a composting class at our local "big city" library on composting on March 3rd.
Tomatoes from Last Year
Early in March 2009, we enjoyed two tomatoes from last year's plant. We thought we had enjoyed the last of them around Christmas but they began blooming again. These are the small pear-type tomato. We had read that you can overwinter the smaller tomato plants indoors (pear, cherry types). So, last fall when the weather began getting colder, we brought several plants indoors. It works! We've enjoyed an extended yellow pear tomato harvest, albeit much slower growing, since last summer. Yummm!
What's Up!
February 26
It may still be snowing outside but with the sunshine coming through the windows, the plants are growing well. Most are now 1"-2" high with multiple leaves. It's hard not to think of spring with all the growing going on. As of 2/20/09 here's the list of what's up:
Sub Arctic Tomato (55 day) QTY = 6 Correnta Spinach QTY = 8
Siberian Tomato (57 day) QTY = 7 Lemon Basil QTY = 2
S. Marmande Tomato (68 day) QTY = 16 Chives QTY = 1
Red Pear Tomato (70 day) QTY = 4 Blue Kale QTY = 7
Beefsteak Tomato (80 day) QTY = 55 Tulip "Claudia" QTY = 8
Greencrop Beans QTY = 5 Tulip "Daydream" QTY = 10
Fat N Sassy Pepper (61 day) QTY = 3 Hyacinth "Pink Pearl" QTY = 18
Early CA Wonder Pepper (70 day) QTY = 8 Tulip "Dynasty" QTY = 29
Jalapeno Pepper (75 day) QTY = 3 Tulip "AE" QTY = 85
Tomatillo Pepper (80 day) QTY = 3 Tulip "Big Smile" QTY = 25
Tulip "Mixed" QTY = 18
Those window boxes sure are working nicely ... the Hyacinths have been growing well too! It sure is nice to have flowers inside so early on. After ordering two Greenhouses for the Spring, we decided to start a few of our other varieties of Tomatoes and Peppers so that we would have some of each started early. Here's what we planted on 2/25/09:
Fourth of July Tomato (49 day) QTY = 6
Manitoba Tomato (58 day) QTY = 3
Bush Beefstake Tomato (62 day) QTY = 3
Glacier Tomato (63 day) QTY = 3
Anna Russian Tomato (65 day) QTY = 3
Jetsonic Tomato (68 day) QTY = 3
Red Currant Tomato (70 day) QTY = 16
Yellow Pear Tomato (78 day) QTY = 3
Volcano Pepper (63 day) QTY = 3
Grand Bell Pepper (65 day) QTY = 3
Sweet Banana Pepper (72 day) QTY = 3
WOW ....there sure is lots happening here! Come back later to check "What's Up!" .... HAPPY GROWING!
It may still be snowing outside but with the sunshine coming through the windows, the plants are growing well. Most are now 1"-2" high with multiple leaves. It's hard not to think of spring with all the growing going on. As of 2/20/09 here's the list of what's up:
Sub Arctic Tomato (55 day) QTY = 6 Correnta Spinach QTY = 8
Siberian Tomato (57 day) QTY = 7 Lemon Basil QTY = 2
S. Marmande Tomato (68 day) QTY = 16 Chives QTY = 1
Red Pear Tomato (70 day) QTY = 4 Blue Kale QTY = 7
Beefsteak Tomato (80 day) QTY = 55 Tulip "Claudia" QTY = 8
Greencrop Beans QTY = 5 Tulip "Daydream" QTY = 10
Fat N Sassy Pepper (61 day) QTY = 3 Hyacinth "Pink Pearl" QTY = 18
Early CA Wonder Pepper (70 day) QTY = 8 Tulip "Dynasty" QTY = 29
Jalapeno Pepper (75 day) QTY = 3 Tulip "AE" QTY = 85
Tomatillo Pepper (80 day) QTY = 3 Tulip "Big Smile" QTY = 25
Tulip "Mixed" QTY = 18
Those window boxes sure are working nicely ... the Hyacinths have been growing well too! It sure is nice to have flowers inside so early on. After ordering two Greenhouses for the Spring, we decided to start a few of our other varieties of Tomatoes and Peppers so that we would have some of each started early. Here's what we planted on 2/25/09:
Fourth of July Tomato (49 day) QTY = 6
Manitoba Tomato (58 day) QTY = 3
Bush Beefstake Tomato (62 day) QTY = 3
Glacier Tomato (63 day) QTY = 3
Anna Russian Tomato (65 day) QTY = 3
Jetsonic Tomato (68 day) QTY = 3
Red Currant Tomato (70 day) QTY = 16
Yellow Pear Tomato (78 day) QTY = 3
Volcano Pepper (63 day) QTY = 3
Grand Bell Pepper (65 day) QTY = 3
Sweet Banana Pepper (72 day) QTY = 3
WOW ....there sure is lots happening here! Come back later to check "What's Up!" .... HAPPY GROWING!
Spring is on it's way!
February 09
With the WINTER WEATHER trying to hang on ... some signs of Spring are showing up here, as the seedlings inside are growing. It's currently 34°F and it is supposed to be warm over the next couple of days. Our new window "SUN BOX" is working out well and we have many plants getting warmed by the Winter sun and lots of light from the reflective snow. February and March are the two best months to capture the most amount of "reflective sunlight" from our Southern exposure ... partially due to the vast amount of snow accumulation during the period. The white stuff sure is piling up here, but has not stopped us from planting. We have plants in our "SUN BOX" that are already 1-2 inches tall. The reflective sunlight is enough that we have not used any indoor artificial growing lights at this point. Here's the current list:
1 Tomatillo Tomato
14 Super Marmande Tomato
7 Pink Hyacinths
8 Claudia Tulips
We also have a window box with Gladiolas, Tulips and Crocus bulbs that are up about 3inches and growing great!
Winter may be here for another month or two, but we are ready for Spring ...time to do more planting!
With the WINTER WEATHER trying to hang on ... some signs of Spring are showing up here, as the seedlings inside are growing. It's currently 34°F and it is supposed to be warm over the next couple of days. Our new window "SUN BOX" is working out well and we have many plants getting warmed by the Winter sun and lots of light from the reflective snow. February and March are the two best months to capture the most amount of "reflective sunlight" from our Southern exposure ... partially due to the vast amount of snow accumulation during the period. The white stuff sure is piling up here, but has not stopped us from planting. We have plants in our "SUN BOX" that are already 1-2 inches tall. The reflective sunlight is enough that we have not used any indoor artificial growing lights at this point. Here's the current list:
1 Tomatillo Tomato
14 Super Marmande Tomato
7 Pink Hyacinths
8 Claudia Tulips
We also have a window box with Gladiolas, Tulips and Crocus bulbs that are up about 3inches and growing great!
Winter may be here for another month or two, but we are ready for Spring ...time to do more planting!
Snow and Planting
January 29
Today, it's snowing again! ... Here at what most would consider the "Frozen Tundra", Spring is more than around the corner. At Snowflake Farms, planting outside doesn't usually happen until sometime in May.
Now, inside is definitely a different story, those catalogs that come during the winter months start the stirrings to get planting. Having set aside peat moss and potting soil in the fall we can usually get started before the local stores have planting supplies on hand. Last year, I wanted to get started so early that we had plant racks of beans, tomatoes, peppers and squash ready to go outside before the weather could accommodate them. So this year, I will try to put the "brakes" on planting and do more planning.
For the past two years, we have had killing frosts at the farm in the beginning of August ... just when you are getting things really growing, that weather has done you in and you face nothing but total crop loss. It has been a retraining of my thinking for sure and time for some new ideas.
This year we are planning to grow more in greenhouses and have hoop houses to combat the early season frosts. For those plants that are outside, we will be trying some new varieties. We really enjoy tomatoes and are looking forward to growing these earlier ones (designed for the COLD North):
Anna Russian (I) 65-70 days
Bush Beefsteak (D) 62 days
Manitoba (D) 58 days
Siberian (I) 57 days
Sub-Arctic (D) 55-65 days
Red Pear (I) 70 days
Come back later to this BLOG to see how we are doing and what other great things are happening here at Snowflake Farms!
Today, it's snowing again! ... Here at what most would consider the "Frozen Tundra", Spring is more than around the corner. At Snowflake Farms, planting outside doesn't usually happen until sometime in May.
Now, inside is definitely a different story, those catalogs that come during the winter months start the stirrings to get planting. Having set aside peat moss and potting soil in the fall we can usually get started before the local stores have planting supplies on hand. Last year, I wanted to get started so early that we had plant racks of beans, tomatoes, peppers and squash ready to go outside before the weather could accommodate them. So this year, I will try to put the "brakes" on planting and do more planning.
For the past two years, we have had killing frosts at the farm in the beginning of August ... just when you are getting things really growing, that weather has done you in and you face nothing but total crop loss. It has been a retraining of my thinking for sure and time for some new ideas.
This year we are planning to grow more in greenhouses and have hoop houses to combat the early season frosts. For those plants that are outside, we will be trying some new varieties. We really enjoy tomatoes and are looking forward to growing these earlier ones (designed for the COLD North):
Anna Russian (I) 65-70 days
Bush Beefsteak (D) 62 days
Manitoba (D) 58 days
Siberian (I) 57 days
Sub-Arctic (D) 55-65 days
Red Pear (I) 70 days
Come back later to this BLOG to see how we are doing and what other great things are happening here at Snowflake Farms!
Welcome to Snowflake Farms
January 28
Welcome to Snowflake Farms
Welcome to our view from northern Michigan and our 23 acre "farm" and our "mini-farm" of 1.9 acres. We're experimenting with plants, methods and techniques both plant-wise and building-wise while we work toward eventually landing permanently at our "big" farm.
Today's view at our "mini" farm. Looks harmless enough but the past three nights have been brutally cold! Try -26°F, -22°F and -22°F for cold. Yowie!!
The cranberry cuttings I took by digging through the snow on January 7th are growing nicely in our sand grow box. Only one of the original hollyhock seeds is still growing and has already been transplanted into a small container.
One of the cherry type tomato plants that we brought in last fall has a new blossom on it!! Two plants currently survived our December cold adventures. Our brilliant pink cactus is flowering the second time, also.
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