media:/sdc/Web/KGD/Text/2009/GJApr3.php 3rd week of April 2009
We were thankful to finally have a weekend of lovely planting weather. We were out till dark two nights getting peas and carrots planted along with as many lettuce, broccoli and cabbage plants we could see to get in place. Looking ahead at the forecast, I decided it was a good time to start putting tomatoes out in waterwalls (April 18). These water tube tee-pees will absorb warmth from the sun and act as mini greenhouses to the fledgling tomatoes. It takes some patience to get them all filled and we found it works well to put a 5 gallon bucket upside down over the planted tomato and then fill the water wall around it. It's a good job for a 7 year old with a hose! With some rainy days coming it looks like we'll need to wait to plant the potatoes, beets and the rest of the onions.
The grass seemed to turn brillant green overnight. One place we're noticing the "new green" is in our Jersey milk. It has a yellowish tinge and the butter we make from the cream is now bright yellow. This spring butter is supposed to be filled with the X Activator discovered by the dentist Weston A. Price and is a marvelous health food. Here is a mound of fresh butter that is ready to go on a fresh batch of sour dough bread. When the bread is hot from the oven, a whole loaf disappears quickly.
This week's educational opportunities included an evening at an Amish home in Wilmot with a group of 6 families working on a cooperative to provide produce for a 100 family CSA - starting with local advertising and heading in the direction of Canton, Medina and other urban areas. They invited Olin and me to share our experience and wanted a glimpse at my salad greens and other unique veggies. It was a very interactive evening as we passed around different greens to taste, perused my stack of books and seed catalogues and answered a barrage of questions. Several ladies were very fascinated by the idea of growing salad year round and I'm confident there will be a few more coldframes in Holmes County this winter. There may even be a few Green Zebra tomatoes, golden beets and blue potatoes showing up in CSA baskets. It's exciting to see the growing potential of a group like this. With the increased market garden volume in our area, someone questioned if there will be enough "eaters" to go around. I'm sure there are plenty of eaters still left in Northeast Ohio and perhaps someday there will be a noticeable dent in the amount of food coming from afar. If anyone is interested, you can check with me for the group's contact info.
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