Week 17

Oh the Harvest!!

Mark 4:26-29 [ Never Without a Story ] Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time!

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

This week we are thanking our father in heaven for providing such a wonderful harvest! We celebrate with 5 lbs of white potatoes, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, celery (1/2 shares only), kale, mixed greens, acorn squash, red kuri squash, buttercup squash, pie pumpkin, brussels sprouts, ground cherries, Red bell pepper, eggplant, poblano peppers, tomatillos, pair and cherry tomatoes, leaks, carrots, green beans, savory cabbage, onions, green or yellow bell peppers, sweet potatoes, sage, jalapeños, garlic, parsley, and some boxes relieved broccoli. Enjoy!!

Week 16

With only 2 weeks left we are blessed with an abundance of fruits and veggies. This week in your boxes:

There's white potatoes, small cabbages, red yellow and green peppers, poblano peppers, acorn squash, broccoli, Brussels sprouts,  turnip, red onions, green beans, kale, tomatoes, tomatillos tarragon Serranos, jalapeños, white beets, colored carrots, zucchini, parsley, garlic. Top row: ground cherries, mixed greens, arugula, eggplant, butternut squash is, celery, spaghetti squash, leaks, Cherry and pear tomatoes. ENJOY!

Week 15

Week 14

Week 13

Sorry I forgot to post this week so here is the picture.

Week 12

On this rainy day in August we thank God for an incredible abundance. In the box this week we have sweet corn, red beets red potatoes, kale, celery, brussels sprouts, ground cherries, yellow squash, green pepper, cherry and pear tomatoes, mixed greens, arugula, colored carrots, zucchini, okra, onion, green beans, eggplant, mixed heirloom tomatoes, tarragon, planano peppers, small cabbages, cucumbers, sage, cilantro, and some boxes had a Serano pepper. Enjoy!

Week 11

In the box this week we have top: kale, fennel frawns, spearment, mixed greens, eggplant, Cherry and pear tomatoes, ground cherries, 'red' green onions, wild plums, green beans, cilantro, dill, sage, and some boxes received okra.

Bottom: mixed color of potatoes broccoli, zucchini, red beets, green onions, tomatillos, basil, cucumbers, yellow squash, mixed color carrots,mix tomatoes, sweet green pepper, jalapeños, poblano peppers, and cabbage. Enjoy!!

Harvesting garlic

Garlic is the plant that the tops are getting yellow on in this picture. The bulb is grown under grown and should be dug when the leaves at the base of the plant dry up.

Here you can see the bulb in the ground under 2-3 inches of soil covered by straw and grass clippings.

After digging they will go to the drying rack where the will fully cure and dry out the outside covering. This will take 4-6 weeks.

Week 10

The box is exploding with color this week!! Top picture: radish, mixed greens, (new with dill and beet tops), sweet green pepper, Serano pepper, jalapeño, kale, Swiss chard, fennel frawns, peppermint, blueberries, and dill, and cilantro, some boxes also received okra.

Bottom picture: mix of heirloom tomatoes and some received paste tomatoes, yellow squash, poblano pepper, colorful carrots, white potatoes, basil, colored  beats, zucchini, cucumbers, brussel  sprouts, ground cherries, and some boxes received tomatillos. Enjoy!

Week 9

oh the harvest is ripe and ready for picking...

The box required 2 pictures this week.

Top picture we have: mixed greens, kale, cucumbers, blueberries, zucchini, savory cabbage, broccoli, green peppers, radish, sage, yellow squash, cilantro, and dill. Bottom picture: Green and yellow beans, mixed color beets, great white 'yellow' tomato, spearmint, basil, carrots, Yukon Gold potatoes, brussel sprouts, plabano pepper, jalapeño pepper, and some boxes received serrano peppers.  Enjoy!!

Week 7

This week there is green and yellow beans, shell peas, carrots, mixed color of potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, Swiss chard, mixed color or beets, savory cabbage, kale, jalepenos, dill, cilantro, and sage, and basil (not pictured). Enjoy!

Tomatoes stretching to the sky!!

Week 6

This week we are blessed with new potatoes, green beans, peppermint, blueberries, zucchini, tarragon, carrots, spinach, broccoli, peas, basil, savory cabbage, mixed greens, cauliflower!! Enjoy!!!

6.7 inches of rain...and where does all the water go?

The roots are all exposed on these young carrots.

This was our lettuce for this week and next. We'll see how much can be salvaged.

Fresh potatoes come out of this wave of water damage.

Unfortunately almost all of the seeds we planted yesterday floated away or are under much mud. It is up to God himself to kiss each seed to life and provide for our harvest. We are blessed by the rain and thank god for the wonderful harvest he is providing!

Before and after weeding

Before:all you can see is weeds

After: 

Rows of onions, shallots, and leeks emerge. We use grass clipping to keep the weeds out and the moisture in.

Before: 

After: 

Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant emerge from the weeds.

Week 5

Oh my, the cauliflower! We are blessed this week with a plenty. From the left are radish, parsley, kale, strawberries, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and mixed greens. lower left: Lemon basil and lemon balm, basil, snow peas, zucchini, and spearmint. Enjoy!

Week 4

This week is all about green and red! 

We have on the left kale, rhubarb, mixed greens, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, radishes, strawberries, Swiss chard, chocolate mint, and green onions. Half shares also received garlic scapes and zucchini relish.

A quick note: radishes can be cooked!!

Week 2

This week we were blessed with much rain and warmer temps and our box is bursting with God's goodness. 

From the left we have oregano, parsley, chives, mixed greens (lettuces, kale and spinach), beans sprouts, kale, rhubarb, green onions, radish. Second row: strawberries, arugula, spinach. Half shares received plum preserves, black beans, and asparagus, not pictured. Enjoy!!

Week 1 of 2015 Season

In the box this week we have from left to right radish, rhubarb, Pea shoots, asparagus, spearmint, Green onions, dried black beans. Second row: lettuce, arugula, spinach, plum jam, and some boxes received fenugreek sprouts. Enjoy!!

Red mulch

Friday the red mulch was put down. This is new for us and is supposed to help reflect red to the tomato plants so the grow larger fruit and faster. 

Oh a planting we will go...

It's always great to get the whole family involved with planting and here Eli is pulling the cart of tomatoes.  Roughly about 80 tomatoes, (10 varieties) were planted on Saturday, with several peppers and ground cherries.

It has also warned up enough that I felt good about planting the okra but we are using row covers to protect it from getting scorched by the sun and to keep a little heat in.

Weeds

Can you see the green blanket that lays across the soil...well it is WEEDS!! Here I am using a simple but affective practice to combat some of them. Earlier this spring i tilled the soil about 6 inches deep but today I am only tilling about 2-3 inches deep. The idea behind this is to kill the top layer of weeds and to not stir up any new weed seeds underneath in the soil, thus combatting weeds. 

Another practice we have for combating weeds is laying down a paper mulch and covering it with grass clippings. This we have found is very effective and tends to last the whole season.

The greenhouse is overflowing with green!

Something new I'm trying is planting okra. Here I have it ready to go to the garden.

The tomatoes are patiently waiting for it to warm up so they can be planted!

Cool weather crops

Cool weather crops are those that like cooler temperatures to grow. So getting them in early is a must! At HBF we plant broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, spinach, and Brussels sprouts, along with peas and raddish and they are all considered cool weather crops. On May 6th after school we had a play date and planting is what Molly chose to do. 

She helped plant cabbage and broccoli.

Spring has sprung!!

On May 2, we we're busy weeding strawberries and planting potatoes. Laura and her son Henry are getting firsthand experience.

Unfortunately, the cold weather has kept them in the ground so it wasn't until a few days ago that we could see green rows of potatoes.