Freshman Farmer | New Organic Farms Set Roots

Posts Tagged ‘garlic’

Looking back on Summer

November 20th, 2011
Wise Moon Farm | Blog

The heat of Summer has passed and the chill of Fall has arrived.

The last red ripe strawberries and tomatoes were picked several weeks ago.

We enjoyed a great harvest of apples, grapes, blackberries, strawberries, onions, potatoes, sunchokes, tomatoes, chard, kale, cabbage, and much more. Our fig tree we ordered this year from Peacefull Valley gave us a dozen delicious figs.

All the animals on the farm are doing great.

All four Bee Colonies are healthy and thriving. We harvested a few jars of honeycomb and honey from the hives. We left everything else for them to have for the winter. We practice natural beekeeping. We believe it’s healthier for the bees to have honey instead of fed sugar.

Now we are focused on our fall crops. Microgreens are going in the greenhouse. Cilantro, peas, Italian parsley, and other herbs are doing well. Potatoes, onions, garlic, and red shallots have all been planted.

The Earthworm bin has been moved to the greenhouse. We are now focused on cleaning the beds and planting cover crops. Looking forward to the next harvest.

Tags: Wise Moon Farm, summer crops, peacefull valley, bees, honey, honey comb, onions, shallots, chard, kale, garlic, potatoes, harvest

No comments yet. Add a comment?

Vampires Beware

August 12th, 2011
Driftwood Farm | Blog

Ok, sorry, I know that’s a cheesy title.

We recently harvested our garlic. Last year, we hung it in the barn to cure, but it seemed a bit too cool. This year, it’s in the garage, which stays more warm and dry - so when we open the door, we are greeted by the strong, delicious aroma of a favorite crop! We have had great success with the variety called California Early White. In our compost-amended, sandy loam soil, the bulbs have grown large and healthy. We are especially vigilant to gophers around (or in!) the garlic bed, and trap at the first sign of burrowing activity. It’s hard to believe that it will soon be time to plant next year’s crop!

Peaceful Valley recently welcomed the lastest “class” of Freshman Farmers - welcome, and we’re looking forward to hearing all about your farms!

- Angela

Tags: garlic

1 Comments. Add a comment?

Winter is here

December 17th, 2010
Ellwood Canyon Farms | Blog

Fall is an interesting time of year on the farm, days are getting shorter, weather is getting colder and much of the summer life and bounty is slowly coming to an end. I have been balancing my time between cleaning up the summer production area, planting, caring for, and harvesting off a new area where I have winter crops, selling these crops at markets, and getting cover crops in the ground in areas that I will be planting this spring. After a big push this last week I feel I am finally catching… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: cover crops, garlic, peas, strawberries, fava beans

No comments yet. Add a comment?

Time flies

July 16th, 2010
Driftwood Farm | Blog

It is hard to believe so much time has passed since our last entry - I guess we must be having fun! Apart from the continuous rhythm of weeding, watering, seeding, transplanting, and attending the market, a few things have happened. We harvested the garlic - we didn’t have a ton in the scope of things, but it was a pretty big harvest considering that when we planted, we weren’t 100 percent sure we would be selling at the farmers market this year! So now 200 bulbs are hanging in the barn, nearly… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: garlic, harvest, banana slug

No comments yet. Add a comment?

Well into Fall

November 9th, 2009
Four Frog Farm | Blog

It’s the 9th of November and the hardest work is behind us. All of the fields are cover cropped and we’re just waiting for it to rain now. All the Garlic is in, as of last week. 250 lbs!!! Quite a bit. We planted a little later than optimal, but, hey, it’s in, it’s growing and there’s no stopping it now. It added up to about 1/2 acre and we applied 12 tons of compost to that area to ensure a good stand of Garlic. In fact, 150 lbs are for seed garlic for,… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: garlic, peaceful valley, seed garlic, dujansky, capathian, Pilot Peak Winery

No comments yet. Add a comment?

Market Season Winding Down

October 24th, 2009
Four Frog Farm | Blog

Today we were at 3 markets, just as it has been the last 20 weeks or so. We only have one more week of that schedule, and then we’ll be down to 1 market/week - Saturday mornings in Auburn. The markets went well - about 50% better than last week. The crops are still plentiful, the offering diverse. I felt like the grocery store this morning - beets, carrots, radishes, turnips, spring mix, arugula, celery, potatoes, winter squash, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, strawberries. That’s… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: garlic, markets, strawberries

No comments yet. Add a comment?

The Garlic is In

October 17th, 2009
DeepSeeded Community Farm | Blog

WooHoo! We got done planting next year’s garlic today, just before the rain resumed. The patch is 4800 row feet (or twelve 100’ beds with 4 rows per bed) with 5-inch in row spacing, and is the largest patch I’ve yet grown. The beds were well prepared and well fertilized, and I’m feeling hopeful for an abundant harvest 8-9 months down the road. The beds had been rained on before planting, so we were scratching off the first flush of baby weeds while planting. In the… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: garlic, varieties, planting stock, mulch

No comments yet. Add a comment?

WA Weather - Wet

March 26th, 2009
Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm | Blog

bed prep for onions/leeks transplants under agribond (notice the plastic is blown off our row cover) snow in March Farming in the wonderful Pacific Northwest is a good way to become mental. We love it; the weather really keeps things interesting and your “plans” ever changing. Here in Washington State it rains in spring. We are hunters and hopefuls for a mildly sunny, dry day. Last season in a single day we experienced sun, rain, sleet, and snow. This year back in February we experienced… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: arugula, cabbage, cover crop, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, leeks, lettuce, march, onions, peas, radishes, spinach, Kales, Salad Greens, Pac Choy, Tatsoi, Bok Choy, Broccoli Raab, row covers, 5 row seeder, eliot coleman, early spring

No comments yet. Add a comment?

End of CSA Season…Plant Some Garlic, onions too

October 21st, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

The CSA ended yesterday, Wednesday. It was a good year. Now it’s time to finish the garlic planting. I’ve got the hardnecks in the ground - Music, German Red, Mexican Purple, Chesnok Red. Now I’ll finish the softnecks - Cal Early, Cal Late - and move onto the onion transplants. Nice weather for all this, low 80’s. I would forgo the sunny weather for some rain though. Andrew Read the rest of this article »

Tags: CSA, garlic, onions

No comments yet. Add a comment?

Cover Cropping, Garlic Planting, Sandhill Cranes

October 10th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

This fall I am planting about 140 lbs of garlic. I Saved about 30 lbs from the spring and got the rest from Peaceful Valley. There’s a lot of Cal Early and Cal Late, but also “Music”, “Chesnok Red” and “Mexican Purple”. About half is in the ground now. I am amending the beds with Feather Meal and, although less so, rock phosphate and potassium. “How to Grow Great Garlic” recommends especially amending with Blood Meal (or another organic… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: amending, blood meal, cranes, garlic

No comments yet. Add a comment?

« Older entries

Two farms are starting from scratch.

They are turning the dirt and hoping to be successful enough to turn a profit, and to become a valuable part of their communities as suppliers of organically grown food.

Peaceful Valley is giving them a head start by offering them special pricing as part of this Freshman Farmer program.

The Farm Blogs

Freshman:
New Farms Coming Soon!
Sophomores:
	Laughing Duck Farm Newcastle, CA
	Starbright Acres 12575 Polaris Dr, Grass Valley, CA
Graduates:
	Coyote House Farm Palermo, CA
	Daily Grace Farms Crescent City, CA
	DeepSeeded Community Farm Arcata, CA
	Driftwood Farm Fort Bragg, CA
	EarthDance Farm St. Louis, MO
	Ellwood Canyon Farms Goleta, CA
	Freestone Family Farm Vernal, UT
	Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm Poulsbo, WA
	Home Plate Organic Farm Orleans, CA
	Honey in the Heart Farm Nevada City, CA
	Willow Springs Farm Penn Valley, CA
	Wise Moon Farm Redding, CA