Hello! Welcome back for another week of Happy Valley Farming!

This week, we are harvesting big, moving ground, analyzing seedlings, planning curriculum, and revamping old systems.

We’ll start with the most recently exciting event: Harvesting Big! In a single harvest today, I picked 1 POUND and 10.3 ounces of lettuce from 2 garden beds. Wow! The spinach outweighs the lettuce at 2 pounds of delicious nutrition. I am stoked to serve this bounty to our lovely group tomorrow.

Nope, that scale isn't broken, and no, that spinach doesn't weigh less than air! That's 2 pounds of spinach from one harvest!
Nope, that scale isn’t broken, and no, that spinach doesn’t weigh less than air! That’s 2 pounds of spinach from one harvest!
26.3 ounces of lettuce!
26.3 ounces of lettuce!

It feels good to finally bring in more than a few measly ounces to the kitchen. They won’t be giggling when the entire salad bar is composed of homegrown greens!

Don't mind me, just cleaning the lettuce grew and picked.
Don’t mind me, just cleaning the lettuce I grew and picked.

I have been documenting the progress of my most recent plants on index cards so I can keep track of how each plant and variety respond and grow in the environments I impose upon them. My broccoli seedlings have produced some interesting results.

I planted two varieties, Belstar F1 and Fiesta F1 broccoli. I put half of each variety in my controlled room environment, and half in the mini-hoop house in the corral.

My indoor greenhouse. It's quite lovely to wake up to and tend to each morning.
My indoor greenhouse. It’s quite lovely to wake up and tend to each morning.
Belstar on the left, Fiesta on the right in the mini hoophouse
Belstar on the left, Fiesta on the right in the mini hoophouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the cool part. Indoors, the Fiestas sprouted at 100%. Both seeds in each pouch sprouted, so I had to cut the extra seedling :'(. The Fiestas aren’t so proud outside, however, where the temperatures get near freezing some nights, and when the cover doesn’t get pulled off in the morning, the heat inside the enclosure can get up to 80°!

The Belstars, on the other hand, sprouted 2 brave stems indoors, and in the hoop house, 4 emerged. Now, this is no grand-scale experiment so the numbers are small and can hardly count for anything. But isn’t it peculiar how the Belstars have a higher success rate outside and the Fiestas thrive indoors?

All this is well and good, but no germination success rate can live to tell of its glory if a slug comes along and chomps of its head.

So the outdoor broccoli is no more. Drat. I guess what they say about starting seeds indoors to protect from pests has merit. But until I have a proper growing space, I will not give up!

My next big project this week was moving ground. Remember what I said a few posts ago about terracing our land inside the corral? Well, I’ve got the plan all drawn out, I had my right hand man clear my space, and still without proper environmental approval from the main man Tim, I have made some pretty serious changes to the topography. It looks great! Just tell Tim it’s okay for me, will you?

Step 1: Cut into the hill with tractor
Step 1: Cut into the hill with tractor

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2: Replace displaced dirt on lower end of cut-out area
Step 2: Replace displaced dirt on lower end of cut-out area with hand powered shovel
Final Step: Level the space and appreciate its beauty!
Final Step: Level the space with hand powered rake and appreciate its beauty!

 

On this leveled out space, students will put their minds together to plan out a configuration of raised box gardens to create 100 square feet of growing space. We will not have to work the ground any more than it is, for we will create soil from the compost Happy Valley has generated, peat moss, and vermiculite.

 

Before we move on, take note of the wagon covered raised bed in the background of this last photo.

It just wasn’t working for me. Why? It was growing plants just great, but the fact of the matter is, gardening shouldn’t be harder than it is enjoyable (remember that). The design was flawed, as we knew from the beginning, we just weren’t sure exactly how it was flawed. Hoisting the plastic over top of the very tall PVC pipe tunnel was not a one-person job, yet I’m usually working solo out there. There were also screws poking out of the PVC for intended convenience, but really they served only to catch the plastic and tear it.

I was no longer interested in this garden because it was frustrating. So, I made an improvement.

The improved, more manageable raised bed cover.
The improved, more manageable raised bed cover.

I unscrewed the PVC from the sideboards, chopped a foot and a half of length, and re-screwed it into the side of the bed. Yes, I know the PVC pipes are uneven. The last one is higher just in case we grow taller plants!

I tested it, and without the catching screws and a 6.5 foot height requirement, I can completely cover this bed with plastic on my own. That is so nice.

Since the ends aren’t sealed with the plastic as you see here, my next step is to cut plastic to fit the last two loops. I will secure them so they stay permanently for the cold season. Perhaps this will prove a viable seed starter house? I am also considering floating row cover options.

Though it awes me every time, I must accept and adapt to the fact that Northern Central California does in fact, frost.

Frosted mint, anyone?
Frosted mint, anyone?

 

Thanks for keeping up with my progress here in the valley. And remember, enjoy yourself out there!

Red bluetooth speaker suctioned to the compost tumbler.
I suctioned my red bluetooth speaker to the compost tumbler.

2 Responses

  1. What a wonderful time I just spent reading your new blog and reviewing your past ones. It is so exciting to see the progress and the bounty of your labor. Write on! Keep planting those seeds! Can’t wait to read the next chapter. ♻️

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