Another Garden Update

The garden is growing well, and this rain we are getting today will be great for all of our new plantings. I thought I would give an update as to what is planted so far:
peas-shelling (they are blooming right now, so it shouldn't be too long for peas!), peas-sugar snap, onions, scallions, garlic, lettuces, chard, spinach, radishes, turnip greens, beets, carrots, green beans, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, cabbage, broccoli, herbs (chives, rosemary, thyme, basil, dill, cilantro,parsley, spearmint, lavender), potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. We'll soon be planting melons(watermelon, cantalope, and honeydew), flowers, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and winter squash. I feel like I may be forgetting something, but this is pretty much all. Our first delivery should be coming up soon...I hope next weekend...I will keep all of our members posted by email.

New Research in Pesticides

This is from the Des Moines Register and can also be found online. Yet another reason why organic/chemical free is so important.

Research links pesticides with attention-deficit disorder:

A new analysis of U.S. health data links children's attention-deficit disorder with exposure to common pesticides used on fruits and vegetables. Although the study couldn't prove that pesticides used in agriculture contribute to childhood learning problems, experts said that the research is convincing. "I would take it quite seriously," said Virginia Rauh of Columbia University, who has studied prenatal exposure to pesticides and was not involved in the study. The findings are published in Pediatrics.

Another link for this info is: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/17/pesticides.adhd/

What's Growing?

The garden is growing, and I thought I would give an update. We should have a few things ready in the next week or two...we'll be sending out an email to all of our customers about when to expect their first box. Things that should be ready soon include radishes, green onions, and greens. The peas are growing well, as is the spinach and chard, so they shouldn't be too far behind either. I'm sure you are all ready for fresh garden produce (I know we sure are)! It has rained ALOT this week at the farm. The garden needs weeded in the worst way, but right now it is a muddy mess in there. My rain gage says 3 inches total this week. I think it will stay dry for the next couple days, but another chance of rain Sunday night with more dry weather to follow after that. We have a bunch of transplants that need to go in the ground soon, so I hope it will be dry enough by this weekend. The greenhouse is full of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and herbs awaiting their new home in the garden!

Our First Egg...

We finally got our first egg! We have one hen that is laying so far, she has laid one a day for the last three days. I am sure the others (three more for now as the others come in June) will be following soon as they are the same age. The breed we have is called Red Star and they lay big brown eggs. I am suprised at how big these pullets eggs are...I was expecting them to be smaller...I would say they are about the size of a medium egg from the store. We haven't eaten any yet... I thought about collecting enough for a quiche or egg casserole with some of our fresh garlic chives. Sounds good to me.

The chickens are fun to watch too, as they have little "personalities". The kids like to watch them and talk to them...they have given them some interesting names (to say the least). Red Velvet, Pepper and Spices, and Spiderman...I tried to explain they were girl chickens, but my youngest insisted on Spiderman. I said the fourth should be Layla, because we want them to lay a lot of eggs! I'll try to get pictures up as soon as I figure out my camera problem.

The Dirty Dozen/Clean Sixteen

I received this info by email and thought it beneficial for all to read.

DIRTY DOZEN
Buy These Organic as they rate high in pesticides:

WORST
1 Celery
2 Peaches
3 Strawberries
4 Apples
5 Blueberries
6 Nectarines
7 Bell Peppers
8 Spinach
9 Kale
10 Cherries
11 Potatoes
12 Grapes

CLEAN 16
1 Onions
2 Avocado
3 Sweet Corn
4 Pineapple
5 Mangos
6 Sweet Peas
7 Asparagus
8 Kiwi
9 Cabbage
10 Eggplant
11 Cantaloupe
12 Watermelon
13 Grapefruit
14 Sweet Potato
15 Honeydew
16 Melon

Why Should You Care About Pesticides? The growing consensus among scientists is that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can cause lasting damage to human health, especially during fetal development and early childhood. Scientists now know enough about the long-term consequences of ingesting these powerful chemicals to advise that we minimize our consumption of pesticides. What’s the Difference? EWG research has found that people who eat five fruits and vegetables a day from the Dirty Dozen list consume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Those who eat from the 15 least contaminated conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables ingest fewer than 2 pesticides daily. The Guide helps consumers make informed choices to lower their dietary pesticide load. Will Washing and Peeling Help? The data used to create these lists is based on produce tested as it is typically eaten (meaning washed, rinsed or peeled, depending on the type of produce). Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. Peeling helps, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the skin. The best approach: eat a varied diet, rinse all produce and buy organic when possible. How Was This Guide Developed? EWG analysts have developed the Guide based on data from nearly 96,000 tests for pesticide residues in produce conducted between 2000 and 2008 and collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

You can find a detailed description of the criteria EWG used to develop these rankings and the complete list of fruits and vegetables tested at our dedicated website, http://www.foodnews.org/.

THE POWER OF INFORMATION Headquarters 1436 U St. N.W., Suite 100 Washington, DC 20009(202) 667-6982

Learn More at FoodNews.org

Rain and Garden Progress

It had been really dry here for the past few weeks...so much so that I have had to water the garden. This weekend it finally rained and the garden needed it! I think they are saying we received over 3 inches total. It sounds like we will have a few dry days now and then more rain toward the end of the week. The sugar snap peas, shelling peas, onions, garlic, cabbage, and broccoli are looking good...I am seeing rows of greens, spinach, lettuces, radishes, kohlrabi, and chard coming up as well. I suspect that the potatoes are starting to come up or will be soon, but it is too muddy to go check today. Things are coming along in the garden and overall I am pleased. The rain is helping our newly planted fruit trees and bushes as well. We are looking into the possibility of purchasing a high tunnel for the farm...that would help us get an earlier start on the season and also be able to extend our season into early winter. We are reading a few books by Eliot Coleman about extending the harvest and they are very good. We would love to be able to provide a Summer share as well as a Winter share someday...maybe next year...we shall see.

Berries and Brambles

We received our berry bushes in the mail today! I ordered some from Hartmann's Plant Nursery and some others from Pinetree Garden Seeds...they are all alive, which is a bonus! The varieties are: Poorman Gooseberry (6), Encore Raspberry (6), Blueberries (2 each of Hannah's Choice, Jersey, and Blue Ray), and Seascape Strawberry (100). We also received our Jersey Knight Asparagus (50), and garlic. I would like to plant them tomorrow, but if it rains tonight (like they are predicting) it may be too muddy. We'll have to wait and see. This weekend is supposed to be sunny with nice temps, so we can get some more work done then. I should also be getting my fruit trees any day from Stark Bros. I ordered 2 peach and 3 plums. I can't wait until all of this fruit starts producing!