I always try to pick a few crops to work on each year, and this year I chose miniature head lettuce and carrots. Both are things I love to eat, and need more practice growing. It is hard to get a lettuce to form a complete head around here, because I always end up harvesting the tips before it gets big enough to harvest as a head! I chose several varieties to try, both red, green, and mottled... so we'll see what happens.
Blue Jade sweet corn... just for fun. Don't expect to see this as market except in 4" pots sold as individual plants in the Spring. This is one sweet corn that can actually be planted in large containers, and used as an ornamental. I plan to do a small row in the garden just for our family (I'm awful when it comes to weeding large plots like sweet corn.) I'll put a few seeds in large whiskey barrels around our property for decoration.
I chose two varieties of carrots to grow this year. This variety below is called Dragon, and features a purple exterior with orange inside. I need Becky to teach me how to weed carrots. Or maybe just a little more ambition when it counts... like early May when the weeds begin to Sprout.
The other variety I chose is called Paris Market. I thought these would be easier because they are small, take less time to mature, and thus, there would be less time for the weeds to take it over. Right?
I also am planting a lot of potatoes this year. I like potatoes because you can get them in the ground early, and also harvest them earlier than crops like tomatoes and peppers. They are gratifying because they grow pretty quickly, and the kids can help me dig them out of the dirt and throw them into buckets. I chose some old favorites like Red Norlands, Kennebecs, Katahdins, as well as some fancy new varieties like Purple Viking and Purple Majesty. They are purple inside and out!
These photos were all taken from seed catalogs... but hopefully this summer I will have some pictures of the real thing, taken right here on our farm. We're currently bottling lavender infused honey for the Weekly Fresh Market Bag at the Greener Grocer right now. We received about 5" of snow last night so this is a fun activity to do while being snowed in!
If you enjoy this farm blog, head on over to Curly Girl Farm blog, where our farmer friend Kristen blogs about all sorts of old-fashioned farm activities. If you need advice on jelly making, sauerkraut making (the real, "stinky crock sitting in your kitchen for weeks" way), raising chickens, making maple syrup, growing heirloom produce, sewing, and pretty much any other old-fashioned craft or trade... Kristen is your girl!
