Great Little Greenhouse to Harden Off Seedlings

The short-lived snow storm that passed through the farm yesterday reminded us that winter is still with us.  We are so fortunate to have our little 10 x 8 foot glass B. C. Greenhouse in which to

complete the seedling cycle-plants such as radishes and onions, seeded into 2 inch soil blocks and

pacs are hardening-off with a little help from a propane heater which keeps the temperature well above freezing.  Our "Royce Royce" germination bench is chock-a-block full with artichoke

seedlings, Swiss chard and lettuces all sitting so green under the lights.  We are gearing up for

our Giant Plant Sale that will take place on Saturday, May 2. 11-5 pm at Haliburton Farm.  Late seed orders came to the door yesterday from Wm. Dam and Two Wings Farm (a favorite for their great quality tomato seeds) so we will have a large variety of heirloom tomato plants for sale as well as a large variety of vegetable and herb seedlings.

 

Ahoy Cabbage Lovers

So I was conversing with the photographer who will be taking photos at our first class of the year (Soil Testing/All About Winter Cabbage) this Friday, February 20, from 11:00am to 1:00pm at Haliburton Communiy Organic Farm (www.haliburtonfarm.org) and thought the latter part of the conversation deserved wider distribution.  So here it is:

So after having completed the general gardening topic of Soil Testing we will enter the All About Cabbage protion of the class where we'll demonstrate seeding cabbage and have a look at the (full to brimming) germination cabinet and the (cool and empty) outdoor greenhouse and raised bed area where the cabbages along with other seedlings will be transferred to harden off and then planted once things warm up a bit.

There isn't much growing in our new raised beds but Ray's garden has an area of winter veggies enclosed to protect them from the brassica loving and always entertaining waddlers.  He has very kindly saved some winter cabbages for us to harvest and cook with our students.  We'll be preparing and serving a curried cabbage salad, an earthy cabbage soup, and a contemporary version of the ubiquitous cabbage roll using local bison in a range of yummy somethings for veggies, locovores, and flexitarians alike.  Fresh herb infused bread will come steaming hot straight from our oven to complete the hearty lunch.  

Seedlings in the Cupboard

Wasn't it wonderful to see the sunshine today?  On Wednesday Tina and I soil blocked a few 40-block wooden trays and seeded our artichokes, swiss chard, and radishes into them.  We put one seed per two inch block for the artichoke and swiss chard but put the radishes four to a block, one seed in each corner.  Once done, into the germination cabinet they went and they are now basking in a warm bath of light to a rhymic schedule of 16 hours on, 8 hours off.  The resting time allows them to do just that, resulting in a slower growing but stronger and healthier plant.   I can close my eyes and taste the buttery artichokes we'll be harvesting this summer.  Yum!