Growth Check

The Potter County Farmers' Market has been up and running for four weeks now. We've had all kinds of weather - as expected - and we've seen many familiar faces. Market hours are 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. on Fridays. This early in the season it pays to come in the first few hours on market day because quantities are limited!
This year our Farmers' Market growers are collaborating with Cole Memorial Hospital to offer our wares at the hospital on the first and third Mondays of the month. While our farm didn't participate this week, we've signed up for later in the season when the tomatoes and peppers are at their best!
It's a challenge to have fresh produce ready in May and June when you live in Potter County. Each week I've been harvesting and packing leafy head lettuce to transport to the Farmers' Market.

Three varieties of leafy head lettuce

I start the lettuce in 50-cell flats under the lights in the greenhouse and transplant into the high tunnel when the plants get too big for the containers. Tomorrow I will be cutting from the third bed I've planted this year.

Rinsed, bagged & stored in cooler to preserve freshness

 This week (Friday, June 20) we'll have lettuce, carrots, some fresh herbs, Swiss Chard (from our friends at Card Creek Trading Post) and a limited quantity of new potatoes!

The Great Tomato Race

When you grow tomatoes and first start to see the yellow blossoms, the question almost asks itself – which tomato will ripen first?

Black Sea Man

This year we have 24 varieties of mostly heirloom organic tomatoes growing in the high tunnel. When I shop for tomato seed, I rely on tried-and-true growing experience and taste. But I also look at the number of days it takes for the tomato plant to begin producing fruit.

In the days before the high tunnel, we were limited to tomatoes with a very short growing season (50 - 65 days). Now we have the luxury of planting tomatoes with growing spans of 85+ days. 

It's fun to watch the daily progress in the high tunnel as I make my way down the aisles, diligently cutting away the suckers on the indeterminate plants climbing their strings. Already the Black Trifele has taken on its signature triangular shape. I also recognize the Red Pears even though they're diminutive. Indigo Rose  (a Farmers' Market favorite) boasts dark leaves and stems and the marble-sized new fruit have deep purple shoulders.

Last year, the great tomato race was won by Stupice with Silvery Fir Tree, Moskovich and Sweetie Cherry following close behind. All those varieties are making a return appearance this year.

For 2014, I fully expect Black Sea Man (pictured above) to take the prize. This particular plant is loaded with fruit already!

Here's a peek in the high tunnel in a photo taken Tuesday, June 3.

Winter's Last Gasp?

High Tunnel closed for the night

The past two nights have been a challenge for our tender plants – even in the high tunnel. When the outdoor thermometer read 31 degrees, inside the tunnel it was 37  -- and that was just the air temperature, not the temperature inside the floating covers.

Tomatoes under their protective covers

Add the cold temperatures to the rain we've had in the past couple of days and you have farmers who are stymied in their attempts to get things planted. The schedule has been revised -- and revised again!
We're still on schedule to open the Farmers' Market on Friday, May 23 and in my next post, I'll show you what we're offering for sale.

A Labor of Love?

I have a radio tuned to NPR in the greenhouse and I listen in the mornings as I move from chore to chore, often with a watering jug in hand. Yesterday I heard a reporter call the Census of Agriculture a "feast for all ag geeks." Reporter Dan Charles titled his report "For Many, Farming Is A Labor of Love, Not a Living. " That made me chuckle aloud, for Arthur and I have been having many a conversation about that very subject – a conversation that's probably replicated by every farmer couple we know!

Mr. Charles highlighted a statistic that shows that two-thirds of 2,109,303 farms in the United States have sales (not profits) of less than $25,000 a year. He went on to say that he believes "The census numbers reveal the continuing transformation of American agriculture...The huge number of part-time farmers represents a kind of historical legacy. To a large extent, they are what's left of the days, a century ago, when farmers made up almost a third of the labor force."

And here we are today, living on the remnants of a family farm that used to support three families. Our farming venture looks very different from the one chronicled in the wonderful photos taken by my mother-in-law Wanda Metzger back in the 1950s (watch for more of them to be posted on the Farm Heritage page on this blog as soon as I get them scanned!)

Meanwhile, here are some photos I took this morning to show you what's happening on our little farm in the spring of 2014. Many of these crops are destined for the Potter County Farmers' Market.

Two kinds of leafy head lettuce

Leaf lettuce with some volunteer dill weed

First crop of  beet greens almost ready to harvest

Cherokee Purple tomato beginning its ascent in the high tunnel

If you'd like to read Dan Charles' report, here's the link: For Many Farming Is A Labor Of Love, Not A Living

Going Mainstream?

I was interested to see several references to purple potatoes (and several other vegetables we grow) in the April 2014 edition of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.
A beautifully-illustrated piece on "Rainbow Crops" hyped the nutritional benefits of brightly colored vegetables. Purple potatoes were listed among "crops rich in anthocyanins (currently being studied for their anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer benefits)."
Among the Easter dinner recipes I found "Garlic Potato Rolls" which called for 8 oz. of cooked purple potatoes, mashed.
The United States Potato Board advertises the benefits of potatoes with a full page ad in the magazine. Don't those potatoes look a lot like the Gourmet Organic Potatoes we have for sale at Costa's ShurSave Food Shop in Coudersport?

http://www.potatogoodness.com/

We still have a limited supply of purple potatoes (and some of our other varieties) from last year in storage. If you'd like a supply of a particular color (like purple), contact us soon (email: metzgerfarm@gmail.com) or by telephone.
Here's a picture of the beginnings of the 2014 potato crop snapped last week.

 

Orchard Work

I've discovered that the winter seems endless and when the sun has finally warmed the earth, time begins to speed up with an ever-growing number of items on my to-do lists.
Arthur's been working in the orchard, putting into practice some of what he's learned in workshops, conversations with others and various books. With assistance from brother-in-law Roger Wilkerson who spent a few days visiting from Oregon earlier this month, he has refined the trellis system for the dwarf trees planted two years ago. If you've seen Arthur sitting on the ground inside the orchard, now you know he training the branches along the new wires strung for that purpose.
He's also been harvesting scions for grafting (note the Kevlar gloves he's wearing since last year's unfortunate accident with a grafting knife).
He's also prepared many of the beds in the high tunnel for my planting efforts – potatoes, chard, beets, carrots, radishes, lettuce and shallots. We have cover crops – red clover and peas – planted in the long beds and those will be turned over into the earth when it's time to begin transplanting tomatoes in a week or so.

Niles watching over Joe's efforts
in the pea patch.

The peas have begun to go into the ground and I know many of you are looking forward to seeing them at the Farmers' Market in early July!
We plant Alderman (tall telephone) peas. This heritage pea is the variety planted by Arthur's parents, grandparents and great grandparents.

From the Victory Seeds online catalog comes this interesting tidbit: "The history and pedigree of 'Alderman' is a bit sketchy.  This is not uncommon when researching very old varieties but here are the facts that we do know.  In 1878, Carter's of London, England released a variety called 'Telephone' that was a sport of the older variety, 'Telegraph'. There was a lot of variability in 'Telephone's' genetics.
"At the time that it was introduced into the United States, light-colored pods were popular. But as public preferences changed in favor of darker pods, growers started selecting seed stock from the darker-podded variants of 'Telephone'.
"Then in 1892, Thomas Laxton of Bedford, England released 'Alderman'.  It possesses many of the same characteristics as 'Telephone' but appeared to be more uniform.  W. Atlee Burpee introduced it into the U.S. market in 1901. By the mid-1930s, 'Alderman' had nearly replaced 'Telephone' or was being marketed as 'Dark-Podded Telephone', 'Tall Telephone', or simply as 'Telephone' with no apologies.  "By the way, the word "Tall" was added to the name in the early part of the 20th Century simply to distinguish it from a variety that had been introduced called, 'Dwarf Telephone'. "

Organic Alderman seed is impossible to find so we've been saving our own seed for several years. There's something especially satisfying about putting those special seeds in the ground each spring.
 

Full Speed Ahead!

When a bunch of farmers get together this time of year, the conversation almost always turns toward the weather. We're in consensus when we lament the late spring this year. I almost don't dare to look at the 10-day weather forecast since the last time I looked past the promised 70-degree temperatures this weekend, I saw snow and ice pellets in the mix for early next week. Sigh.....
Last year we beefed up our indoor planting schemes to enable a head start on the season. It was the first week of March when I started my first seeds indoors this year under the grow lights in a sunny upstairs bedroom window.

First and second lettuce plantings

Tomato seedlings

I start my seeds in trays with Organic Mechanics Seed Starting Blend and then replant the seedlings in individual pots with Vermont Compost Company Fort Vee Compost-Based Potting Soil. I've found this combination gives my plants a good start before planting in the high tunnel or outdoors.

I vowed this that I wouldn't start as many seeds this year but when I look around the greenhouse, I do believe I may have overdone it again! Of course, when late summer rolls around, we'll all welcome a harvest like this!