As Usual, There Were Mistakes From Which to Learn

Every time I look at how things are going, the mistakes I have made jump out far more brightly than the successes. 

As the weather begins to cool, plans for the next growing season are already cementing in my mind. First is to maximize the amount of land available in my village lot. This season, I worked with 25 foot beds that cross my property. The reason was mainly that short beds were easier to add one at a time and it was visually appealing. However it has been clear to me since very early on that fewer long beds would be able to produce far more than many short beds. The reason? Fewer beds = fewer paths. Fewer paths = more growing space. Obvious, I know, but these are the things you overlook when you go from a kitchen garden to a market garden.

Second, I have a whole new garden in my backyard! The 30'x30' space beyond the shed was completely overrun by incredibly invasive Japanese Knotweed. While I planned to have the space cleared of this weed by July, the plant proved so aggressive that we are still pulling it out to this day. However, each new generation is weaker than the last and I am prepared to plant this area of the garden next spring. This increases the growing space hugely!

Luna, enjoying a romp in the perennials that make up the wildlife garden.

Third, when I only have 7 long beds, setting up the entire area with drip tape will be much easier and more cost effective. Being able to irrigate without hopping between rows with a sprinkler all day to water the whole garden will mean I can water more often in dry spells. With more water I can get certain crops to maturity earlier, and increase production from other crops. Water results in more food with less space. Perfect!


Fourth, I purchased another 'greenhouse'. Really, it's a carport that I'm going to buy greenhouse plastic to cover, but what's the difference between friends? My 20'x13' greenhouse produced beautiful tomatoes and cucumbers. With a second one, I can dedicate one to just producing tomatoes, and in the second grow peppers, aubergine, and cucumbers. While reading a book about greenhouse production it also dawned on me how stupid I had been with my greenhouse rows. Instead of 4 single rows, I should have grown 3 double rows! More food, less space. I am thrilled that I have the chance to make these mistakes while I still have the safety of an off-farm income!

Finally I am delighted that the orchard will finally have access to water! In the spring, I will bite the bullet and get financing to drill a well and purchase some major irrigation equipment so that my investment of fruit trees and asparagus may finally produce a crop. There is still a large section of field at the bottom of the slope where I plan to have a large plantation of haskaps (after buying the initial 30 plants, I am propagating new plants from cuttings until I can fill the field). This is where I will expand the annual vegetable production next year. Long season crops that do not require picking several times per week will be planted here. Winter squash, garlic, melons, brussel sprouts etc. 

That's the plan! With my financial goal reached for 2018, my goal for 2019 is to double that amount. Maybe by 2020, I will be able to pay myself for the labour I put in! Wouldn't that be novel?

Happy planning!

Summer of Market, Photo Diary

Nobody got into farming because they liked record keeping. One short-cut form of record keeping is taking photographs. These photographs serve to remind me when certain items came in season, and remind me visually what I had on offer on the weeks when I had the highest, and lowest sales. 

Here is some of Eden's Rise first year at the market, in easily digestible form. There are three weeks left, come to Metcalfe Farmer's Market Saturdays 9-1 to say hello!

July 28

August 11

August 25

September 1

September 8

September 22

Summer solstice

Urban farm inspired

Greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers

Flowering lilies

Currants ripening on the bush

Yellow pear tomatoes in development

Allowing wild flowers in my front yard to encourage insect life

Milkweed flowers and leaves provide food and nectar.

Cucumber

Blueberries on the bush

Maximizing space for the urban farmer

Red currants

Haskaps

Growing Orchard

Changing the pH of the soil is slow business, but the blueberries continue the fight. Enough flowers this spring to feed my hungry face with blueberries this summer! Maybe next year the soil+age of the plants will = surplus available for sale!

Grapes have been unimpressive in my poor soil, but this year their roots finally seem to have established some dominance against the stubborn grass. After two years, we see some top growth. (Grape plants have since been weeded)

The orchard will produce its first grapes!

The lonesome Kiwi survives. Two of her sisters and her mate have died. Without a male, these plants cannot produce fruit.

One of five blueberry varieties in the orchard.

There will be a huge amount of currants coming my way! I am excited to have a crop to harvest. Growing perennials is a game of patience, seeing results is a gift. One of 50+ currant bushes at the orchard...yum!

A few Haskap/honeyberries have already ripened. Unfortunately the 30 plants I planted last spring have produced collectively 8 berries. Here's hoping next spring will prove more rewarding. In the meantime, I have planted a further 25 haskap plants this spring and continue to propagate new plants from cuttings.

Saskatoons ripening in the sun. I purchased two varieties of Saskatoon. Lee 8 (pictured here) is producing fruit on every plant. The Martin variety has not produced a single berry.

Announcement

Eden's Rise is finally in business! This Saturday I will be attending the Metcalfe Farmer's Market selling the following plants:

Strawberries

Rhubarb

Thyme

Winter Savory

Catnip

Mint

Chives

5 varieties of hosta

and more...

I am very excited to see the result of my hard work touch other people's lives. 

To remind you: Eden's Rise is a project with the intention of returning our planet to an Eden-like state of abundance of plant-based foods and habitat for all creatures. One example of how this is being done is in my packaging. Recycled paper pulp baskets will be used for fruit and vegetables during the summer, and all pots that have been used in plant propagation have been donated to me from my community in order to re-use their already existing pots. This way they get another use before going to recycling or landfill and my business does not increase demand for plastic production.

Thank you to the Osgoode community for your generosity, leaving plant pots by my front door throughout the spring. 

Here are some more pictures of the growing vegetable gardens.

First two weeks of May photo album

Row covers assist with germination and protecting young seedlings.

The micro-climate created beneath row cover keeps the soil warmer and holds in more moisture than bare earth.

A daffodil whose stem was snapped by the wind, now flowering on the kitchen table

Rhubarb plants growing in a composted manure and sand mixture, ready for the market.

Plants ready for transplanting, propagated at home.

Red currants are one of the first plants to open their leaves and flower this spring.

Weeding the orchard is quite an undertaking. Why did I plant so many bushes? Why do I continue planting more?

A new addition to the Eden's Rise team, a man and his machete!

The garden slowly takes shape with a few hours of labour per day. And we're barely keeping up.

A spot for the workers to rest with a cup of tea or a glass of wine. Chairs and 'table' needing replacements. Keeping an eye on the roadside during spring cleaning season for hand-me-downs.

Garlic as of first week of May

Biodiversity in small spaces. This two foot wide patch of dirt between the house and the driveway is capable of providing support to many passing insects.

Haskaps

The greenhouse completed, beds being worked.

Rhubarb, a delicious perennial.