Whitsend Market Garden

Hello Everyone:

I hope everyone is doing well as we all emerge tentatively from our dwellings.

Having read about the influenza pandemic within the past two years, plus having some knowledge of other past plagues, I think we got off fairly lucky.

My big complaint is the grocery stores seemingly unable to source large bags of oats and other items, which are more expensive.  No wonder a certain grocery chain is posting record profits!

(I thought gouging during a crisis was illegal?!?!?)






I have finished a very intense period of seeding and transplanting; followed by some weed suppression and maintenance work on the irrigation system.


The firld is looking good, the planting schedule is on track, and the plants lok healthy other than a few zinnias broken by the row covers.

My repairs to the irrigation system were not perfect, and so part of the field still requires a bit of hand watering.








The squashes are mature enough to remove the covers.  I leave these on so that the transplants have some respite from the heat and wind as they root themselves into the beds.

As in previous years, I have inter planted the zinnias with the squash to save space.

A couple of flowers and one squash failed after transplant, so there are a few cloches covering the replacement plants.










I keep the row covers on the garlic for the night, when leek moths are active. 

While digging around in the obscure corners of the farm in Lanark, I came across some insect netting and decided to give it a try instead of row covers.  Now I am wanting more...

The scapes are developing.  They have curled once, and are ready for harvest after two curls.


















I have found that successfully germinating parsnips can be hit or miss.

This year seems to be a hit.

Next I have to thin the plants out.

I didn't plant a lot of parsnips this season as they tend to be of limited interest and I only had enough space for abut half a bed.










The other half of this bed has a closely related crop, the celeriac.  Another crop that seems to have limited appeal.

These transplants were sown back in early April, and transplanted two weeks ago.  They'll be ready in about 90 days from now.

















The chard is also growing very quickly.  I suspect that there will be enough for about half the customer base when the scapes are ready. 

Now that we have had some rain and the covers are off the plants, I expect the chard will grow even quicker.

















Your first round of potatoes - the Linzer Delicatesse Fingerlings.  These should be ready by late July, along with the first carrots and tomatoes.

Julia sowed these while I trasnplanted the squashes and zinnia.

In the bed immediatly to the left, the second round of yellow flesh potatoes - the German Butterball - are just starting to emerge.  I am hoping to have these ready by Thanksgiving. 










The first round of green beans is off to a good start, as are the kidneys and romano beans.

The mice did lesss damage to the been seedlings this season due to a new trick I have tried.

I have an organic approved insecticidal soap that I purchased a few years ago when my choi and cabbage were caught by a surprise aphid infestation - something that is usually rare for organic farming.

The soap has been sitting quite unused since then.





After hearing that a bit of soap splashed on and around the plants helped deter rodents, I gave this a try in addition to trying to keep a tightly fastened row cover over the plants as they germinated and grew their first leaves.



It seems to have worked, only 5 per cent or less of the plants were damaged.  Now that the plants are a bit older, the mice leave them alone, I'm not sure if the terminal buds are now out of reach, or if the plant becomes unpalatable to the rodents with age.

Another possibility is the phytotoxins plants produce when they are damaged.   As one plant is nibbled, it produces chemicals that deter the predator.  Neighboring plants have receptors for these chemicals, and when these are detected, the other plants then start producing their phytotoxins.

Plants are not helpless.

Some tomato plants are already starting to flower. 

I am hoping they do not flush out too early.  We can absorb the first few fruits. I don't want to have so many that I need to do an early delivery.

There is still tooo much to do at the farm in Lanark...

Back in Lanark, our two new colonies have arrived to replace the three lost over the course of the winter.  We started last spring with twoo hives; this year we start with three.  I anticipate the oldest hive will swarm this season, meaning we should go into fall with five hives.

Julia and I share a common peeve.  Why can't living things follow the textbook?  

All of our hives have been quite individual in their behavior. 

What is amiss with this picture?

I walk past this tree every day, and should have been a little more aware to take a look to see what was going on.

I only looked after I noticed another crab apple tree  in a similar state.    After checking other trees, I realized the willow was also loosing some of its foliage.












Gypsy moths.  Lots of them.

Within 48 hours of this photograph, caterpillars (and their droppings) were raining down all over the place.

According to a quick search online, our options were hand picking them (impractical for 6 acres) or a bacillus spray.

More on that shortly.

If you have fruit trees, maples, or deciduous trees, better go check them.  It appears that 2020 is the latest peak in their life cycle.





After an afternoon of feeling like Lanark was under siege (or aerial bombardment), I collapsed into the chair by the door and promptly noticed that not everything thing here is against us.