Vermiculture Nursery

If you’re not aware vermiculture is raising worms for their byproducts (worm castings or as bait). I started experimenting with vermiculture last October. I began with a wooden box I made lined with plastic and a modest handful of red wigglers. When I first started out it seemed to be going moderately well, I had castings (worm poop) and lots of worm eggs being laid. But I had a large problem also, vinegar flies aka fruit flies. I couldn't get the little varmints to go away and when cold weather came I was hesitant to bring my worms and flies inside mostly because of the flies. So consequently my worms all died, R.I.P.

So I concocted a new plan and made a new worm house out of a large styrofoam meat container. I then went and bought some new worms from, I hate to say, Wal-Mart. I found a distributor who sells European night crawlers to them as "pan fish and trout worms". These worms are the new hip composting worms. They reproduce less than red wigglers but are hardier and eat more types of food. In fact one online source claims they will eat any organic matter besides bones, a little creepy but efficient. I have had my European night crawlers in the basement since early November. All this time they have been eating and producing castings and laying eggs but there has been a problem. The eggs haven't appeared to be hatching because I haven't seen any babies. So I made a sort of vermiculture nursery. I thought maybe it was too cold in basement for the eggs to hatch since I had read multiple sources that said the eggs need temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees fahrenheit.

About two weeks ago I took about fifteen eggs and put them in a plastic sour cream container with a few knife holes punched in the top. I then shredded and wet a paper towel and placed some small morsels of organic matter for them to eat inside. Just yesterday I was inspecting my eggs and turning some of the newspaper over when I discovered babies! I was excited to the point where I am pretty certain some members of my household may be scarred for life. I also discovered why I wasn't seeing my little babies in the main worm house; the worm pictured next to the straight pin is two to three times bigger than the smallest worms hatched. I figure I will let the little guys keep growing and hatching for another week and I will move them to the main worm house. I also finally did discover some young worms in the main house that are about one inch long. I am not sure what I thought I was looking for before when checking for babies but I don't think it was quite this small.

Cozy Cold Frame

It has been dropping into the teens at night still but it is time to start hardening off the onions and making room for new seedlings under the lights, time to put the cold frames to the test. I put the onions out in the afternoon when the cold frames would be at their warmest. I let them get one hour of light and then covered with a doubled up sheet. I will keep adding an hour a day to their light regiment for four days then they are on their own. I think I will keep pinning the sheet down at night though as long as it stays this cold to hold in the heat. It has been three days now since I moved them out and they look good (pictures are from today).

I also seeded fifty pepper plants which include thirty King of the North's, ten Shishito, and ten unknown jumbo pepper seed passed along from my dad. All of the peppers are bells but the Shishito is supposed to have a spice to it. It was a freebie from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (they are good for that) and the description reads:

"A favorite old Japanese variety which produces 3" long, slightly wrinkled fruit that are perfect for making tempura and other traditional recipes. Fruit is emerald green color, mildly flavored with a just bit of spice; it really is superb. It is the standard with many chefs."

I also seeded a flat of celery 'broadcast' style. The variety of celery is Tall Utah which is a standard in the celery biz from what I gather and since I am new to celery I like the idea of going with a proven variety.

Next up is everything else that gets seeded inside: tomatoes, asparagus, ground cherries, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and other things I am forgetting I am sure. Although I may start the asparagus before all that so I can harden them off and make room for the mass planting since the asparagus won’t get harvested this year anyhow and the timing is less critical.

First Green of The Year!

Only nine days later and the onions are up! They actually started emerging about three days ago but I wanted them to be photosynthesizing for the big picture day (they look less pretty when they are white stemmed).

Right now they are growing away under the fluorescent lights but they can’t stay there forever. I have limited light space and they need to be hardened off anyhow. There is still space for one more flat which will contain celery and peppers but once the end of February arrives and the big planting goes in the onions will have to move out to the cold frames and start toughening up for the real world. Shortly after that when hard freezes are a thing of the past in about late March they will get moved to the garden. For now they get to hang out in the comfortable basement under the forgiving glow of the fluorescent tubes.

Everything starts moving fast this time of year when you start your own seedlings. It is still mid winter and the garden is already growing.

16 Weeks and Counting

Today was the first day of planting! It really feels good to touch soil and open seed packs. I can hardly wait for spring but I suppose I don't have much choice. Nobody ever ask me when spring should arrive.

I planted three varieties of onion which are Mustang F1 Hybrid, Red Wing F1 Hybrid, and Evergreen Hardy Bunching onions. I tried to order more heirlooms and open pollinated vegetables this year but I am new to growing onion from seed so I decided to put the odds in my favor by using hybrids. I don't have anything against hybrids in fact there are many I love but I do like the idea of supporting traditional vegetables when they are productive and disease resistant enough for my needs.

I planted them in flat trays in a 'broadcast' fashion. I have them under two sets of fluorescent tubes and underneath I have two heat lamps to warm the soil. Now it is time to wait two weeks and see what happens. Hopefully I can report back with pictures of seedlings.

At the end of the month I will also be sowing celery and peppers. Then at the end of February I will plant the biggest crop to be started indoors which includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, ground cherries, and asparagus. The title refers to the last day of frost. For my area it is May first which means on Saturday it will be sixteen weeks away. Hopefully by then I will already have potatoes, onions, and many greens in the ground.

Extra Cold Frame

So the Two Acre Farm winter production isn't look so hot. My plan of growing spinach through the winter has officially been obliterated. The plants are looking alive and green but no growth and as the pictures show they aren't exactly overheated. Although I haven’t ever put a thermometer inside the mini greenhouses / cold frames I am certain they stay significantly warmer than outside. I came to this conclusion when I discovered the dirt is frozen several inches deep outside but inside the cold frames it isn’t frozen at all yet, good to know. I could make things better by putting in extra panes of glass or extra insulation but I am not that interested in spinach in winter. I had a gut feeling these would wind up for seed starting but I figured giving them a shot as mini greenhouses couldn't hurt.

On the bright side we have a great place to start cold hardy seedlings without taking up space inside and they gave us some beautiful displays of frost. The way the frost has formed reminds me of grass or feathers. I am not sure which but it really is terrific. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Annual Tree Hunt...bringing life back to an old family tradition

(back post 12.12.09) One of my favorite childhood memories, and perhaps one of my families only "real" tradition, was driving to Southern Missouri in the hopes of finding the perfect Christmas Tree. I grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis County and every year my grandfather would make the drive down from Springfield, Illinois and pick us up in his old blue truck. Year after year my mother and step-father would cram into the front cab with him and since the truck bed had a camper shell my childhood friend Katie (whom was always up for the ride) and I would ride in the back. Every year their was always this great sense of adventure and excitement as we traveled to the tree farm bundled in our best winter gear, riding along in the back of that old pick-up truck.

Finally, and usually after much debate, my mom would choose the perfect tree which we would cut down and then toss in the back of the truck. Both Katie and I were strategic in our plan to avoid the needles and squeeze around the tree. However, despite our best efforts neither one of us ever figured out how to completely escape from the short, stiff needles of the over sized spruce tree. I'm not quite sure why or what brought an end to our tradition, but once it was over the assembly of the artificial tree took the place of our family's annual tradition.

Normally Nathan and I take our daughter to pick out a tree from the local boyscout or VFW stands, which usually happen to sell trees cut from local tree farms. Like years prior, that was our plan for this year, but after seeing an article in yesterday's paper I was reminded of my favorite Christmas childhood memories. This year Nathan and I decided that we would bring life back to an old family tradition and make it our own. Hence...the "Annual Family Tree Hunt!" So, today we set off on our first excitement filled expedition and finally found the perfect, local, cut-it-down yourself Christmas Tree.

Pictured: (Left) Nathan & our daughter try to decide on a tree. (Right) Completely overlooked and a little neglected, we discovered our perfect tree hiding at the back of the field amongst the overgrown brush. Our daughter uses the saw to make the first cut...well she makes a great attempt! (Middle) The first Christmas Tree at our tiny 2 Acre Farm.

Fox Hill

Aimee snagged some photos of one of the foxes the other day. We have at least two of these guys living in and around our woods. I know there are two because I saw two either playing or fighting early one morning. I don’t know a lot about foxes but I am thinking maybe the mates stick together and a mated pair is what I saw. We have seen them around a few times now and I even had the opportunity to watch one chasing a rabbit which was a remarkable thing to witness. They really are a cool animal to observe.

We plan to get some laying hens next spring so it is unfortunate that such a beautiful animal is probably going to become our worst enemy. For now though we can just enjoy them in all there sneaky fox endeavors. Sorry the picture isn't bigger, apparently they don't like to stick around and smile for the camera.

Ready For Winter?

Despite the radical weather fluctuations common in the Midwest the unseasonable November weather has been truly bizarre. Over the Thanksgiving holiday my Uncle John, now living in California, confessed that the warm morning air of the Bay area felt cool compared to that in St. Louis. Just yesterday, December 1st, as I was headed outside in a t-shirt to pick leaf lettuce for dinner, I noticed the wireless weather station read 71 degrees Fahrenheit. Although I am grateful to still have fresh produce in the garden (lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage) it is now December and I am ready for winter to come...well, at least I think so.

Even though, Nathan had mentioned last night that the forecast was calling for extreme temperature drops over the next few days, and I also heard yesterday on NPR that they were predicting snow in today's forecast, the truth is, it just sort-of went in one ear and out the other. When it's 71 degrees and your outside working in the yard on December 1st, well, I guess I just didn't pay that much attention. However, I should have know that when it comes to weather in central Illinois...anything is possible. Pictured above, today, the first snow of the season!

Still Going Strong

Not sure how much longer it will last but the garden keeps producing. The picture of lettuce is from yesterday. It is December now and we still have broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, carrots, and kale in the garden. It doesn't quite feel like winter yet but it is getting colder. I imagine any day now we will get some consistent cold that will finally wipe some of the crops out.

I already blanched and froze a bunch of cauliflower and broccoli. I also put a few heads of cabbage in the back of the refrigerator; according to what I've read they should keep good like that for a few months. I am considering freezing some kale for stir fry and spinach for cooking before the temperature gets in the teens, temperatures below the mid 20's will wipe out kale and spinach. I am just not sure if we will put it to use.

I don’t mind the early winter production and actually expect a certain amount of it but lettuce in December is a bit extreme. As long as the weather stays this way I don’t mind, although it is a bit worrisome, global warming and all that…

Only 10 Days Later...an update on the terrarium

It didn't take long for the tiny seeds to emerge from the damp soil...only 10 days. The planting took place on November 19th (see blog posting "A Moment of Sunlight") and so far this project has been completely maintenance free requiring no additional watering (notice the condensation on the walls of the clear container). The reused pretzel container has proven to be quite cozy for this variety of plant life and surprisingly the elderly seed has seemed to flourish in the enclosed habitat.

Although the mixed flower seed was more of a convenience (the only seed readily available on hand) and not the ideal, I can hardly wait for the fantastic blooms to add a touch of color to our kitchen during the white of winter! It is always so exciting to watch in anticipation the growth of the gardens in the spring, now the rewards have been brought indoors.
click on any picture to enlarge