Starting My Garden Early

Last year when I started this blog , the growing season had pretty much ended ... So I was not able to delve into the growing side of Good Food .   Now that spring is here , I can :))  Our last frost date here is the 3rd week in May ,   most years I usually try and push that date by a couple of weeks , with mixed results. This year , I'm trying to get smart about it all, Ive FINALLY started a garden journal , instead of just scribbling things on a calendar ! I started planted seeds March 28th ,  more than a month earlier than I have before.   With  the help of a little mini greenhouse I built on the bottom shelf in my kitchen , and a few cold frames.. I'm hoping for this to be my most successful year ever :))  I also got a real jump start on things by planting 3 rows of garlic , and a couple of onions last fall :)) Things are looking good !!

I turned the bottom third of a kitchen shelf into a propagator/grow room .

This was the 1st green thing in my garden ,  The garlic I planted last October :))  I used the leaves I raked up as a mulch to help them thru our winters.  

On the warm days Ive been bring them outside to start hardening them off.  

I tried a row of Romaine , directly sowed on 3/28 ..  took a bit but it came up , the pot to the right was started the same day ( but inside ) a cold frame is covering this lettuce patch . 

Planting the lettuce ,  I like to soak the soil 1st to make it easier to separate these tiny plants 

Things are growing well,  everything has sprouted ,  Ill have lots of tomatoes this year , maybe even enough to do my canning with :)) 

I never planted enough Basil ,  but that will not be the case this year , 60 or so have been started so far , with at least that many being started today  as well.  

Peas sure do sprout quickly .. 5 days and they have already broken ground.  

Red Peppers are a different story , these took about 3 weeks to pop up  

Mystery seeds , I'm thinking Squash or Cucumber . 

My Garden in the early morning light ,  I free-cycled most everything in my garden ,  the cold frames are old packing crates , and cupboard doors  :))

 My Good Food Revolution is changing for the better , look for more gardening , and farming posts , as well as recipes, food porn , and kitchen tips & tricks :)
 Since its Earth Day today , its time to move away from the PC , and go plant something .   Happy Gardening !!

Less Words, More Food 13

I haven't been writing to many recipes lately , so I hope you are all happy with a few food pix until I get writing again :))  I tend to not use a recipe , and just open my fridge and start grabbing food , until my arms are full.. then  its off to the chopping block to see whats for dinner :))  Here is a few of my dinners from the last week or so .

Making my 1st veggie stock :)  Tasted great :)  

Having a little fun with bread, this one is a spicy chili and Marmite batch :) Loved it ! 

Free Range Beef Burgers, with spinach , jalapeno, garlic, mushrooms, and red onion :)) 

This batch was a basil, garlic, and red onion whole wheat bread ( with added 12 whole grains ) 

Quick and Easy Lunch food, Chunk Tuna , with cucumbers, garlic , mushroom and red onion.

Was experimenting with different bread pans, tried using my muffin trays , worked out great . Especially if your like me and love the crispy edges.  

Was too cold, dark and wet to BBQ , so a cast iron skillet has to do sometimes. 

A quick batch of midnight tacos :))  Was not happy with that Mozzarella, and wont be buying that brand again .. it didn't really melt very well  :(

Work lunch :)   Tomato/cucumber salad, with a spicy tuna spread, half a burger, and some of my homemade butter and bread ! 

There you have it :) I do hope you have enjoyed the food pictures.   Does anyone have a recipe request ?  I've been kinda stumped lately on writing them, maybe a request will jolt me into action lol .
Have a great day , Happy Cooking !!

A New Chapter begins with Spring part 4

I hope you are enjoying the farm and gardening posts, as this is one of the directions I wanted my Good Food Revolution to go in , don't worry I'll still be creating new dishes, and posting food pix and recipes.   Ill just be going a little further and showing you where all that yummy food comes from , and no its not a grocery store :)) lol   Enjoy the final post .. although this is not the end, rather a new beginning !!

Two of my re-purposed cold frames are going to be part of another little experiment .. they have warmed the ground enough that i can actually dig it up ... so I'm going to plant a few of the onions that sprouted in my pantry over winter.  

One week in , and the lettuce is showing some life !!  

One, two three everyone raise you bum in the air !! Hahahaha 

Trying some onions from seed for the first time..  One week in  

Same in the 80x20 green house..   this made my morning to see these had sprouted.  I didn't have the notes with me , but I think its spinach .  

That me! lol  ..  sure was thirsty work ,  I dug all that by hand with a shovel and fork.  

Off into the sunset I go !!!  

I hope you have enjoyed this post, and the previous three before it .. if you didn't  see them you can find them all here .   http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/search/label/growing%20your%20own%20food

A New Chapter begins with Spring part 3

Spring is finally starting to actually show itself..  its still pretty cold at night , dipping down to -10C or so ..   I keep checking my little cold frames and they are doing okay , a tad too cold for any real planting yet ... but i did try a row of romaine lettuce , directly seeded , and under a small frame.  If it works , Ill be having fresh lettuce soon :))  

I turned the bottom of a wooden shelf unit into a tiny green house, complete with grow light and Mylar walls, should speed things along nicely.  

The goats and sheep , in their winter pen.  We are building a nice big open pasture area for them next week, 

The egg layers are VERY happy its spring , so they can get out and peck around.  198 arrive next week , and the fun will begin ! 

Some of the trays of seeds that we started in the 80x20 greenhouse :)  Lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and many different herbs.  

Making a cold frame from old green house plastic , and part of a packing crate ...  just need a few tacks and its done. Best part is .. 100% free!! lol 

Another project in my yard ... a new compost bin is in the works , right beside the garden this time. I'm having some fun , and building everything from scrap lumber and pieces... its slowly getting finished. I also made a bunch of bird feeder platforms from old cedar shingles :)   

A little experiment in my garden, last season i cut all the sunflower heads off and placed them face down in a small garden,  I want to see if I can create a sunflower patch this way .  I checked, and the birds didn't get all the seeds.. so maybe ?? lol 

I hope you are enjoying this set of posts ?  Please follow the link below to leave any comments or suggestions .    Happy Gardening Everyone :))

A New Chapter begins with Spring part 2

Life is Good !  The sun is shining !!  The birds are chirping away ! I have a new job/career :) My garden is thawed out , and starting to show signs of life !! The seeds planted a week ago in my kitchen & the big greenhouse at the Svetec's Farm has all sprouted !!

If you didnt catch part 1 ,  you can check it out here :  http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-chapter-begins-with-spring-p1.html

Cold Frame #1 , for the taller plants.. all made for recycled pieces.  This one is old kitchen cabinet doors , and a window.  Adds at least 10C during the day , more when the sun is bright :) It took about 4 days for that snow to melt.  

The chickens were happy for a warm spring day, dirt baths all round !!  lol 

The Svetec's Main Barn.  I just love old barns :) 

We even found a few carrots that survived the winter. We kept a small row to see if we can collect the seed this year .  

Once the roof and end walls were on , it was rather steamy in the 80x20 Green house.  We planted a few rows or lettuce, radish and spinach seeds.. then tried some transplants   just a test row , which was a good thing as 90% didnt survive .  

MUCH smaller scale at home.  I planted about a third of each package, this will be the earliest Ive ever started a garden, those cold frames better work :)) 

The base and the floor of the walk in cooler.  Had to call it a day to let the foam set.  This is going to be one rock solid cool box. 

A New Chapter begins with Spring p1

For those of you that don't follow along on Facebook .  I'm happy to announce that I am now a full time employee at an organic farm .  ( link at the bottom of this post ) The Svetec's have promoted me to their Bird Manager ,  Ill be taking care of all the chickens , ducks ,and turkeys ,  as well as the sheep and goats in the petting zoo area.   What a change from a year ago!  When I was chained to a desk , at a job that was slowly killing me :))  Its hard for me to describe just how happy I am.   The work is good old fashioned hard work !!  We have been busy getting ready for the new season,  planting seeds, building green houses , and walk-in veggie coolers .  My little revolution has just taken a giant step in the right direction!!  Free range Beef , Eggs and Chicken will be on  the menu all summer,a long with all the fresh organic veggies I can eat  ( Some from my own garden too )  I have so much to share I'm going to do a four part post :)

My New Second Home :)) 

The original reason for me working at the farm, we dismantled this big green house at another farm , moved it here and reassembled it.. as much as we could before it was just to cold to work.  Was a few -20C days out there.  

The Chickens :))  I took care of the egg layers for a month in January and had a blast. Will be my new full time job , 198 egg layers on two farms , plus 11 tents of pastured poultry to follow.  

Spring just wouldn't make up its mind:) We were 10C the day before.  

We also wrapped this 80x20foot greenhouse built the end walls and added an exhaust fan .  

The Walk In Cooler was a giant Jig Saw puzzle... was fun, once we got the corners figured out .  

My Own Garden...  all wrapped up for winter.  I'm building cold frames this year to get a jump start on things .  

Thank you Paul & Jenny Svetec for this wonderful opportunity :)  I'm really looking forward to this .
You can check out their website by following this link :) http://svetecfarms.com/

I hope you have enjoyed this post , comments and feedback are greatly appreciated .  Happy Cooking :) Stayed Tuned for the next 3 !
Rich



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