Snow Day!

We finally got a snow that was worth a damn. 

The girls refused to leave their coop this morning.

I can't blame them.  There's plenty of food, water, and warmth inside.

The boys wanted nothing more than to be outside in the cold.  Don't get between a St. Bernard and his snow.

This is how you make a snow angel:

Step 1

Step 2

We've got spinach seed germinating in the high tunnel.

Leeks, tomatoes, peppers, basil, and lettuce are doing just fine in the greenhouse.

Thurgood wants out of the greenhouse.

I know it won't last long, so I'm enjoying the moment.  Accuweather tells me it will be 53 degrees and rainy tomorrow.

A Lil'Cutie

One of the ladies just laid our smallest egg ever.  Maybe I'll poach it and feed it to Ben.

Miles Monday: Not Impressed

It's not every day that I get a new toy.  So, I was especially excited when my seed-starting mat arrived in the mail.  Miles Giles, however, gets new toys quite often, and he was so unimpressed by my latest acquisition.  Apparently, gentle bottom heat for improved germination and root development just isn't that important to him.  Who'da thunk it?

Our very last seed order for the season arrived today, and I've got my game face on.  For now, we've just got leeks planted, and they're under the lights in the living room.  In about a week, I'll need a lot more space, so it's off to the greenhouse we'll go!

Prizetaker leeks

Getting My Act Together

If you haven't noticed, we've been on hiatus.  Winter chores, blah, blah, blah.  

Now it's time to order seeds, roots, and what-not.  We are (as always) bursting with excitement about the upcoming season.  We'll have twice as much asparagus to harvest, and the garlic (see previous post) is looking amazing so far.

Look forward to a thrilling batch of blog posts.  I'm talkin'bout planting rhubarb AND raspberries.  Yes, Fat Bear Farm is getting even fatter.  Hold on to your britches (no one needs to see all that), and get ready for a spectacular spring!

Third Time's a Charm

We had a fine time planting garlic this week.  This is our third try at it, and we're growing eight different varieties.  Here's the rundown of what went in the ground this fall.

Purple Glazer

Softneck

Mother of Pearl:  We ordered 1 lb. of this variety from the Organic Garlic Seed Farm in 2011.  It produced well, and we planted about 5 lbs. of saved seed this season.  The skin is iridescent and really does resemble mother of pearl.  It has a mild flavor and each bulb contains numerous small cloves.

Kettle River Giant:  This is our first season growing this variety.  We ordered it from OGSF, as we have been extremely pleased with the quality of their products and reasonable prices.  We planted 5 lbs. of it.  This variety is also true to its name, as each bulb is comprised of a handful of very large cloves.

I like the way I feel like I'm recklessly littering as I plant garlic, with white papery skins thrown about the landscape.

Hardneck

Chesnok Red:  This seed was first ordered from OGSF in 2011.  We planted 1 lb. of it last year, and it produced well.  The cloves are large, and the heads are tight.  We put 5 lbs. of saved seed in the ground this season, and I look forward to planting it again next year.

Georgian Fire:  We first planted this variety in 2010.  We had ordered 1 lb. of seed from Seed Savers Exchange.  It was an incredibly strong producer for us, so we were glad to plant it again in 2011.  It seems that each time we've planted Georgian Fire, the bulbs and cloves increase in size.  I guess it is true that garlic slowly acclimates to its new home over time.  This is my very favorite hardneck variety. The bulbs are comprised of about five to seven tightly-bound cloves, and each clove is enormous.  The flavor is intense, and the skin is a gorgeous red.  We planted about 5 lbs. of saved seed this season.

Georgian Fire, my current favorite

Purple Glazer:  I love this variety.  We planted 1 lb. purchased from OGSF last season.  It was very prolific.  This is a great garlic to roast.  It has large cloves and great flavor.  The skin is perfectly purple.  This is my second favorite hardneck.  We planted about 5 lbs. of saved seed this season.

Purple Glazer, ready to roast

Persian Star:  We purchased the seed from OGSF and planted 1 lb. of it last fall.  It produced very well.  The appearance is similar to Purple Glazer, but the cloves are a bit smaller and more numerous. We planted about 5 lbs. of saved seed this year.

Music:  I've heard a lot of garlic growers rave about this variety, but it was the poorest producer for us.  We ordered  1 lb. from OGSF in 2011.  The seed looked fantastic, but we ended up with only a couple pounds of mature garlic this summer.  So, I saved it all for seed, and it is now in the ground.  Maybe it will begin to acclimate, so I'll be patient.  The cloves are large, and the heads are beautifully white.

Elephant

We ordered 1 lb. (only 2 heads) of seed from Seed Savers Exchange in 2010.  It did quite well that season, but it the results were even better this summer.  We saved all of the seed, and it was enough to plant a 50' row this fall!

For more on our garlic history, check out these posts:

2011 Harvest

2011 Planting

2012 Harvest

We've upgraded from a 100' row of garlic in the asparagus field, to an ocean of garlic in the main production field.  We planted thirteen rows that are about 50' long this year.  How far we've come!  Now, we just need to get some straw on top of those rows...