by Briscoe White | Jan 8, 2010 | Exploring, Growing, Life on the Farm, Miscellaneous |
I know that I have said more than enough about the cold weather, but since last time temps have dropped more and it is still really cold!! What it means daily is that some of us are spending more time inside than we normally do. Fortunately we have plenty of busy work sowing seeds and transplanting seedlings. Even with these activities to focus confined energy, the greenhouse crew came up with a new idea for our company garden.
Someone working in the greenhouse pointed out that the hardest part about growing Shiitake mushrooms is finding the proper logs; which are just like the one we heave in the wood-stove each day. We found some logs to our specifications and ordered some spawn online.
Yesterday we followed the instructions and inoculated some oak logs with Shiitake spawn. On a whim oyster mushrooms were added because the culture requirements were almost the same as for shiitake. Our logs are here in the greenhouse waiting for the first mushrooms to appear. Hopefully we will have some this summer, we will report our first shiitake mushrooms here!
The Growers Exchange limits itself to growing herbs for all uses: Ayurveda to Culinary. Our spring annual collection reflects our favorite selections of plants that perform well. Check out our collections and selections: herbs, flowering annuals for spring planting in containers and beds. The mushrooms are just us playing; they will go well with our salad garden!
by Briscoe White | Jan 6, 2010 | Exploring, Life on the Farm, Miscellaneous |
Welcome to the New Year! I cannot wait until temperatures in this new year rise above freezing. Life on the farm gets tough: keeping the greenhouse going, feeding and watering the horses, cows, and dogs. On these frigid days, water is not such a simple thing, hoses don’t work and bowls and tanks freeze solid. Water must be delivered several times each day to insure everyone gets enough.
I keep telling myself: this is a Southern state, it has to get warm sometime soon? But I hear on the radio that it is cold almost everywhere, and the truth be told we are not near as cold as some places. All I know for sure is that every thing here is frozen and has been for days. We keep saying all this freezing is good for cleaning out insect and disease pest; they must be dead by now and we are ready for some more moderate weather
by Briscoe White | Dec 23, 2009 | Exploring, Inspiration, Miscellaneous |
With all the snow that has fallen, there will be no work in the garden for many days. Having some time, I wandered down to the creek and found myself staring at the running water with nary a thought in my head. Call it zoning out or maybe down there in that creek bottom, all alone in the silent snow, I found for just a few moments that which the current season revolves around: Peace on Earth. I hope all of you all find some too!
Happy Holidays from the The Growers Exchange
by Briscoe White | Dec 17, 2009 | Gardening, Growing, Herbs |
Winter is here! When it is really cold even when the sun shines, it is winter. In the greenhouse we follow the same old seasonal path year after year. One thing we have learned is that our propagating table is not warm enough in winter to root cuttings.
Usually we delay cuttings until after winter equinox, we are pretty busy sowing seeds this time of year.
We have an urgent call for cut mints from one of our culinary customers: give me cut mint ASAP! Unfortunately we will have to start by rooting some mint stems, and this may be tricky in December. I always say where there is a will; there is a way! Working with our seedlings, we noticed the germination chamber satisfies all the requirements for rooting: warm and humid with indirect light. We took some stem cuttings from Peppermint, Mojito mint, and Spearmint ‘Kentucky Colonel’.
In two weeks we have roots! They are not quite ready for life outside the chamber, but soon they will move to the greenhouse and finish filling their little cells. As soon as weather permits these little plants will be growing in the field; providing pounds of cut mint for tables in NYC.
by Briscoe White | Dec 14, 2009 | Basics, Gardening, Growing, Herbs |
I am sure all of you reading this are aware that herbs love sunshine, they do not grow in the shade. It only seems that we are growing our greenhouse herbs in shade due to the absence of sunlight these last few weeks. Beginning with a strong Nor’easter, we have been rained on, washed by flowing torrents, and flooded by tides that get higher as long as the wind blows. The rain gauge has overflowed so many times we lost an accurate count of total inches fallen; but I will hazard 6” the last few weeks. One night last week we did measure 3.5”; water, water everywhere. We keep our Twitter account active with frequent Tweets; one of our contacts in California has been Tweeting about their lack of rain. Too bad we cannot virtually send them some of our excess. Growing herbs during one of these long wet cycles can be very challenging, especially in winter. Most herbs prefer dry, well-drained soil, none like their roots wet for an extended time. Even in the greenhouse, it is hard to keep the herb plants dry enough after days of cloudy weather. It is best to only water herbs in danger is wilting, until the sun returns. Culinary herbs grow well inside if provided adequate sunlight, six hours minimum. During the winter months, herbs such as marjoram, oregano, thyme, and rosemary can be kept as potted plants in a kitchen window, ready for trimming as the cook demands seasoning. To keep your herbs healthy through this long rainy period, keep the soil on the dry side. Winter savory, parsley, and bay are all favorites in the cook’s winter garden, they make very nice potted plants and are ready to join dinner when the cook calls. As soon as the sunshines again, I will give my herbs a big drink of water, with a shot of fish fertilizer to celebrate the return of sunny days.
