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A couple of weeks ago I set out my Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage plants. They are doing nicely. We are looking forward to some fine coleslaw. I also sowed spinach, lettuce, dill, and beets.The lettuce appeared in about 5 days with the spinach and beets popping up in about 10 days. The dill was a little slower to germinate. It is now after a couple of weeks growing well.Every day I go out to my garden to see the progress. It is so exciting! I do not think there is... Read more →

Last week I sowed cabbage,broccoli,pepper and parsley seeds.Two days ago the cabbage and broccoli seedlings were peeking through the soiless mix.Now they are about 1 " tall and are under grow lights. The peppers and parsley are much slower to germinate.I will watch closely and remove the plastic covering from them as soon as they germinate.The plastic keeps in moisture enabling the seeds to germinate.In a few days I will sow some my Beefsteak Tomato seeds.It is very exciting to watch new growth.Just think of the quantity of food one... Read more →

Imagine this scenario: You are planning for an emergency situation, so you purchased a collection of open-pollinated vegetable seeds. Saving seeds from year to year was your goal. You need to feed your family so this is serious stuff. You plant and care for your garden and have a good crop. Now it comes time for seed collection. You carefully harvest and fully dry seed for next year's garden. "All set", you think! Next year, you plant and oh no what happened?! You have some of the oddest tasting and... Read more →

The garden has been a challenge this year. First we had a long dry spell followed by many excessive rains. One of the downpours was like a cloud burst! This meant many of my small seeds,that had not yet sprouted, were washed away. So I replanted again and again. Finally all is well and the crops are growing nicely. Unfornately so are the weeds. I spend many hours a day in my garden. Sometimes losing track of time. I enjoy being out doors and love to hear the birds singing.... Read more →

My first crops are planted! Usually I plan to get my peas, spinach,beets,lettuce,onions and dill planted by April 1st. This year the soil was too wet so I had to wait for a couple of weeks.There are still small piles of snow near our garden gate. We had a bitterly cold snowy Winter. Spring has never been more welcome! I also set out my cabbage, broccoli and brussel sprouts plants. They are doing well. Yesterday there were many showers around. The rain was just perfect for freshly set out plants.In... Read more →

The end of February I started my California Wonder Peppers, Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage, and Moss Curled Parsley.The seeds were sown in pots using a soilless germinating mix.They have come up nicely. I have 2 grow lights set to almost touch the tiny plants. Having the grow lights very close to the plants makes the plants have strong sturdy stems. Next week I will start my Beefsteak Tomato plants.This cycle of plant, grow, and harvest keeps us in a steady supply of the freshest seeds. Read more →

It is the middle of November and I have just harvested my turnips and beets. I scrubbed them with a brush using plenty of cool water.They are being stored in my refrigerator. I boil,roast or use my turnips in stews.The beets will be boiled or roasted. A sweet nutritious treat for Winter! Read more →

Our garden has been producing food for quite some time now. We have been enjoying broccoli,cabbage,peppers,lettuce, spinach and beet greens. I froze 5 meals of broccoli so far. The corn and tomatoes are looking wonderful! I had to replant our cucumbers as cut worms cut many of my first plants off. I dug around the cucumbers and found the worms. They are no longer a problem! Read more →

Today, I will set out my Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage plants, they were started inside the end of February. Every day for about a week I have been hardening the plants by putting them outside during the day for increasing amounts of time. That way they will be acclimated to outside weather. Cabbage can take a light frost and here in New England nights can be a bit frosty this time of year. I will also plant lettuce, spinach, beets, dill and peas. These vegetables thrive on cool temperatures. Read more →

The corn that we sell at Seed for Security, was bred here on our farm years ago, before GMO seeds were available. Our farm is surrounded by tall mature hardwood forest land. Our corn germination rate is 95% this year. Every year I grow more corn to have a steady fresh supply of seed. According to Suzanne Ashworth, in her book Seed to Seed, Flint corn will retain a high germination rate for up to 10 years and sometimes much longer. This corn, when ground into meal, makes delicious... Read more →