MORNING DEW

 

MONARDA

Aka - bee balm, bergamot, horsemint, oswego tea.  This genus has roughly 16 species.  Native Americans used bee balm as a seasoning when cooking wild game, in particular birds.  They also used it to brew teas, to treat flatulence, to treat headaches, and when needed as a stimulant. 

Monarda also works wonders as a companion plant for tomatoes!  We have three colors adorning our herb bed--pink, purple, and red.

We call it bee balm around here and we are touting her attributes because she LOVES to attract those busy pollinators, the bees.  But you can call her what you like stunning, beautiful, interesting, versatile...........

TINY TREASURE

She is exquisite and delicate in her beauty.  What is she?

CONGRATULATIONS!

We want to congratulate Mike and Jessica for answering "brussels sprouts" to the second in the series of What Is It!

We provided this bouquet of flowers, from our scattered about the farm flower beds, pastures, and woods, as a reward for their answer.

HOT - OOOOO NOT TODAY

What a crazy week huh?  Tuesday we experienced a day like no other and this morning we almost have to turn on the furnace.  This is life on a Minnesota farm.

It was a desert day on Tuesday, even though we had a visitor from Idaho and Deb (her name is Deb too!) said she will take the high desert weather to 102 degrees here.  Between the heat and the wind our lettuce, greens, AND radishes just fell over.  Literally - they were laying flat.  The tops of the peas - Scorched.  Bean leaves - Burned.  Spinach - Bolted.  We could not believe what we were seeing.  This is Minnesota.  In June.  After a drink of water in the evening when the sun went down everything popped back up!  The resilience of life - gotta love it.

This morning - 54 degrees and drizzle!  Sure makes the soil look rich and the green more green!  The contrast was awesome in the fields this morning.

Watching the weather roll in last night - Flax from the Ellie Garden.

The farm is getting it's rhythm - or should we say - we are getting the farm's rhythm.  Gospel in the morning - country in the afternoon!  Plant, weed, maintain in the morning - water, water, water in the afternoon.

PLANTING UPDATE #3

After the long weekend, visits from family and friends, bouts of rain, storms, sweltering heat and today sustained winds that blew us out of the garden, we can happily say we have six rows left to plant of tomatoes.  Young peppers we are trying to harden had to spend the day inside to survive the wind.  The veg are growing.  Slowly.  But growing.  The remainder of this week should help a lot as warmth is forecast and less rain.

There is some color scattered around the farm from the few perennials we have and this wonderful bleeding heart near the house, that was well protected from the battering west wind we had today, was able to supply this splash of pink for the blog.

We would like to thank everyone who made the trip out to help, hang out, or just be!  Moral support is always welcome!

DILIGENCE

Our first sign of color has diligently pushed her gentle bloom toward the light.

Smaller than a new born blade of grass and bluer than the sky the thimbelina size "Siberian Squill" again makes her debut.  Tiny, short lived, and packed with color she and her sisters dot the yard.  Step carefully or you won't see them and an unknowing boot will snuff out their blooms. 

We hope you enjoy the smidge of spring these pretty, petite, blue flowers bring and as winter gently moves past we look forward to spring greens, peas, radishes, scallions, and countless other fresh veg!!!  Ahhhhh.........life is good.

WEEKEND ACTIVITIES

We have been busy, but not necessarily with the garden, but in particular the farm, our home, and our families. 

Yes, we do keep pecking away at season end to do lists, such as spreading that nice decomposed fertilizer from our fertilizer team, cleaning and packing away tools, cleaning out fields, final harvest of dried beans, CSA membership details, covering garlic, covering carrots for in ground storage, all this as time permits.

Our most pressing task on our list, at this time, continues to be finalizing the details for the 2011 CSA memberships.  We did update the Local Harvest website today and we apologize to our potential members for not having this done in October as we had anticipated.  We will do an email mailing this week with details.  Watch your inbox!

We managed to get some wood cut for our wood furnace in our 115-year-old house.  We had help too.  That pesky fertizlier team are like a bunch of kids in their curiosity.  Amber tried to keep them in line, but she failed miserably. 

Over the weekend I was, again, amazed at the tenacity of a lone violet.  November 7th and one, tiny bloom buried in the brown of the fall leaves.  Hmmmm, is there a lesson here? 

Hope all is well in everyone's world and we would like to mention how with deep regret we watched my daughter, Tona, and son-in-law Alberto, and our three granddaughter's - Isabella, Amaya, and Noelia bury their father and grandfather this past week.  Doug was 55 and lost a battle with cancer, at Tona and Alberto's home, with his family around him.  He is missed.

COLOR IN THE BROWN

Fall is a time of transition.  Crops are harvested, fields put to sleep for rejuvenation, squirrels and birds are busy gathering and storing, and color goes from greens to browns.  As we worked in the fields, over the weekend, little splashes of color jumped out at us.  Hiding in the browns of the sleeping Black-Eyed Susans and Purple Coneflowers was one lone, exquisitely orange Indian Blanket. 

Nestled next to the head of a Purple Coneflower a tiny, periwinkle blue Flax.

Finally, tucked in the grass by the Bella Garden - can it be?  Yes a confused Common Blue Violet.  Maybe it was the common part of her name that made her spring back to life in the middle of October.  But there is nothing common about her beauty even if she is a little ragged around the edges.  She brings hope for a bountiful and colorful spring.

LUSCIOUS COLOR

Color is everywhere and naturally grown produce is rich with color and rich with taste!

PIECES OF TORCH

ZINNIA

HIBISCUS

TOUCH-ME-NOT

GOOD MORNING COOLNESS

After yesterday, today feels like heaven with the exception of the excessive amount of wind and rain we received early this morning.  Wells Creek is running brown and rising quickly and we witnessed a huge log whistling by in the rising waters.  The gardens took, yet, another beating but all buildings are intact. 

Thank you to all who supported us last night at market in Rochester.  We will do our best to continue to salvage our tomato harvest and continue bringing in product on Thursdays.  A reminder that you can also purchase tomatoes at Rochester Produce rochesterproduce.com or head over to ZZEST zzestmarket.com and enjoy them, already prepared, from their fabulous menu. 

It's quiet now and the sun is sneaking peeks between the clouds but the forecast holds additional interesting weather for today.  Enjoy the coolness and happy Friday.

Rogue Canna Lily that "appeared" in the onion row.

WILD BERGAMOT

FLAX

RAIN, RAIN - PRECIOUS RAIN

We were blessed with precious rain this morning.

IDENTIFIED - SIBERIAN SQUILL - aka - Spring Beauty

Our little spring flower has a name - the Siberian Squill (Scilla Siberica). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_squill.

Thank you to Matt and Pam for hunting down the little flower from Siberia!!

There were two other suggested prospects - Campanula (Bellflower)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campanula
and Campanula (Harebell) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campanula_rotundifolia. Both of which look very much like this spring beauty, but are taller and bloom later than the Squill. Thank you to Leah and Judy for coming up with the Bellflower and Harebell.

We belief she came down the hill from our neighbor, Judy Johnson. Judy mentioned she had a little flower that fit this description but could only remember they were in the lily family. Judy could recall obtaining the flower from her mother years ago. We hope they continue to spread across our lawn.

SPRING!!

I found this hiding outside the house, under the dryer vent. That doesn't sound very romantic or pretty but it is still a little treasure. I would love any feedback on what it might be.