DebTheFarmer
grub
Market Gardener, Heirloom Veg Lover, Novice Permaculturist, Future Vegetable Breeder.
Posts: 70
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Post by DebTheFarmer on Jan 11, 2015 13:30:19 GMT -5
Hi Everyone! I'm back from an unexpected vacation. My computer crashed and I finally have a replacement.
Looking forward to catching up on what's been happening. Our market recently went through a name change. Websites and whatnot are still being updated. I'll update the links on my profile soon.
We've just had a nice couple weeks of -30C... some overnights have been almost -40C. Most daytime highs are close to -20C. The weather people say that we're supposed to be at or above 0C mid next week. I'll believe them when it happens. I'm ready to go ice fishing!
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Post by philagardener on Jan 11, 2015 15:02:07 GMT -5
DebTheFarmer , great that you are back on line! Sounds like you have been busy indoors; good luck with your "new" venture!
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DebTheFarmer
grub
Market Gardener, Heirloom Veg Lover, Novice Permaculturist, Future Vegetable Breeder.
Posts: 70
|
Post by DebTheFarmer on Mar 27, 2015 13:05:49 GMT -5
Hi Everyone! Spring has come early to my little corner of Canada. I don't think I've ever seen this much bare ground before May in my life! We're still going to get light snowfalls, but as far as I'm concerned we'll be planting many veg much earlier than normal. I finally got my big fish! 74cm northern pike Our "redneck" coldframes on the southside of the house have life! Tomato seeding is done. We sowed 167 varieties this year, probably close to 3000 seeds. Only 1800-2000 will make it to the garden. Artichokes will be potted up soon and put out in the cool house to vernalize. Tapped our largest Manitoba Maple. Gotten almost 50L of sap from it so far. My first attempt at boiling it down to syrup didn't go so well. Heated it too much. Got taffy instead. It tastes more like honey with a touch of maple rather than in-your-face maple. Surprised at how sweet it was for not being a sugar maple. I have another batch ready for final reduction. 11L of sap to 1L concentrate. It has just started to colour. Hopefully I won't overcook it this time. Also tapped some large birch trees in our bush but it hasn't warmed up enough in there for the sap to start running yet. Maybe in a couple weeks. The passive greenhouse is coming along nicely. It's still not sealed up and it has plastic hanging where the doors should be, but it's staying above 0C at night! We'll have hardy seedlings out there by Easter.
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Post by Walk on Mar 27, 2015 13:41:42 GMT -5
Tapped our largest Manitoba Maple. Gotten almost 50L of sap from it so far. My first attempt at boiling it down to syrup didn't go so well. Heated it too much. Got taffy instead. It tastes more like honey with a touch of maple rather than in-your-face maple. Surprised at how sweet it was for not being a sugar maple. I have another batch ready for final reduction. 11L of sap to 1L concentrate. It has just started to colour. Hopefully I won't overcook it this time. So nice to hear that someone besides us appreciates the Manitoba Maple, or boxelder as it's known around here. We made syrup for many years from them and the flavor was always much more delicate than sugar maple. The sap has less sugar than the sugar maple and takes about 50:1 instead of 40:1. The trick to knowing when the syrup is done is to use a cold spoon and quickly dip out a bit of syrup and pour it back out. When the syrup "sheets" instead of just dripping it's ready. Hard to describe but you'll know when you've done it. The spoon needs to be cold each time you check the sap, so having a couple of spoons at hand is helpful. BTW, we heat our home with boxelder and enjoy the elm oyster mushrooms that grow from it's broken branch wounds each fall. I don't know why people around here regard them as a "weed".
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Post by philagardener on Mar 27, 2015 18:09:15 GMT -5
Great fish!
Interesting about the maples - same species (Acer negundo) here in the mid-Atlantic US but I rarely see it grow anywhere near as large as our sugar maples. I have one in my yard that is about 12 inches DBH. Does it get larger in colder climates? What size was the one you tapped?
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DebTheFarmer
grub
Market Gardener, Heirloom Veg Lover, Novice Permaculturist, Future Vegetable Breeder.
Posts: 70
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Post by DebTheFarmer on Mar 27, 2015 18:52:31 GMT -5
philagardener Ours is just under 12 inches but I've seen many well over 18 inches. I don't think Sugar Maples would survive our winters.
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Post by philagardener on Mar 27, 2015 18:56:43 GMT -5
Well, I'll have to think about giving ours a try!
Keep an eye on that second batch and let us know how it turns out!
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DebTheFarmer
grub
Market Gardener, Heirloom Veg Lover, Novice Permaculturist, Future Vegetable Breeder.
Posts: 70
|
Post by DebTheFarmer on Jun 15, 2015 0:44:08 GMT -5
Howdy garden folks! Sorry for the lack of posts... been busy planting! Spring is pretty much gone here and summer is rapidly approaching. I think we had some of steev's drought, snow melted early and rain didn't come until early last week. A very very dry and hot May. I was surprised anything germinated (yay for clay-based soil!) last month. Even with the rain we had there's still a layer of dust 3 inches down. Thankfully the forecast for rain was correct though, I planted in the dust and didn't water. Chose to bank on Mother Nature delivering some moisture instead. Not much in the coming weeks though, I'll be watering my carrot beds... I try to keep my instagram page updated, though I admit I'm not the best at taking my phone with me into the field. Sometimes there's just no space left in my pockets. Been transplanting tomatoes like mad! Many are too large for their current home. The first batch out (2 weeks ago) are blooming and I found our first green tomato! It's still a little guy but this is the earliest I've ever had tomatoes before. Very exciting It's a Stupice. Siberian and Bloody Butcher aren't far behind. Silvery Fir Tree is also getting close to fruiting. This year's tomato varieties are here. Early snow peas are blooming. Zucchini, sweet corn, winter squash, fresh beans, drying beans, soy beans are all up. Shelling peas and drying peas are about 4 inches tall. Chickpeas and lentils are looking great. Broad beans have had spotty germination. Could be moisture, could be the horrendous amount of cut worms we've been pulling out this spring Flea beetles ate my early crop of frilly mustard and arugula. Delayed my radishes but thankfully didn't kill'em. Still can't seem to grow rapini (if anyone knows a trick for that I'm all ears). Artichokes are doing well. A few didn't make it through "winter" (spring) but the rest are growing rapidly. Oh, and goats are cute He climbed up there all on his own! Eggs
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Post by steev on Jun 15, 2015 10:36:02 GMT -5
Plenty of drought left; take all you want, please!
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