by Noel | Aug 21, 2011 | CobraHead, Gardening
I finally built a tomato trellis that I’m happy with. I knew this was a good approach years ago, but it was one of those projects I never took the time to complete. I usually grow about 30 tomato plants in three rows in one of my 20 feet long by five feet wide beds. Two years ago, when my crop was decimated by late blight, I learned that blight can be slowed by good air circulation. Crowded and damp conditions greatly increase the chance of blight, and I...
by Noel | Jul 31, 2011 | CobraHead, Events
Judy and I did a one day show yesterday in La Farge, Wisconsin called the Kickapoo Country Fair. The show is sponsored by the Organic Valley Farmers Cooperative which is headquartered in La Farge. I’ve mentioned the show several times before. Even though it’s a small show, we like doing it because La Farge is located in the middle of some of Wisconsin’s best scenery, the driftless area, which was not scrubbed flat by the last great glacier...
by Noel | Jul 15, 2011 | CobraHead, Gardening
We harvested garlic, yesterday. The bed was kind of weedy this year and I did not do my usual inter-planting with salad greens. However the garlic was just fine and at the peak time for harvesting. Last year we left it in the ground a little too long and the bulbs did not store as well as usual. This year we think we got it at exactly the right time. We used to grow soft neck garlic and it was quite easy to tell when it was ready to pick. The leaves yellowed...
by Noel | Jun 21, 2011 | CobraHead
Last weekend Anneliese, Judy and I exhibited at the 2011 MREA Energy Fair. I’ve posted about this show in previous years because it is one of our favorites. MREA attracts an audience that is far more in tune with the issues of sustainability than the general population, and many of the attendees are home gardeners. In other words, it’s a friendly audience that will buy our tools. Trade shows where we can sell product can be great for us because we...
by Noel | Jun 20, 2011 | CobraHead, Gardening
We came home late last night from four days on the road after a trade show. It’s the time of the season when we should be picking strawberries twice a day, so we lost a few berries to birds and over ripeness, but we still had a huge amount waiting for us, which I harvested this morning. We’ll be freezing some, turning some into strawberry jam, and enjoying mouthfuls of the rest eaten fresh.
