Planting!

There is a certain optimism you have when you plant something.  And, you are watching for different hints of growth depending on what you planted and how you started it.   

RASPBERRIES

Spool of Drip Irrigation Line

When you plant Raspberries, like we did on Mother's Day weekend it's a big job.

Raspberry Canes put in trench after the Drip Line is in

New Raspberry Canes

The line gets laid in the trench

This is what the new Raspberry Canes look like now.  Less than one month later.  We won't be picking any fruit off of them this year - but we will next year!

GIANT PUMPKINS

We are growing Giant Pumpkins this year!  I thought it would be fun for the kids (fun for me).  I met some wonderful people (Sheila & Mike)  from the Giant Vegetable Growers of Ontario.  They invited me out to one of their meetings back in March.  It was very interesting.  I found out that there are a lot of people interested in growing Giant Pumpkins.  Check out their website   http://www.gvgo.ca/

We usually plant our Pumpkins right from seed into the ground.  I wanted to start these Giant pumpkins off in pots so I would be able to monitor their growth and be able to take some pictures to show you.

These plants are ready to be planted in the ground now. I have to find the perfect spot!  These are not your average Pumpkins.....The minimum space requirement for one Pumpkin is 100 square feet!

Market is Open & Working Ground

Sorry I haven't Blogged in over a month.  We opened our On-Farm Market on May 17th.  I decided to repaint the interior of the market. It's a beautiful lime green and really looks great with all of the Foodland Ontario wrapping. http://www.ontario.ca/foodland/foodland-ontario

I enjoy seeing our customers come into our market, it's like reuniting with old friends:)  We get caught up on everything that has happened over the winter.  I often hear about how they only have a bag or two of strawberries left in the freezer and can't wait for ours to start.  I hear about how good people feel, the sense of pride, and  accomplishment that they were able to put down their first batch of Dill Pickles last fall and how everyone loved them.  I hear about the plans for this years Dill's and how they will need to put down a few more, or that they are going to try Salsa this year...  

Another thing that we talk about in the market is the weather.  As you know it was a cold winter and a wet spring.  The weather has put all farmers behind.  Everyone is scrambling to get their crops in.  As farmers we are all in the same boat right now, whether its getting peas, tomatoes & peppers in OR soybeans and field corn in, the push is on and we all will work day and night to get our crops in.  It's what we do, it's how we roll.

I took a few pictures of the ground getting worked
it's always a good feeling when I see them out there - to me it means that it won't be long before the seeds get planted.

We usually plant corn in April. This year it was last week!