It's ok to make mistakes

I have to admit that fall snuck/sneaked* up on me this year. It's been a long summer, full of new things: trying out the farmer's market, growing in 3 locations, and succession planting on a scale I've never done before. But with the beautiful growing season (the tomatoes are still going crazy!) I totally forgot that autumn was right around the corner. Is this a big deal? Thankfully no, but I did miss planting fall radish, a few fall root crops, and most of the fall lettuce.

So this leads me to my point: as an urban farmer, it is ok to make mistakes. Although there is nothing as sweet as home-grown food, we are in the fortunate position of being able to buy food from local farmers' markets and around the world. So I am going to cut myself some slack and move on.

Don't let fear of screwing up keep you from starting a garden or growing a few patio plants. If you need  encouragement, here are a few common urban farm errors that I have made just this year:

• Go on vacation and don't set up irrigation (this is especially an issue with potted tomato plants).

• Go inside for lunch and forget that your chickens are still running around the yard. Find them later that evening (close to fox dinner time) wandering around the neighbor's yard.

• Forget to harvest zucchini until it's the size of a 6 month old Labrador puppy (this mistake can be forgiven by making zucchini bread out of the giant squash).

• Plant 30 (or some other large, unreasonable number) of eggplants, having forgotten that you are the only member of your family that remotely enjoys eggplant (this error leads to giving away vegetables to neighbors and friends, so things can turn out well in the end).

This week at the urban farm:

The lower home plots last week. I have really enjoyed the sunflowers, but they are so large this is probably their one cameo appearance at the urban farm.

Next year-- more plum tomatoes! I forgot over the winter how much I love to can. 

I've been really pleased with these "Glow" sweet peppers. They are thick-walled and very prolific in our Wisconsin cool summers, and they will turn a beautiful orange if I leave them alone long enough. 

A nice shot of one of our flower beds.

Have a great week and enjoy the fall weather!

*I prefer "snuck" as the past tense of "sneak," but I'm sure my English teacher and writer friends will appreciate that I acknowledge the more correct "sneaked." English teacher and writer friends, please comment on this and any other grammar issues I have if you have the time. 

Lazy time of year

Ah, early August. The days are warm and sunny. The plants are so large they are shading out most of the weeds. This year's rains have been just right, so not much irrigation is needed. I can just sit back and watch my tomatoes ripen! Speaking of tomatoes ripening, during this downtime I am mentally preparing my checklist for canning. Jars, lids, making sure the pressure canner is working properly. In a week or two I will be spending some hot days in the kitchen with quarts and quarts of marinara sauce. But for now, I can enjoy the cut flowers I bring in from the garden, let the chickens romp around the yard catching bugs, and steal a few cherry tomatoes and pop them into my mouth still warm from the sun.

This week at the urban farm

My new favorite cherry variety, the hybrid "Cherry Bomb," started ripening this week. I love the look and it is late blight resistant, too!

Cherry Bomb, Sun Gold, and Yellow Pear cherry tomatoes. Sun Gold are still the sweetest cherry tomatoes I've ever had. Have you found something better?

The 5 hens are laying about 3 eggs per day. No signs of molting yet, but that will be coming up sometime in late summer or early fall.

I planted these blackberries a couple of years ago for my dad, and I have a love-hate relationship with them. They have large, delicious fruits, but they are thorny and birds get most of the berries! Our raspberries are definitely my favorite fruit crop.

I can't say enough about cut flowers. If I have the space, I will always grow them. They bring so much beauty (and so many pollinators!) to our urban farm.

After only one week away...

As the days of summer get shorter but warmer, after only a week away from the urban farm I came home to a jungle of tomato plants, huge and heavy with long-awaited ripening fruits. The sunflowers had shot up well over my head, and even with daily inspections from my family, a couple of zucchini squash got away and became sizable clubs, perfect for shredding up and baking into chocolate chip zucchini muffins. It's also time to start canning. This year, Italian peppers are the first to go into the boiling water. I look forward to mixing them with olive oil and scooping it all up with a local baguette this winter.

There should be a walkway in the middle!

The mess is worth it for the great veggies this time of year.

Peppers and carrots + garlic and spices + vinegar and olive oil = love!

Knowing I will eat food in the winter that I put away myself helps me look forward to the cold months ahead.