first day of spring. yes!

It's seven o'clock on a Monday night and this (photo on the right) is what it looks like outside!  I am really excited about spring at the farm: peas are just coming up, the greenhouse is full of little seedlings, it hails and the sun shines within ten minutes, and I can work later into the afternoon!

 There is a lot of anticipation in spring- little beginnings happening everywhere.

I am also looking forward to Portland drying out a little in the next few days. 30% percent chance of rain means 70% chance of no rain! It's been a wet month. It's already the wettest March in 8 years so says the weather blog Jeff reads. Yikes!







We're staying busy.  We've started more seeds in the greenhouse- rocky top lettuce, peas, asian greens and mustards.  I also set up this fancy indoor system (it was given to me by a friend last season, so I am trying it out) for our nightshades- a variety of peppers and tomatoes. I leave the lights on during the day and turn them off at night.  I've been watering them every two days. So far so good- nothing has happened but it's only been a few days.  I'll keep you all posted on how this system works.

business is growing!

Today I filled my first restaurant order for Ned Ludd, a restaurant a few blocks away from the farm!  It was a small order but a good one.  Although I haven't eaten there, the restaurant and menu look amazing.  Check them out! Soon I will be selling to other local restaurants as well- stay tuned!

sun!

That's right! The sun was out today. It was magnificent. I actually think I may have gotten a little sunburned.  I know that my pictures don't really convey the sunniness, but it was- most of the day!  

We actually got to prepare another bed.  It has been pretty dry the past couple days, but the soil was still a bit wet.   I did some reading on working in moist soils and trusty Steve Soloman, in Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades gave some words of wisdom on the subject as he does on many things.  We pulled out the "cover crop" which was supposed to have been fava beans but has ended up being mostly grass and lightly raked in soils amendments leaving all but the top inch of soil undisturbed.  As I've learned, digging in wet soils can really damage the structure of the soil.

What else is happening? The plant starts are making their way from our home to the greenhouse and now there are places to put them with these lovely tables that Jeff and his sister, Cara, built!  

A variety of brassicas (broccoli pictured on left) and onions are off to a good start!

a rainy day

As some of you know I am one of those people my age that every few years moves someplace new (I am hoping this is changing), not out of restlessness, just happenstance.  I moved just over a year ago from Tucson, AZ which has challenges for a person trying to grow food but also some benefits.  An obvious benefit of Tucson is ample sun. Less obvious but akin to sun is the ability to dig into your soil to prepare beds for planting most anytime. I now live in the northwest. I'm trying (but failing) not to sound cliche as I complain. It's cold and it's raining. And for the sake of the soil, I can't go out digging in this weather.  Maybe I am too anxious to get going this season.  Maybe living in this climate is teaching me patience. And giving me an appreciation for water.

february update

It has been brought to my attention that I haven't updated in a few weeks... it isn't that nothing has been happening,but maybe because so much has been happening that I haven't written! Let's see... where to begin? 

It is often good to begin with a plan and I am trying my hardest to start with one: what to grow, where and when to grow it, how long will it be there, how much will be harvested, what do people want, direct seed or start in the greenhouse, succession plantings... and on and on. For anyone who thinks it's just about putting seeds in the ground, it is actually.  But we can make it as complicated as we want and if we are trying to make a business of farming on a small lot it's got to be complicated. I keep telling myself that it's like a puzzle and that I love puzzles! 

With planning comes buying seed which is always fun.  Some fun varieties that I've purchased: Atomic Red Carrot from Baker Creek Seeds,  Bulgarian Carrot Pepper from Territorial Seeds, Freedom Lettuce Mix from Wild Garden Seed, and Turkey Craw Bean form Seed Savers Exchange- which is said that the original seed was found in a wild turkey craw!  amazing. Jeff would not let me pass this seed up.

Jordan, a lovely volunteer, standing by the completely weeded beds!

What else?  I've been extremely fortunate to have great volunteers.  Together we've been weeding (always- the grass has been treacherous) seeding in flats and under the plastic tunnels, digging new beds, doing greenhouse maintenance, and weeding- wait, I said that already, but it deserves to be mentioned twice!

seeds in flats keeping warm in our home

Last week, Jasmine, Eric, Jeff and I began seeding brassicas and onions in flats.  We are keeping the flats in our house until the seedlings emerge and then transferring them to the greenhouse where they can continue to grow.  We are doing this transfer because our greenhouse is unheated and the seeds need no light but more warmth to germinate and once germinated need more light and can tolerate less warmth. As I write today, many seeds have germinated and will be moved.

the greenhouse where all the seedling will soon live.

There is so much more to write! I will write soon about the Food Justice Conference from which I just returned last night.  Stay tuned.

first harvest!

Green Wave mustards before harvest

That's right! Blue House Greenhouse Farm had it's first harvest on January 27, 2011.  We harvested three and a half pounds of salad greens- a mix of a rocky top lettuce, tatsoi, and green wave mustards (to add some spice!).

washing salad greens!

It was mainly a test harvest to see how the crops tasted after a few months spent under plastic.  We've eaten a lot of the salad mix and in my biased opinion it is delicious!

Anna, our first customer! 

I even sold a few half pound bags of salad mix to friends. So it was also the first produce sale for Blue House Greenhouse Farm!  We are a small business now! Thanks friends!

happy new year!

There are a lot of things happening these days at Blue House Greenhouse Farm!


First of all I want to give an update on the soil quality.  As you may have read in the 'about the land' portion of this blog, our farm had some questionable beginnings.  After a lot of reading, reviewing reports, testing for metals, and talking with soil scientists, I can finally say with confidence that the land we are farming is safe! Here is the complete report from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) from the testing that was completed in 1997 on this site. The most problematic issue for the land was the potential contamination from heavy metals. After seeing the metals analysis in the report (page 15) and comparing those numbers to the DEQ Risk Based Concentration numbers (the residential levels for "Soil Ingestion, Dermal Contact, and Inhalation"), it is clear that the results are well within the safe levels.   


It was also recommended that I do additional metals testing, which I did.  Here are the results:Arsenic, Beryllium, Lead, and Mercury. I was able to review the report and metals testing results with a DEQ soil scientist and he concurred that these and the previous results are within the safe residential levels.  Hurray!  Now on to the task of farming!


In other big news, we are getting ready for our first harvest!  The lettuce, mustards, arugula and tatsoi have all done beautifully in the tunnels. There may not be enough to sell at this moment but I will let you all know once we've harvested. 


Lastly, if you are interested in volunteering, please let me know!  There is a lot of weeding to do- seems to be a bit of a grass issue... yikes. AND there a lot of other fun tasks to do as well!