Nimai's first volunteer day on the farm! Nathan returned as well. It was great to have the extra hands to help weed and mulch what we have planted. Dave has mowed down all the cover crop and we have about 4.5 rows completely planted. Mulching around the bell peppers we just put in the ground. The cover was pretty light on this end and the weeds are different and more evil than what we've been dealing with at the top half of the plot. Unfortunately, this half has endure the brunt of those familiar jokes "Wow, you guys are really great at farming weeds!!" Ag2 flash backs....
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A new handsome WWOOFer from Ewa Beach donated some truck space and muscle to be a part of Libre Farm's first seedlings for our new spot.
A) 18 red zebra tomato seed saver B) 18 same C) 18 starbor kale Johnny's D) 18 scarlet kale seed savers E) 18 pingtung long eggplant seed savers F) 18 same Hibiscus Drive Planting Round 2 April 22: This time I have a whole tray of potentials; cheddar and graffiti cauliflower, cucumber, kale, and parsley Great success in germination! But now it's May 1 and these cucumbers seem to have outgrown these cells already It says cucumbers shouldn't be transplanted into the ground for 4-5 weeks, but I don't have larger cells to transfer these guys into before the ground, sooooo I'm just going for it. From organicgardening.com Secrets of Growing Tasty Cukes Some cukes start out bitter, but some become bitter because of conditions in their environment- many of which you can control. (For an explanation of what makes cucumbers bitter, see "The Bitter Truth," below.) Plants that are stressed are more likely to become bitter; how bitter depends on the severity of the stress. Stress in a plant is most often caused by insufficient and uneven moisture, but temperature extremes and poor nutrition can also play a part. You can minimize stress and maximize flavor if you: 1. Keep them hydrated. Provide plants with plenty of moisture, especially around the time the plant is flowering and fruiting. Any water stress during this period of rapid growth causes the levels of bitter-tasting compounds to rise. Cucumbers are vigorous growers and therefore need between 1 and 2 inches of water per week, depending on the weather and the characteristics of your soil. The key is to keep the soil slightly moist at all times. Water deeply about once or twice a week- more often if you're gardening in sandy soil. 2. Mulch. You can further reduce water stress by mulching plants with an organic mulch. Mulch helps to conserve and moderate moisture levels while blocking out weeds. Plastic mulches can be applied at planting time, but wait until summer or after the soil has warmed to above 70 degrees before applying organic mulches, such as straw. 3. Regulate the temperature. Cucumbers like warm conditions, but growing cool and tasty cukes in the heat can sometimes be a challenge. In fact, high temperatures not only affect fruit quality; they can also affect fruit set by causing the plant to produce a higher ratio of male flowers. "Cucumbers are really sensitive to high heat," says horticulturist Emily Gatch, greenhouse and pathology coordinator with New Mexico-based Seeds of Change. "It can be really hard on plants if temperatures are consistently in the mid-90s." If you're growing cucumbers in a hot climate, Gatch recommends providing plants with filtered afternoon shade to help cool things down, either by strategically planting taller crops at the southern end or by adding a shade cloth to block 40 to 50 percent of the sunlight. 4. Give them sunlight and good soil. For the best-tasting fruit and optimum yields, grow plants in a sunny spot and in warm, fertile, and well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Raised beds are ideal. Cucumbers require a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Wait to sow seeds or set out transplants until after all danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed to at least 60°F. An unexpected frost will kill plants, and the vines grow slowly and become stressed in cool conditions. You can start seeds indoors three to four weeks before your anticipated planting date outdoors. Be careful not to disturb roots when transplanting. 5. Fertilize. Cucumbers thrive in light, friable soil. Several inches of organic matter worked into the soil prior to planting helps achieve that goal. Plants are heavy feeders, so be sure to feed the soil with rich compost or aged manure. After the vines develop runners and the first flowers appear, follow up with a side dressing of compost, aged manure, or organic fertilizer. If the leaves are yellowish, the plants need more nitrogen. Make room. Giving plants the space they require is just one more ticket to a stress-free environment. Grow trellised plants 8 to 12 inches apart. Hills with one or two seedlings should be spaced about 3 feet apart, with rows 4 to 5 feet apart. Space bush varieties 3 feet apart in all directions. 6. Banish weeds. Keep your cucumber patch and the area around it free of weeds. Some types are hosts for bacterial wilt disease, which is spread by cucumber beetles. Intense feeding by these beetles can kill a plant, and they're attracted to stressed plants- all the more reason to keep your plants healthy and happy. 7. Cover up. Row covers, hotcaps (or plastic milk cartons with the caps removed), and plastic tunnels are great for getting plants off to an early start. And row covers not only help plants grow faster and flower sooner, they also protect plants from pest insects. Just be sure to remove any covering once plants start to flower. May 12 UPDATE: first transplant- fail. Second transplant, other side of the back yard- greater success June 4 UPDATE: Second transplants... RIP. Another gruesome tragic end to my cucumber attempts! Anonymous, mistaking these long flowing vines as weeds pulled them out of the ground. Lesson learned: Mark your veggies, like Anonymous suggested to you to begin with!
Justinefreebird Espiritu <[email protected]>10:52 PM (9 minutes ago) to bcc: Hi LibreBird Farm supporters, I wanted to email a quick thank you and some photos on our CSA so far. Thank you again for your support and monetary faith in this enterprise. I feel the word "farming" has become too much of a label and at an 1/8 of an acre and being incubated by the gofarm program, I can't seriously call myself a farmer, so I like to just say we're growing food! It feels real good to hand over veggies to friends that we have raised from seeds and I hope you have found them to be edible and satisfying, even with less than perfect aesthetics. On that note, food waste is a huge problem, and so many vegetables go unsold and uneaten because they are not marketable to grocers and other markets based on their appearance. We appreciate you keeping an open mind and putting your dollars towards fresh, nutritious, locally grown produce that then goes on to support the Gofarm program and educating other aspiring food growers. I've recapped the bounty of the past two weeks below. Please note that the salad mix (minus the arugula this past weekend) came from community plots rather than Dave and I's plot directly. The sprouts have been from my personal operation from home. The collards this week came from Dave's home plot in Palolo. We are working to pool from all of our food resources to give you your money's worth of diversity! 4/19 CSA bag included
4/26 CSA bag included
We are currently conceptualizing our business plan/manifesto as well as a feedback form for our customers. We welcome and invite any feedback and criticism, as well as any photos, recipes, and art conceived by our veggies! Feel free to send it anonymously to 3035 Hibiscus Drive Honolulu Hawaii. Attached you will find photos of bounty and washing and packaging, updates on some pending veggies, and art staring our veggies!! Thanks again for your support!!! Saturday 3/23 mission was to set up netting on the trellis and plant Malabar spinach at it Straw for mulching! Put in place using he push and flip method. I should have been wearing that helmet. I learn over 1 million things from Gabe every time I hang out around him. Today's highlights include 1) it's pretty cool to watch someone machete down a banana arm as quick smooth as cutting ice cream and 2) chia seeds are easy to grow (for Gabe) and mixed with water will gel and when chugged will keep you saturated and 3) if you only have 6 months to farm at a spot and 2 and a half have passed and you haven't tilled and you are weeding and planting as you go, you might want to ask yourself, should I consider farming weeds instead of crops? Alright alright we'll till already! Two tilled rows with 3 lines and five sections each. A number of varieties of the following: radishes and turnips, lettuces or mixed greens, daikon, beets, and carrots 2nd harvest of kale and chard, and first for cilantro! First batch on Tuesday went to Down to Earth coworkers for donations. Dave collected $10, but also excited requests to be put on top priority for our upcoming CSA! Priceless! And yes, the same three trays of our harvest must be photographed from multiple angles, perspectives, and scenes. Crops harvested and in action! Jeff's velvety suede sheets of chard became my brown rice stir fry, our neighbor papaya trees provided for my papaya acai almond millk cacao nibs smoothies, and our red russian kale and cilantro became the motivation and star ingredients for my soup gifts. “Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything."
“We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, 'Blessed are they that mourn,' and I accept it. I've got nothing that I hadn't bargained for. Of curse it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not imagination.” ― C.S. Lewis If we hadn't taken that field trip to Punaluu yesterday, today I would've been very discouraged and overwhelmed by the weeds taking over our mediocre (let's face it) no-till where we're planting. So far we have 1 of 8 rows STARTED in planting, 2 of 10 we are going to replant with cover crop. But encouraged by the work we did yesterday, and the work I've done with Ted in the past, our integrated weed management method is both simple and resourceful. I use my golden sickle (a gift from the D word) and completely clear just about a 2 inch x 2 inch circle to transplant, pull up and hack at the weeds that have formed around that and use the weeds to mulch around the plant and as cover to prevent more growth. The weeds are useful and make up for where the mulch from the cover crop is too thin. Still working on letting go of the desire for a pristine, meticulously clear, perfectly weeded life I mean plot. The weeds are part of the system and I need not fret over their existence or the mess they appear to cause, they have a purpose and a use as well. We ended the morning with an entire row and a half planted. 3 kinds of kale, tomatoes, cilantro, broccoli. We're on our way! Our no-till method is being attempted full force (6/10 rows) with small successes! Our plot's cover crop so far has been dense enough to provide sufficient mulching around our plants, though weeds are still getting through. Once in the ground though, the 50 or so plants we've transplanted just about doubled in size! Chard has taken a beating, but right now these red russian kales are my pride and joy. Cilantro doing good as well. Stoked... but success on one half of one row of ten is very small scale success... but i'll take it! These photos below were just a couple days after planting on 2/22, still so small! However small our success so far we are looking forward to the future revolution!!!
First attempt at cauliflower, first babies at Hibiscus Drive... so far so good! I'm appreciating the rain!
Breaking all the rules. Re-using soil that has been drenched by rain and was pretty dry and lifeless looking to begin with. This is not the "ideal" environment to start seedlings in. Scooped up some dirt from the spot I plan on planting them into and added that as well. I am certainly not spoiling these seedlings, should they decide to sprout. From biggest to smallest: Cucumber, cauliflower, and kale. Sprout!!! Do it!!! Please!!
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