Pea seed in a circle at the base of a 7-ft. remesh trellis cage.
Photo Gallery
Folks!
We've been incredibly busy here at the BZ farm, naturally, but we have some pictures to share.
We want you to be able to get a sense of what's going on here.
Remember, you are always welcome to arrange a visit and we are looking for folks to move to the farm, join the collective and share in the beauty and bounty this land offers.
Chrys
(I'm the one who's always hidden behind the camera)
These are the Stuttgater Reisen onion sets we grew from seed last year to grow out as onions this year. The most reliable (the ones that won't go to seed this season) are about 1/2" in diameter. We planted some that were 3/4" in diameter too. They have a greater chance of bolting, but not many of them. We also grow Yellow Ebenezer onions which must be started with smaller sets because they are more prone to bolting.
Then push the onion set in 1.5" to 2" deep to protect it from any early-spring deep freezes we might experience.
Each onion set is planted by hand. We don't know of a mechanical planter that can plant the sets upright (root-end down). Last year we had less growing space so we spaced them 6" apart which proved challenging to hoe, but they grew well. This year we're using 8" spacing. We planted 2400 sq.ft. of beds with onions.
Using a center line guide to plant the onion sets evenly at 8" spacing on a 4-ft.-wide bed. Accurate spacing makes hoeing easier later on. Later they will be pressed into soil.
First I place the onion sets on the surface to help eyeballing the spacing. Later they will be pressed into soil. BZ has a better eye for measuring and can do it in one pass.
Onion sets going in. Must be done before the middle of April.
Onion sets going in. Must be done before the middle of April.
Preparing beds in the new market garden for onion set planting.
Spreading last year's duckhouse bedding where last tear's potatoes grew.
Waiting for the snow to melt off the new lower market garden. Three days later, after two inches of rain, it was all gone.
Trimmed red cabbage that hung upside down in the root cellar all winter, re-planted to grow for seed this season.
Trimming red cabbage that hung upside down in the root cellar all winter, for re-planting to grow for seed this season.
Preparing to plant red cabbage that hung upside down in the root cellar all winter to grow for seed this season.
Planting golden Swiss chard to grow out for seed. The roots were kept both buried and root-cellar-stored from last year's market crop.
Golden Swiss chard that was kept in the root cellar from last year's market crop to grow out to seed this year. They had some growth on them.
Golden Swiss chard that was kept buried in the ground under straw from last year's market crop to grow out to seed this year. They had no growth on them.
Red cabbage to grow to seed, snugly mulched.
Stuttgarter Reisen onions to grow out for seed. The seed will be used to grow onion sets which are kept over winter and planted the following season to grow into our onion crop. We then choose the best onions to grow out the next year's seed supply.
Golden chard, red chard, broccoli and kale starts.
Laurel came by for a visit and helped transplanting tomatoes.
"Barerooting" celery starts.
One of our seasonal rituals: Sifting our home-harvested peat for our seed starting mix. Later we pasteurize it a special compartment in the woodstove to kill weed seeds and use it for our potting soil.
Red Top Mountain sporting its red top again.
This is the solar fan in the big hoophouse that goes on automatically whenever the sun shines bright enough.
Early April, the snow is late melting this year.
Filling seed orders.
This is the rack next to the woodstove inside the house where we baby our newly-sown seeds. As soon as they emerge, we put them out in the attached greenhouse heated by the same woodstove.
Sowing seeds in 72-cell plug flats.
Sowing celery seed on a sunny March day.
BZ is doing major surgery on our 1958 International Harvester 330 tractor. This is the back half.
BZ is doing major surgery on our 1958 International Harvester 330 tractor. This is the fron half.
Starting seeds for the bedding plants we will be selling at the Northeast Washington Farmers' Market in Colville, WA.
First set of seelings. Soon our little heated greenhouse will be full, but then we will be able to move some flats out to the big hoophouse once nighttime temperatures aren't so cold.
Spreading compost and wood ashes on the beds in the big hoopy.
Collecting last year's compost from under the snow.
Spreading compost and wood ashes on the beds in the big hoopy.
BZ is doing major surgery on our 1958 International Harvester 330 tractor.
Dianna at the Seed Sawp Feb. 4, 2023 at the Colville Public Library.
Gabe at the Seed Sawp Feb. 4, 2023 at the Colville Public Library.