Escarole is the last Selfer we’re talking about for #seedsavingformarketgardeners Escarole might be bitter and beautiful and have many similarities to chicories. But Escaroles and chicories are not the same thing. Escaroles are selfers that barely cross.(Almost Superselfers like lettuce – I think) They tend to come in shades of green with not much of … More Escarole Seed – Selfer with a couple challenges
I was going to start it with a radicchio. But maybe leading into #bitterisbetter is not quite the tone that you’re looking to start the year on. … More Let’s start the year with a flower
Am I the only one who likes to start the day with a bowl of chopped sugarloaf? What we call “early breakfast” in our house. A little something to tide you you over until the whole family is up and we can fry up some eggs. (Sugarloaf is my favourite of all the Radicchio clan. … More Early Farmer Breakfast
The gulf between cilantro lovers and cilantro haters seems minuscule compared to the chasm between Radicchio lovers and haters. John Navazio told me the secret to bring folks over the chasm is to put a little sugar in your vinaigrette. He said the sweetness tricks folks into enjoying bitterness and over time they will see … More The Gulf Between Radicchio Lovers & Haters
Last year, I selected my favorite Italian Dandelion plants from our market planting. I chose them based on the level of leaf serration, the red stem and green leaf contrast, and vigour. In fact, I’d actually been eliminating whatever I didn’t like all season long. Whatever was too green, too round leafed, or too marked … More Planting Overwintered Dandelion
This is the fourth part of a series on crop planning for seed production. Seed production planning part 3 covered calculating how much to grow to meet your farm and marketing demands. The next step is choosing when to plant your seed crop to get a reliable seed harvest. (Most of this article was originally … More Plant Seed Crops on Time – Seed Production Planning Part 4
Well the weather dropped a bit last weekend. We didn’t take the plastic off the field tunnel like I thought. Still, the tunnel is booming and the field is starting to sprout. Brassica greens (and purples) growing and going to flower. I was a touch worried about these guys bolting before any pollinators were around. … More Field Update: Unexpected Visitors
A couple of days ago, I posted about the mild winter and the crops that unexpectedly overwintered in the field. Normally, we have to be tricky to keep biennials over the winter to produce seed. Today, I’ll talk about about one of those tricks – unheated tunnels. We seed greens in September and then cover them … More Spring is in full swing under a little plastic!
