and although it looks ripe, it still needs a few more weeks. One way to tell is by taste; another is by the color of the seeds inside. Ripe apples will have dark brown seeds. Light seeds mean the apple still has some maturing to do. Patience is a virtue....
One of our native flowers....
Rudbeckia hirta, commonly called black-eyed-Susan, is a North American flowering plant in the sunflower family, native to Eastern and Central North America and naturalized in the Western part of the continent as well as in China. Wikipedia
Walnut Hill?
The farm is named for the stand of young black walnut trees at the top of the drive. Juglans nigra, or black walnut, can present challenges for the farmer. The trees are allelopathic, which means they release chemicals from their deep roots which exude a natural herbicide called juglone. Juglone can kill or stunt the growth of many of the garden's fruits and vegetables. The plentiful trees informed our decision to construct raised beds in the vegetable garden. We look forward to harvesting the nuts of these fascinating trees this fall.
A real Farm to Table Dinner....
on the river in downtown Chicago...and in honor of our special guest from the Pacific Northwest! Everything served, with the exception of the salmon and blueberries, had been harvested from Walnut Hill Farm the day before!
Bruschetta - A mix of heirloom tomatoes and Genovese basil atop grilled garlic knots
Beet Salad with Chevre - Bull's Blood and Detroit Red beets
Pacific Wild Salmon on bed of grilled onions and squash - Walla Walla onions, Dark Star zucchini and Yellow Crookneck squash, Maxibel Haricot Verts, and Danvers 126 carrots
Zucchini Bread
Blueberries topped with Greek Yogurt and served with Chocolate Garlic truffles
A ton of tomatoes?
Not quite! How many tomatoes will one tomato plant yield? I was hoping to have an answer by the end of this summer. Although I thought I'd be more diligent and weigh all of my produce each week, I found it easier to do a simple count. I can backtrack at the end of the season and divide by the number of plants. To date, I've harvested 502 of these beauties!
Experimenting with hydroponics
These oakleaf lettuces are thriving in the greenhouse and are ready to harvest in 28 days. Perhaps they are a solution for winter salads.
Planting for a fall harvest...
Once garlic and onions have been harvested, beds are planted with a fall harvest in mind. Kohlrabi, beets, carrots, spinach, kale, and a variety of lettuces should keep us going through November!
Mmmmmmmm.....
.....mmmmmm...good!
Hidden treasures....
When preparing one of the beds for replanting, I discovered this nest of bunnies just below the surface. I count six...and one has her eyes open, so I'm thinking they're about 10 days old. This means they are almost old enough to be moving on! Now I know why my beet leaves continue to be devoured each evening. Mama has stayed close to her babies!
Mid-summer bounty!
From arugula to zucchini...and so many delicious things in between!
First Annual Garlic Fest....
was a huge success! Thank you to all who helped! And now to decide...what to plant in those empty beds!
The scapes have been cut...
...and enjoyed! And we seem to be on schedule for harvesting garlic next weekend. Garlic scapes are the flower bud of the garlic plant. I removed the buds several weeks ago to encourage the bulbs to thicken up. Scapes make a fabulous addition to a flower arrangement with their elegant twirls, and they are absolutely delicious to eat!
Here's to our red, white & blue!
Happy 4th of July to all!
He can't get enough of them....
...he is crazy about beets! He's eaten their tender leaves as soon as they sprout, ignoring the carrots and lettuces nearby. After replanting 3 times, I finally fashioned a cage out of chicken wire to protect my young crop. This past week he made mischief with my cages, prying the edges up and crawling though the tunnel. Needing to know exactly who this nightly marauder is...I set up the time lapse camera which took a picture every 60 seconds from 8PM to 5AM. BUSTED! Makes me think that we haven't really been fair to poor Mr. McGregor!
Summer solstice may have come and gone....
but the best is yet to come!