NW Urban Farm

Fully formulated, premade potting soil and seed starting mix is kinda pricey if you ask me. And doubly so if you're using at the scale that I am. More to the point my seeds just really didn't do very well in it. It was light and airy (good), sterile (good... ish), and nutrient-less (bad, required applying fertilizer).

Different folks have different opinions on what kind of potting mix seed starting medium they prefer. I found this recipe online and I like it A LOT!

You can find all the ingredients at you're local Home Depot. Far less expensive at scale and it'll last you a good long while. Try it out.

http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/blend-your-own-seed-starting-mix

Blend Your Own Seed-Starting Mix April Johnson, landscape and greenhouse coordinator at the Rodale Institute near Kutztown, Pennsylvania, grows literally thousands of organic vegetable, flowe

Great starter garden information here, check it out!

This Infographic Teaches You How to Grow Dozens of Vegetables Since the dawn of civilization, humanity has been growing food to stave off hunger. While most of us go to a store for this now, growing your own food can be as rewarding as it is delicious. If you’re not sure where to start, this chart will give you all the essential info.

Working on a buddies hobby farm getting ready to plant. Winter squash, potatoes, yams, melons, onions, garlic, Brussels sprouts and cabbage are going in here.

First ripe strawberry of the season!

Seems every berry resource I read states that selecting the best cultivar for your area is the first and most important step in raising premium berries. These are Ozark Beauties. Other top producers are Eversweet and Tristar. I have plenty or these beauties for sale.

Can you think of a better way to spend a Saturday?

Last year my squash took OFF! it was awesome. It looked like a tiny jungle on the side if my house. I was so proud. Unfortunately powdery mildew set in hard and fast. I'd heard of various mixtures you could on but didn't really feel confident trying any without better information or understanding on how they're supposed to help. I decided that cutting out a lot of affected growth was the best way to slow progress. I kept a decent harvest but my once green and beautiful jungle looked sad.

In prep for this year I did some research and found this. I'm going to make up some of Joe's special sauce linked here and prevent the before it becomes a unmanageable. http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/controlling-or-eliminating-powdery-mildew/

Seeds planted and germination after one week. Brussels Sprouts, Red Cabbage, Green Cabbage, Blue Curled Scotch Kale, Lacinato Kale, Neon Lights Swiss Chard, Romaine, Speckled Romaine and Leaf Lettuces.

Whether creating your first garden or just getting ready for another growing season, there's a lot to do. For me, I have so many ideas and plans and goals each year I can get very overwhelmed and unproductive in a hurry. But for me, the best place to start is the closet. Putting on the shoes, my favorite hat and getting myself outside. It all seems to come together as soon as leave the house and look at garden. Don't over think it, just do it! It'll make sense as you go.

Strawberries thinned, pork smoking, compost turned. Now to do some planting!

Lots to do before the season gets in full swing. Midwinter through spring is a series of sprints to get things done.

Here's a list of my most immediate tasks:
Thin out Strawberries
Plant Yacon rhizomes
Plant Sunchokes
Start 3 seed flats
Start sweet potatoes
Today's seeds
Kales
Brussels sprouts
Cabbages
Onions
Order last of seeds
Transplant Blueberries
Transplant Raspberries
Transplant Strawberries

Some of y'all know that I make sausage from time to time. Thanks to the Mrs. I now have the means to try combine cold smoking to my sausage making. Can't wait to give it a try!

Preserve Your Food with Cold Smoking

Cold smoking might seem tricky or unsafe, but it’s easier than you probably think and worth the effort: http://goo.gl/f8WfMF

The difference between these photos is about 10 hours under the new grow lights. Look at how much energy the plants have stored in their new leaves in that short amount of time. Remarkable!

"I think we are celebrating how far we've come in our food culture way too soon."

"All around, it's getting easier — though only just"

"The mission for everyone who cares about food — even if you raise chickens or garden tomatoes, can barrel-aged hot sauce, or brew pale ale — should be to buy local. And then buy some more, regularly, every week, month and year. With enough momentum and time, consumer demand may bring on the substantial infrastructure and policy changes that small family farms need to truly thrive."

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-curry-locavore-movement-20150208-story.html

The food movement has only just begun I ran into a farmer I know in December. “I'm not going to make my operating loan in February,” he told me, meaning he might lose his farm to foreclosure. A grower of organic vegetables for 50 of the top restaurants in farm-food-obsessed Portland, Ore., he had lost 4,000 pounds of his car…

another reason to buy local. the passion, research, and care that goes into prepping these starts is unmatched. grow lights installed as our urban farmer checks the details!

Let me introduce you to the J-man. He's pretty amazing and in the last years has been on a journey to urban farming in the city. It all started with growing (some) of our own last summer right here in suburbia. Our many older neighbors were horrified to see the large area of rose beds demolished, but after the "crops" came in, we had daily inquiries into "how are the potatoes doin?" This year he'll be sharing some starts and seeds and also some of fun things he's learning with our friends and anyone else that stops in. So if you're reading this, consider yourself a friend and make yourself at home!

ps. you may find bits of random awesomeness here as well- hey that's ADD for ya!!