Field Walks: Staying Connected to Your Crops

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Paul Betz

Paul examining summer squash in the fieldsIn my mind, I am a now junior grower.  I figure you get one freshman year, and then a bunch of sophomore years.  After 12 seasons, I am unwilling to consider myself a senior grower, but I get a little closer every day.  I remember when I first started farming I felt the need to see everything on the farm everyday.  There was so much going on it was hard to know what to pay attention to and what to look for.  It took a little while before I had a handle on how fast plants change from day to day and how quickly field conditions can change.  Now that I have a few seasons behind me, and am familiar with the varieties I grow, I can see a little further into the future and get a feel for how the farm will look.  I am still amazed at how quickly weeds can pop and become an issue, but that’s a different topic for another day.

At least once a week, I take the time to see the whole farm.  It’s important to set aside a time to walk your fields.  There are occasions where the only chance I get to do that is when we head up to the fields to harvest but I try—and prefer to do it when I don’t have a crew with me.  I take the time to look at all my fields and make mental notes about where things are and when certain jobs need to happen.  This is also a good time to catalog all the little jobs that take only a few minutes.  They’re good for the end of the day when we have those few extra minutes to spend.  My farm is small enough that I don’t put much down on paper, but it’s not a bad idea.  There’s a lot to keep straight and remembering can be half the work.

Examining lettuce in the fieldsOne of the most important tools that I carry on my walks is some emotional armor.  These walks are often where the problems get discovered.  My motto is “Detach and Persist” and I know that I need let go of the disappointment and focus on the work.  There are times when what I learn from my walks is the beginning of the end for a particular planting.  Keeping the emotion around the crop out of the decision making process is a good skill.  It’s ok to be upset, but it’s better to move on quickly to the next step when things aren’t going the way they should.  The longer a problem goes unattended, the worse it inevitably gets, and sometimes the best solution is to till it under.

I also make sure to take the time to really look hard at the plants; the base of the lettuce, the underside of the leaves, to dig around a little for root crops, anything that can give me an insight into what the crop needs or when it will be ready.  Vegetables are a high value venture, and they are worth the time.  In a lot of ways, the time I spend poking around is some of my favorite on the farm, and it can also be the most valuable.  There’s always something interesting to see; I get caught in the beauty of the farm, the energy of the plants, all that goodness.

Someone once told me that farmer’s footsteps are the best fertilizer.  It’s often true.  I think of my farm as a mirror, reflecting the energy that I put in.  Spending focused time has benefitted me in learning to see through the noise, and hone in on what’s important, making me a better grower every season.

I hope the upcoming season brings you everything you need.
Posted in Articles by Farmer Paul Betz, Large Scale Growing | 1 Comment

Striving Towards Sustainable Employee Management

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Becky Maden

How to Keep Yourself and Your Farm Staff Happy – by Becky Maden

In the fall of 1995, I found myself living in the loft of a barn, surrounded by a heap of hay, piles of mouse droppings, my pack of belongings, and a small mattress.  Below me, the cows, horses, and sheep sighed loudly all night long, and I jolted awake each time one of them peed.  My six work days a week were filled with harvesting, weeding, carpentry projects, cooking meals, and asking vigorous questions of the other apprentices and farmers about how and why everything was happening.  And at the end of each month, I received $100 in pay.

I would never trade a moment of time on this farm, or on the several other farms where I apprenticed through my late teens and twenties.  But by the time I graduated from college with a full-blown passion for farming coupled with the expectation that somehow my college degree made me more valuable, I found myself looking for salaried jobs managing farms.  I had neither the savings nor the experience to buy my own farm, but I wanted to steer clear of ever working for a “stipend” again.  So I accepted a job managing a small CSA in Colorado, and suddenly found myself hiring my own seasonal interns that were paid a stipend.

Hiring a seasonal farm crew flipped my identity on its head.  I was 22 and not confident in much about myself except for my ability to efficiently follow the directions of a boss.  How on earth did I possess the wisdom to tell anyone – much less people who were older than I – what to do?

Twelve years later, I can still openly admit that management is my least favorite part of farming.  It is hard to do gracefully and impossible to do perfectly.  However, there are a few tricks to make management a rewarding role for you, your co-workers and your staff, and how to keep yourself open to change based on experience, feedback, and self-awareness.

Hiring

Hiring and retaining seasonal staff is the first step in a smooth management experience.  Who works at your farm is something you have control over, and it’s important to honestly acknowledge that we all prefer to work with people we like.

On our farm, we try to make the hiring process a relatively formal affair.  When we first get an inquiry about work, we write back asking for a cover letter and resume.  This is a great way to push someone into a little extra effort, or to help them realize that we are professional.  It also allows us to learn a little bit about the candidate on paper before we invest time interviewing them.

If we decide someone is qualified for an interview, we invite them to the farm, where we sit and ask a series of interview questions that are tailored to our farm business.  We then walk around the farm and have a more casual chat, allowing them to ask questions about our farm.

Throughout the interview, we are not only attuned to the information they give us, but to their vibe or overall demeanor.  I’ve learned not to underestimate our intuition of a candidate’s personality and if they would be a “good fit”.  We also take into careful account how our returning staff will fit with this person.  And finally, we think about how happy the candidate might be working with us.

Checking a candidate’s references is invaluable in getting a sense their potential to fit into your farm.  Sometimes references make or break the decision for us – a few years ago, we interviewed a woman who, although nice, seemed a little too fancy in dress, makeup, and demeanor to fit into farm life; but when her former employer (a renowned vegetable farmer) told us that she was one of the hardest and most wonderful workers he’d had, we hired her immediately.  And she was fantastic.  Similarly, we were on the verge of hiring a young man two seasons ago – who interviewed well and looked good on paper – but when his former employer agreed that he was really nice, but simply couldn’t stay on task, we didn’t end up offering him the job.

 

Balancing the Personal with the Professional: FARM MANAGEMENT

Hours and hours of mundane tasks with co-workers can lead to unexpected sharing and personal closeness.  The bonds of friendship that I’ve forged working on farms are some of the strongest in my life.  But from a management perspective, this closeness needs to be balanced with an expectation of professionalism and an establishment of boundaries that makes everyone feel safe and supported in the farm’s work environment.  Below are a few guidelines to managing a professional and friendly farm work environment:

Create a personnel manual.  While initially this task may seem tedious, it’s a great opportunity to articulate the expectations of your workplace both for you and your staff.  This provides everyone with an understanding of the legal underpinnings of the workplace, it provides them with the steps to take should they have problems, and it also allows you to clarify expectations that are specific to your farm.

Expect promptness.  Our crew gathers in the morning a few minutes before the work day begins.  If someone arrives a few minutes late, they often find the rest of the staff already in the truck, pulling away to start work.  This experience alone is enough to encourage someone to arrive promptly in the future; it’s a rare occurrence that we’ve had to talk to someone about arriving on time in the morning.  Similarly, they stick to a 1 hour (unpaid) lunch, and on most days, they quit when the clock strikes 4 pm.  This schedule might seem posh to people who are accustomed to their employees working long summer days, but for us it eases the management burden because we know exactly how much work to expect from our staff in any given day.  It also keeps them motivated and they feel secure in knowing that they will get a lunch break and will be able leave at a reasonable hour.  And for us, it’s wonderful knowing that everyone will be there at the proper morning hour.

Structured learning during the work week.  Keeping our staff happy is often related to communicating the how’s and why’s of the farm operations.  This should happen daily on an informal basis, and at least weekly on a formal basis.  At the cornerstone of our operations is our weekly planning meeting when we collaboratively make a giant list of everything that needs to happen.  We allow at least a full hour for this meeting, and it is usually incredibly informative for all of us.

Staff empowerment.  Because I don’t enjoy the “manage” part of management, it’s really wonderful to realize that trusting farm staff with responsibility eases your burden while enhancing their experience.  It’s hard for me to let go of jobs I enjoy, and it’s also hard not to quickly glance at a project that is underway and wonder what the heck is going on.  But knowing that a job gets done well and efficiently is far more rewarding than gazing over someone’s shoulder and offering suggestions of how you would do it.  I learn only by doing things (and by messing everything up once first); so offering our staff this opportunity to learn by taking on individual tasks strengthens our farm in the long run.  It also offers seasonal employees a strong vested interest in the farm – and keeps many of them coming back year after year.

Structured social times outside of work.  Even though it might seem like everyone has seen enough of each other during the day, structured social activities outside of the work day can allow everyone to appreciate each other in a different setting.  We try to have at least one staff party each year that includes partners and families of our staff.  Numerous other social events happen during the year, from after-work happy hours, to outings to other farms.  All of these events help round out the work-oriented understanding we have of each other’s lives.

Mid-season check-ins and end-of-season interviews.  Even in the midst of a sweaty July, we make sure we schedule a meeting with all of our staff to learn about how the season is going.  Offering our staff members the opportunity to sit down in the shade and have a conversation about what they’d like to do on the farm (Drive the tractor more?  Work more CSA pick-ups?  Not be stuck weeding all the time?) and also to hear how they feel about the season is an invaluable conversation.  We also ask them what we could be doing better as managers, and since this happens mid-season, it allows us time to improve for the remainder of the season.  At the close of a staff member’s seasonal employment, we have a final chat that allows us to revisit some of the topics and goals we discussed earlier in the summer.

Open-minded humility.  My experiences both as an employee and as a manager have taught me that you can never get everything right, and if all you see is the mess of all your shortcomings, there will be no peace at night.  Farming is so full of the juxtaposition between gentle beauty and messy reality.  I see this no more clearly than in my own approach to farm management, when one moment I am listening compassionately to a staff member’s relationship dilemma, and the next moment I am sprinting across the field to catch an irrigation blowout.  There is some magic place where these two extremes overlap, a place that exists between extreme toughness and tender gentleness, and it is in this middle ground that I think the best management exists.  Many days, shaken by the stresses of farming, I crave the simplicity of that hay-strewn loft and my hundred dollar monthly salary.  But good, efficient staff management is just one more fiber in the giant web of sustainable farming; and without it, many of our businesses would never thrive
Posted in Large Scale Growing | Leave a comment

Container Gardening

Posted on April 25, 2013 by High Mowing Organic Seeds

If yard space is your only limitation, you can still grow a vegetable and herb garden successfully on your patio, porch, or even your door stoop. With the proper container, amount of light and water, soil type, and fertilizer, you can grow a wide array of crops without even breaking ground.

Choosing Your Container

There are many types of containers that make growing certain veggies and herbs possible without having an in ground garden.  Hanging baskets, planter boxes, and flowerpots are just a few examples of container types that can be utilized.  When choosing your container, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. How much root space does each specific crop require?
Choosing the right size container is very important.  Pots that are too small will restrict the root area and cause the soil to dry out too quickly and stunt the growth of the plant.  Pots that are too large will hold excess moisture and can lead to other problems such as root and stem rot.  So in choosing your container, keep in mind that each type of vegetable or herb will require a specific amount of root space to develop properly.  Baby salad greens and micro greens require very little root development and can be planted in a shallow container.  Full sized leafy vegetables and fruiting crops have much larger root systems and need a deeper, wider pot.  And while root crops, such as radishes, beets and carrots are typically not the best choice for containers, you can still enjoy growing these by selecting certain smaller rooted varieties that are better suited to container gardens and by choosing a deep enough container to satisfy the needs of the plant.

2. Does your container have good drainage?
While container plants are more susceptible to drying out due to the limited soil space, it is still very important that they have adequate drainage.  Most plants require plenty of water to promote healthy growth, but cannot tolerate soil that remains wet for prolonged periods of time.  If this happens, you will see poor root development and eventually root and stem rot.  Your container should have several unobstructed drainage holes in the bottom at least a ½” from the edge of the pot.  Putting an inch or two of rocks in the bottom of your container before filling with soil, while at the same time keeping your container raised off the ground a few inches will improve drainage.

3.  Is my wooden container made with treated wood or a type of wood that will easily rot?
While using wooden containers and barrels can be very appealing choices, please take note whether the wood has been treated with toxic compounds such as creosote.  The treatment could easily leach into the soil in your container, damaging your plant and contaminating your food.  Also keep in mind that it is best to choose wooden containers made with wood such as cedar, white oak, or redwood that are fairly resistant to rot and will better withstand the outdoor elements for prolonged periods of time.

Light

Most vegetables require full sunlight.  Full sunlight is defined as at least 6 full hours or more of direct sunlight.  Fruit bearing crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants require full sun and benefit most from 8 to 10 hours of direct light per day.  Leafy crops such as lettuce, spinach, specialty greens, and herbs prefer full sun to partial shade.  While partial shade is defined as 3 to 6 hours of direct sunlight, these crops benefit most with at least 5 to 6 hours of sun.   Keep in mind, if your only spot to garden is in partial shade, try to orient your containers from east to west, so that larger plants will not shade smaller plants as the sunlight changes throughout the day.

Water

The amount of water your plants need will vary greatly depending on your climate.  Containers are prone to drying out faster than an in ground garden.  During hot, dry and windy weather, daily watering may be required, while during cool and rainy weather, you may not need to water much at all.  Although, it is important to monitor your plants daily to keep an eye on their needs.

Soil Type

Choosing the proper soil makes a big difference in container gardening.  There are many different types of soil mixtures on the market and each of these are suited to different aspects of the gardening process.  Some mixes are best suited for in ground use, while others are better suited as potting soil.  And further, some potting mixes are specifically for germinating seeds, for use in seed starting trays, soil blocks, or small containers.  While there are many brands on the market, VT Compost Company Fort V potting soil is a great example of such a mix.  This is the type of mix you will use if you are starting your own seeds, but once you are ready to transplant your starts into their final container, you will want to select a potting mix more suited to larger containers.  This type of potting soil has a coarser texture and provides proper drainage and a better structure for good root development.  VT Compost Perennial / Large Container Mix is a great example of a container garden potting soil.

Fertilization

Ensuring proper nutrients during your plants life cycle is another important consideration.  While many potting mixes often have compost or other fertilizer in them, you may still need to supplement your plants with more fertilizer.  This is especially true in climates that receive a lot of rain, as nutrients in the soil quickly drain out of your container before the plant has a chance to utilize their full benefits.  Also, the longer it takes for a plant to reach full maturity, the more fertilizing it may need.  While it is true that compost can make a good top dressing for your plant, it is more difficult for use in container gardening because of the limited space for soil in your container.  Be careful to leave about an inch of space at the top of your pot for rain and water to collect so that it does not just run off the top.  For this reason, many gardeners choose to use liquid fertilizers.  For organic gardening, you can use liquid fish emulsion or liquid seaweed such as Neptune’s Harvest.  Another great option is to make compost tea by soaking compost in water for a few days.  The nutrients and minerals from the compost leach in to the water.  The compost can then be drained out and you can use this to water your plants.  These are just a couple of examples, but any organic liquid fertilizer will do.  For best results, use a dilute solution with every other watering.  Remember, though, too much fertilizer can often be more damaging to a plant than not enough fertilizer.  Therefore, it is important to research the specific nutritional needs of each crop type you choose to grow.

Choosing your Varieties

Vegetables best suited for container gardening are those with a compact growth habit, such as bush beans, chard, chives, dwarf varieties of peas, peppers, determinate tomatoes, salad greens, spinach, most herbs, and root crops such as radishes, turnips, and some varieties of beets and carrots.  In general, crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, summer squash and zucchini, potatoes, corn, and most vining plants such as cucumbers and winter squash do not do as well in container production, although there are a few varieties listed below that might do better than others.

High Mowing Organic Seeds carries a wide variety of organic vegetables, herbs and flowers that are well suited for container gardening – check out our Container Gardening Varieties Page!
Posted in Beginner Gardeners' Guide | 6 Comments

Carrot Juices

Posted on April 22, 2013 by High Mowing Organic Seeds

Here in Northern Vermont, April tugs at our heartstrings as it dangles spring in front of us, while at the same time threatening one more winter storm to put our hopes for new gardens and fresh veggies on hold a little longer.   Last year, we were all fooled by an early warm spell only to be pelted by hail the next week.  Despite the unreliable spring weather, we can still find ways to brighten our days with veggies and fruits left over from last year’s harvest.  My favorite way to do this: juicing!

What is better than a fresh cup of bright orange carrot juice on a cold damp spring morning?  Not only does it transform the end-of-the root cellar carrots from their dirt-stained appearance (we store ours without washing them) back to a vivid orange, but it’s also good for you.  Juicing allows you to take in more vegetables and fruit at one time, thereby allowing you to increase the amount of nutrients you get with each serving.  Many people also notice an increase in their immune system functioning, and an energy boost thanks to fresh, raw juice.

I began juicing this past winter and became hooked.  I started off with basic carrot juice, but quickly learned that the only limit to juicing is your own creativity.  You can add any combination of vegetables, fruits, and greens for a delicious and healthy treat.  Here are three of my stand-bys:

You can also try different kinds of carrots for some fun variation:

Just put through your ingredients into the juicer and voila—you’ve made your own juice!

 

Classic Carrot Juice: 

  • 4-6 carrots

 

Carrot Apple Juice:

The apple adds a nice balance of sweetness to the juice.

  • 4 large carrots
  • 1 large apple (you can put the whole apple in—no need to peel or core)

 

Carrot Apple Ginger Juice:

The ginger adds a nice zing to make this juice uplifting and energizing. 

  • 4 large carrots
  • 1 large apple
  • 1 chunk of ginger (size depending on how much zing you want)

- Katie Spring

 
Posted in Recipes | 3 Comments

Carrots: A Look at Our Bejo Varieties

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Jacob Keszey

Organic CarrotsWe are fortunate at High Mowing Organic Seeds to have access to some of the highest quality seed sources available. This week two of our friends at Bejo Seeds, Inc. visited us here in Wolcott, VT. Bejo is a Dutch company that has two offices in the US, including a world-class research and demonstration farm in Geneva, NY. Jan and Tom joined us for a day at High Mowing to learn more about our needs and to further familiarize our staff with some of the Bejo varieties we sell.

Tom Gordon works as the Organic Seed Sales and Product Development Manager, bringing with him excellent perspective from nearly thirty years in the industry. Jan van der Heide has been working with Bejo for over eight years, after spending much of his professional life working as an agent with the Cornell Cooperative Extension Office. Jan works as the Northeast Sales and Product Development Manager for Bejo and is encyclopedic in his variety knowledge. Both of these fine gentlemen eat their vegetables.

Bejo Seeds has similar criteria to our own when it comes to selecting, breeding, and producing seed. Jan and Tom outlined four of these traits during our discussion this week. First, Bejo produces varieties that are easy to grow – those which have good seed and seedling vigor, produce a hardy plant, and are tolerant to diseases. Eating quality is also of utmost importance at Bejo. Their varieties have an appealing flavor and texture and are true to the expectations of the customer. Third, Bejo emphasizes early or predictable maturity, focusing on varieties that grow quickly, are available on schedule, and can yield over time. Lastly, Bejo seeks out varieties which have unique or special traits such as color, flavor, or yield that are otherwise not represented in the current market.

Tom, Jan and I spent part of the morning discussing the carrot varieties which we currently source from Bejo. I was impressed with the great detail into which they could each delve. Between their familiarity with the varieties, our trials results, and the feedback we’ve been getting from our customers, we had much to discuss.

Organic Napoli F1 CarrotNapoli F1 – 55 days

The Napoli F1 carrot has assumed cult status with many of our customers who rave about its sweet flavor and uniform growth. Napoli is an early fresh market Nantes-type best harvested around 7.5 inches. The root is a deep orange color, and smooth with a slight taper and a blunt tip. Napoli fills out quickly, making this a great option for baby carrots. Superior in many ways to Nelson F1, Napoli is a must-have for any commercial carrot grower.

 

Ya Ya F1 CarrotYaya F1 – 60 days

The Yaya F1 carrot is another early fresh market Nantes-type carrot. Like Napoli F1, Yaya F1’s smooth root and blunt tip is easily compared to Nelson F1. Yaya produces very uniform roots and is easy to grow well. It is sweet and tender with excellent eating quality fresh from the ground. Yaya’s medium-length tops are disease tolerant and strong enough to hold up to bunching and transport.

 

 

Organic Necoras-F1CarrotNecoras F1 – 68 days

Necoras F1 is our choice for a main season storage carrot to compete with Bolero F1. Best harvested at eight inches, Necoras has smooth skin and a blunt tip. Necoras has strong tops, showing excellent tolerance to Alternaria leaf blight and is a popular choice for mechanical harvesting. With a sweet taste similar to Yaya, Necoras has a tender crunch that holds very well in storage.

Organic Negovia F1 CarrotNegovia F1 – 80 days

This carrot is worth the wait. A long-season storage type also similar to Bolero F1, Negovia F1 fills out well at eight inches. Negovia holds well in the field and is an excellent keeper in cold storage. Negovia has strong, disease tolerant foliage and handles heat and drought stress well. A stand-out in our summer carrot trials, Negovia’s sweet flavor and excellent texture was memorable to say the least.

 

 

 

Organic Yellowstone CarrotYellowstone – 70 days

If you want to add some color to your carrot selection, look no further. Yellowstone’s deep yellow color will not be soon forgotten. A smooth ten inch cylindrical root with long and sturdy tops, Yellowstone is a popular fresh market bunching carrot. This is a productive, widely-adapted variety with an excellent resistance to forking. Yellowstone is just as popular with commercial growers as it is with hungry kids.

 

 

Organic White Satin CarrotWhite Satin – 65 days

With unique culinary appeal, White Satin is an excellent specialty carrot variety. This carrot grows quickly to an ideal size of eight to ten inches. Straight and firm, with a juicy crunch, White Satin’s flavor is similar to a modern Nantes-type carrot. White Satin stores surprisingly well, with its flavor only getting better with time.

 

 

We take great pride at High Mowing Organic Seeds in knowing our product well. This enables us to stand behind the suggestions we make when working with our customers. We’re lucky to have such expertise within the company as well as within our network of growers. Please feel free to ask the hard questions and find the best fit for your soil and your market. If we don’t have the answers, we know who will.
Posted in Variety Highlights | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Mini Heads for Season Extension and Major Value

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Gwenael Engelskirchen
Organic Breen Lettuce

Organic Breen Lettuce

In recent years on our Trials Farm, we’ve fallen in love with the mini or midi type of lettuce – smaller sized lettuce heads that can be planted densely to maximize bed real estate and that offer great flavor. A particular favorite is the Little Gem type, a mini romaine with the sweetness and soft texture of a butterhead. We like to plant our mini heads at 6” x 6” spacing to maximize the use of our planting area.

Have you seen Breen?  This stunning mini romaine has pink-bronze leaves with lime green ribbing for eye-catching color contrast.  The heads are slender and elongated.  Rhazes is another amazing variety for color – deep garnet heads with lime green interior hearts.

Winter Density  isn’t technically a Little Gem type, but we’ve found this variety to be well-adapted to closer plant spacing for producing dense, compact heads.  It has good tolerance to both hot and cold temperatures and an attractive, dark green color.

The size and texture of these mini romaine heads make them particularly suited to open-faced sandwiches.  Cut in half lengthwise and serve each half, dressed, as a salad. The dense crispness of the hearts makes this a lettuce that can hold up to a little heat too – toss into a stir-fry or use to garnish a soup.

Last winter, we over-wintered several varieties of mini head lettuces in our unheated high tunnel.  The lettuce was seeded in late September and transplanted at the end of November.  The heads were ready for harvest in April.  In our zone 4 climate, most growers would be lucky to plant their first head lettuce in the field by the first week of April (under row cover), so this early harvest date certainly gets a jump on the season.  And, by planting into 6 rows in our 36” bed and spacing the plants 6” apart, the number of heads we harvested was more than twice what it would have been had we planted at the spacing that we normally use for full-size heads; 4 rows with plants at 10” apart.  We don’t sell at a farmers’ market, but I imagine that if we did, we wouldn’t charge quite as much for the mini-heads as for a large head of green leaf or Batavian lettuce, but we would comfortably charge ¾ of the price (despite being mini, the Little Gem types can pack some weight, and have a definite gourmet appeal), which means that at the increased planting density, we’d come out nicely ahead.

It’s not only the mini romaines that do well under close spacing.  Several of the oak leaf varieties – Oscarde, Red Oak Leaf  and Emerald Oak – make excellent mini heads as well.  Many of our customers who sell at farmers’ markets say that their customers go crazy for the smaller lettuce heads, appreciating the “cuteness factor” and the fact that these heads can be used up in a meal or two, rather than getting slimy in the crisper drawer.
Posted in Large Scale Growing, Variety Highlights, Winter Growing | Leave a comment

Complete Seed Starter – Newbie Gardener Giveaway!

Posted on March 31, 2013 by High Mowing Organic Seeds

Are you new to organic gardening and overwhelmed by where to start? Excited to start your own garden and grow food for your family, but have little gardening experience? Check out our exciting new giveaway!

We’re giving away TWO different starter gardener packages! Both include:

How do I enter?

Leave a comment on this blog post telling us:

  1. Why you’d like to win one of these New Gardener packages, and
  2. let us know which vegetable, flower or herb variety that we carry you’d be excited to try this year! (Include a link to that variety on our website).

Contest closes at midnight (EST) on Thursday, April 4th, 2013.

The fine print: High Mowing Organic Seeds is giving away two New Gardener gift packages to two lucky winners!! (High Mowing will randomly choose which package the winner receives.) The contest runs from 3/29/13 through midnight (EST) 4/4/13.  The winner will be selected using random.org. The winner will be notified via e-mail, so please ensure that your e-mail is accurate. Winners must respond within 96 hours of the e-mail announcing that they have one being sent. If the winner fails to respond within that time, High Mowing Organic Seeds will select another winner through random.org and will send out another e-mail to the next winner.

Comments Closed (Congratulations to Sue and Wence!)
Posted in Uncategorized | 360 Comments

Tomato Grafting for Your Greenhouse

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Paul Betz

I have been growing tomatoes in the greenhouse for 12 years now. I switched to grafted plants after my house “hit the wall.” After four successful years of growing glorious plants laden with fruit, my un-grafted plants topped out at three feet. Fortunately, I had gotten some grafted plants from a friend. Their production was off the hook, and saved the tomato season for me. From that point on, I was convinced.

Paul's grafted tomatoesMost people are familiar with the idea of grafting, but mainly in an orchard setting. Fruit growers have been putting a desirable fruiting variety, or scion, on a desirable rootstock for years and years. In the US, the move toward grafted tomatoes is gaining year after year. It makes a lot of sense, actually. The breeding that goes into a variety is focused on so many things: fruit quality, appearance, flavor, and disease resistance, to name a few. A finished variety is a best fit of all of those characteristics. Breeding for a rootstock like our new Estamino F1 (which I am excited to try for the first time this year) allows the focus to be on disease resistance and vigor of the roots only. That the fruit is small and inedible isn’t a problem. The bottom line is you get a plant that is bred to do one thing, and that’s growing roots.

The tools are simple: a razor blade and some grafting clips. I use the replaceable razor blades that are double edged and very thin. They are sharper than the single edge, thicker blades for box cutters and similar applications. I cut them in half, making each package go twice as far, and also keeping my hand away from the business edge of the blade. The other piece is the clip to hold the two plants together.

The two common ways to get the two plants together are either a top graft or a side graft. While the top graft is a little faster, my results have been mixed and unpredictable. The first time I tried the top graft, I had a 95% success rate, but the next time I tried it I had a 5% success rate. Not the consistency I was looking for. The method I use now is the side graft. The scion is not completely severed from its roots, and is much more likely to take the graft. Having access to its roots allows the scion to recover from the procedure much quicker. There is very little down time, and the plant can continue its growth from the second or third day post-graft.

When I am getting ready to graft, I try to find a stretch of days that will be cloudy; not that hard in the spring where we are in Vermont. The lack of intense sun makes it easier for the plants to recover. It’s best not to ask the plant to do too much work after the grafting, giving it adequate time to heal.

I always put my rootstock on the left. Typically the leaves are different enough between the root and the scion, but by sticking to my convention, I never have to worry about who is going on top. I cut the top off the root stock; the plant won’t need it, and it’s just extra weight on the graft. Next, I trim off some of the lower leaves of the scion plant, leaving just the smaller leaves at the top near the growth center. Grafting tomato rootstockI try to find a place on the stem where the two plants naturally line up. This reduces the stress on the plants and minimizes the risk that the graft will twist apart.

I hold the razor blade straight up and down, and make a cut at roughly a 70º angle. The cut goes three-quarters of the way thru the stem. I cut the rootstock down and the scion up. It’s important to leave a quarter of the stem; it acts as a hinge to help hold the stem in place, as well as allowing the scion to continue being fed by its own roots. I gently tip the cuts apart and join the two plants together, making sure the cuts are in good contact with each other. Then I clip the graft, and gently place the two plants into a 4″ pot with good soil, and I am done.

Some people cut the roots to the scion plant once the graft has taken, but I don’t bother. The strength of the roots from the rootstock overpowers the scion’s roots in time.

In a week or so, I start to investigate the graft and carefully remove the clip and look for signs of healing. The stems should appear fused together. While in time the graft is as strong as any part of the plant, I am tender with them when I am checking in on them and when I first plant them onto the greenhouse. It’s ok to use a stake to hold the plant in the position that you want, and I have used bamboo skewers in the 4″ pot when I have thought the plant needed the extra support.

So…you have this fancy plant, now what? Because the graft has the power to overload the scion, it’s important to stress the plant enough that it feels like it needs to ripen fruit. I run all my plants as a “double leader,” where I take the first dominant sucker and trellis that as well. This sucker is located under the flower cluster. Having the extra load on the plant makes the power of the rootstock more balanced, and provides an increase in fruit production, which is after all, what it’s all about.

It might sound like a lot of work, but it’s not. Really. Just a few extra steps. Once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty smoothly, and the results are something that you get to see in one season. That’s a good rate of return.

I hope that the upcoming season of 2013 (how can that be?) is one of your best ever.

Paul
Posted in Articles by Farmer Paul Betz, Large Scale Growing | 6 Comments

Nels’ Beef Steak Hashbrowns

Posted on March 27, 2013 by High Mowing Organic Seeds

Nels' HashbrownsI am a man with steak and champagne desires but endure a potato and Pabst Blue Ribbon reality.  I was lying around my house one morning desperately in need of a breakfast steak and only had a sack of HMS grown All Blue potatoes.  My imagination took hold.  I love the All Blue potato.  When cut open the vibrant deep blue takes me back home to the blue Puget Sound waters on a clear, late summer afternoon and when hashbrown-ed and cooked they resemble long grey skies of mild Washington winter.  Perhaps these are hashgreys and not hashbrowns.

To create this enemy of hunger you need:

4 midsize All Blue potatoes
pinch of salt
1 large egg
drizzle of olive oil
3 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
3 generous shakes of onion powder
1 teaspoon of Montreal steak seasoning, or as much as you like
½ teaspoon of Chimayo red chile powder
3 large cloves of garlic
butter
optional:  ⅓ cup of diced smoked ham

Grate potatoes into a mixing bowl with a cheese grater.  Add the pinch of salt.  Let grated potatoes sit for 5 minutes.

With your hand squeeze the water from the grated potatoes.

To mixing bowl add the egg, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, Montreal steak seasoning, and the Chimayo red chile powder.  Peel and crush garlic with the broad side of a knife, chop garlic and add it to the mixing bowl.  If desired, add some smoked ham to the mix.

With a large mixing spoon, stir mixture until it is nicely incorporated.

Heat a flat skillet; add butter when skillet is hot.  Grab a handful of potato mix. Squeeze out any excess moisture.  Pat the potato mixture flat on your hand and then throw on the skillet.  Let the hashbrown cook for 4 to 5 minutes (be careful, nobody likes hashblacks), flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes.  Serve hot!

These hashbrowns perform best with a fried egg on top, in an omelet, and smothered in country gravy.  They are also a constituent ingredient in the Nels Daniel Lund Hunger Slayer Breakfast Sandwich.
Posted in Recipes | 1 Comment

High Mowing Organic Seeds – A different kind of seed company….

Posted on March 22, 2013 by High Mowing Organic Seeds

We are pleased to present our latest video explaining just what it is that makes High Mowing Organic Seeds a different kind of seed company. We are proud of the work we do, the seeds we offer, and the causes we support. This video highlights the quality, care, and organic growing knowledge that we incorporate into our company. We hope you enjoy this peek into our world!

(Please note – We recommend watching this video in High Definition. You can change your video settings by pressing play on the video, then clicking on the gear symbol in the bottom right hand corner and choosing the 720p High Definition option.)
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment