SPRING 2011

Photo Gallery index > Solstice Update - June 22, 2011

  • Welcome to our inaugral photo session. We hope you are amused by some snapshots of our farm life... A rainbow on Summer Solstice must be a good omen?
  • Actually, it looked more like it was snowing, since today was the day the Balsam Poplar fluff flew.
  • On a solstice tour of the garden and field trials, I noticed how some plants really stood out from the pack. While most things are looking good in general, thanks to all the rain we've had lately - 4 inches! - some individuals were just more vigorous than others. To see the one Goji berry that is the best out of 200 bushes makes me excited to save their seed and develop plants that work for us in our conditions. And yes, we have a thistle problem - organic agriculture isn't pretty.
  • Maralroot (Leuzea carthamoides) is one of those plants that just seems to like it here. I eat the seeds sometimes, as they are reputed to provide nutrients which enhance protein synthesis in the body. All parts of the plant can be used for tea, but the seeds have the most concentrated nutrition. Used by bodybuilders, maralroot hay for animal feed may even find use as a natural alternative to growth hormones.
  • Here is a patch of wild mint - almost ready for harvest, but not quite.
  • Kathleen and I have been wondering what to do with all the dandelions that grow so well here, so we've started roasting them for 'coffee.'
  • We are also fermenting some in a barrel as an experiment for making homemade fertilizer for our flower beds. So far the term green manure comes to mind...
  • And we dehydrated nettle tops and root, horsetail and hawthorn leaf and flower and, of course, dandelion root. Here is a batch of fresh horsetail. To be continued...
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