The Apartment Farm

Well, I am still waiting for my seed order to arrive, on March 1st. That’s what I get for waiting so long to put it in! But what I can’t wait for is some fresh greenery around the apartment, so I’m starting seeds today (even though I said I was going to do it last week) from what I’ve got left over from the last few years. I have my windowsill trays filled with soil and watered, and now they’re resting so the water can distribute through the soil evenly. For seed starting, I like to water the soil first so it doesn’t displace the seeds. Once they’ve rested, I’ll plant. I’m doing some edamame, scallions, Lollo Rossa lettuce, Tom Thumb lettuce, chives, oregano, and thyme. I’ve also got to replant some parsley that could use it’s own space. And I’m going to pop in a few garlic cloves, because those will sprout super fast and be excellent on baked potatoes. I might take a few garlic to work to liven up my space too. So, after the long winter (which may never end), the greens are coming.

Well, I finally placed my seed order today! I was able to get everything I wanted except for the peas and potatoes - they were actually sold out! But in a few weeks I’ll be seed starting officially for 2008. But I plan to kick off the season tonight by starting some garlic from the few cloves remaining from what we purchased at the Dane County Winter market last November and a few leftover seeds from last year. I am so looking forward to the green of sprintime…

Favorite posts from farming and gardening blogs I love:

City Bees is talking about getting started with beekeeping.

Dirt is talking about chicken-friendly plants.

Farmgirl Fare is showing off blue skies.

Growing Food is Power is reminding us to act out about NAIS.

Guerrilla Gardening is getting busy this year!

Half Acre Homestead has baby bunnies!

I Heart Farms is talking about the battle for raw milk.

Mini Farm Homestead is starting seeds indoors.

Mulch is educating us about the 2007 Farm Bill.

My Tiny Plot gives us 10 things to do in February.

Wolfie & the Sneak is getting recharged before the gardening season.

Plant in a Pot mentions some cheap container ideas.

Playing in the Dirt is dreaming about planning the spring garden.

Reading Dirt ate a 100-foot meal.

The Garden Plog recalls the summer garlic harvest.

Tiny Farm is lettuce watching!

Tiny Farm Gear is showing us how to make a peat pot maker.

To Farm Again talks about how to find and finance a farm.

It’s late January, and the garden catalogs are beginning to pile up. They have become dog-eared and highlighted. And through all the thousands of options available, I’ve finally decided what I’ll grow this year at Apartment Farm. I’m thinking simply this year.  

-          Lollo Rossa Lettuce

-          Tennis Ball Lettuce

-          Tom Thumb Peas

-          Martino’s Roma Tomato

-          Silvery Fir Tree Tomato

-          Rose Finn Apple Fingerling Potatoes

-          Strawberries

-          Herbs: Thyme, Rosemary, Flat-Leaf Parsley 

The lettuces will be grown in wooden wine crates. The peas are a dwarf variety well suited to containers, so I’ll have a few pots of those. I’ve haven’t decided which pots yet, but there are quite a few options—enamelware soup pots will likely be what I choose, if I can find a few affordably second hand. I’ll probably do two or three plants of the roma tomatoes in enamelware also. The Silvery Fir Tree tomato is suited to hanging baskets, so I’ll have four of those. I’d like to find some whimsical cast-iron branch pot hangers for those. The potatoes are this year’s experiment. I’m going to try them in white metal trashcan right here in the living room. We’ll find out together whether it’s possible to grow potatoes indoors. The strawberries will go in a strawberry pot of course, and I’ll have another strawberry pot devoted to herbs.  

I’ll likely place my order this week and dust off the seed trays for seed starting in mid-February—have got to give those tomatoes the head start they’ll need! And early lettuce certainly won’t be a bad thing either. Stay tuned!

You can still have greens to eat during the winter months, if you’re willing to grow them yourself. Micro greens are easy, fast and nutritious to grow in a sunny window during the winter. They make a nice small salad (add some kale or shredded cabbage, sundried tomatoes or preserved roasted red peppers, capers, diced shallots or onions and a your favorite vinegarette- yum!) or a great topping for a baked potato or mixed into scrambled eggs.

They’re very simple to grow- you just need a flat of soil (the under-bed rubbermaid totes work well, as well as enamelware roasting pans, wine crates, etc.) with good drainage. It only needs to be a few inches deep, as the root systems won’t get very large since you’ll technically be harvesting the greens at the seedling stage. Just sprinkle the seeds over the surface of your planter, sprinkle with a layer of soil and water gently. You might cover the whole affair with plastic wrap or a plastic cover to create a greenhouse effect to help your seeds sprout. To harvest your greens, wait until they’re an inch-and-a-half to two inches high, then shear off what you want with a pair of scissors. They should reach that height in a week or ten days after after they sprout. You can keep doing succession plantings throughout the winter to have a continuous supply.

Which types of seeds should you plant for micro greens though? You can really do any types of greens you like- lettuce mixes (that you can buy or create yourself) are good as you’ll get a variety. I like to do a lettuce mix with bunching onion, snow peas, and mustard greens mixed in. You could also add broccoil, other types of beans, cress, radish, bok choy, etc. Whatever you like, give it a try- you’ll be glad to have something fresh when the winter is starting to seem like it will never end!

There seems to be a near-permanent cloud cover over Chicago lately, and a light drizzle has been falling all day. I’m disappointed that’s it not cold enough out to turn into flurries, but there will be time enough for that this year. We woke up early this morning so that we could go to the last market of the season- a bonus Winter Market that was offered for the first time this year. About a third of the usual vendors were there, and the stalls were over-flowing with cold-weather goodies- bushels of apples, potatoes, garlic, kales, winter squashes, beets, turnips, leeks and pears. There were a few odds and ends as well- the last green peppers, green tomatoes, shallots, cold-hardy lettuce, popcorn, grapes, and what not. There was also a bake sale and a handful of craft vendors, as well as a farmer offering wreaths, swags, and dried flowers. We stocked up for Thanksgiving- Russian Black kale and Kennebec potatoes from Green Acres, and Georgia Jet sweet potatoes from Henry’s. We also picked up some Parmex carrots and fresh dill from Green Acres, as well as some Empire apples from Nichols for eating this week. And of course, we were excited to pick up our Bourbon Red Turkey from Caveny Farm today as well. So, it was a bittersweet end to the season this year- it was great to experience the market for one last time this year and support our local farmers directly. But it’s going to be a long winter- 6 months more until we’re at it again! But as they say, to everything there is a season…

If so, then the 1/3 scale model of a Case Hay Press is for you! This press will allow you to make 5×7x13 hay bales, and it’s so cool, I really, really want one! It would certainly put a dent in the farm budget though, at $3200 for a ready-to-run model (including the engine). But, if you’ve got that much money to blow and you need to make a ton of mini hay bales, check out www.minihaypress.com. Good stuff!

Farming requires equipment I certainly don’t have while gardening in my apartment. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but a common-sense compilation of tools I think I’ll need and actually use.

The first things listed here are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds at www.johnnyseeds.com:

Bed Prep Rake - $63

Row Marker Attachments - $5

Digging Fork - $63

Digging Spade - $63

Glaser Wheel Hoe - $353

Glaser Goose Foot Attachment - $53

Glaser Hiller Attachment - $63

Hatfield Transplanter - $80

Earthway Seeder - $103

Smart Cart - $284

I’m also looking at a small greenhouse, an irrigation system, seed-starting supplies, and harvesting tools. There’s a lot that goes into this, so I’m really going to shop around (hopefully I can get a lot of this stuff second-hand) to get the best deals on this essential stuff.

I graduated college this year, so from one milestone I jump to another– getting the farm going. I’m putting myself on a two-year plan. The first year (starting now through next August) will be the planning year. I’ll be paying off debt, getting a handle on my student loan repayment, saving money, making plans and lists, and searching for a farm site. I’m also going to continue my book education of reading everything related to farming that I can get my hands on. Knowledge is power, as the saying goes. The second year will be the trial and error year. I’ll still have an off-farm job, and will be starting growing and marketing on a small scale. It will give me a chance to learn first-hand how to do things; what will work and what won’t.

I already have a pretty clear vision of what I want to do. I want to grow all heirloom varieties, organically and with mostly hand tools. I want to grow mostly vegetables and some flowers. I’ll start small (likely only a half acre the first trial year) and grow from there, keeping the entire operation at it’s largest to under 5 acres. At some point, I’d like to add beehives, chickens, turkeys, and maybe a goat or two to the farm. I’d like to have an on-site farm stand as well as a community center– a place where people can have functions (I’d love to see Slow Food convivia or school groups use my farm as a meeting place) and also take workshops and classes on things like starting a garden, canning produce, making beeswax candles and such. I’d like to sell at farmer’s markets and do CSA business. There is going to be a lot to learn and a lot to do, but I’m excited. I’m young, I’ve got my two hands and a good head on my shoulders, and most importantly, I’m passionate about it. The only way to get what you want is to go out and get it. So that’s what I’m going to do.

Okay, not exactly. But you don’t have to go out and purchase herbs at the nursery every time you want or need a new plant. You can do it right at home with a propagation method called layering. It’s quite simple. Take a long, low-growing branch from you plant (leave it attached), strip the leaves from the middle of the branch, and bury the stipped section under the soil. You should have several inches of the tip of the branch growing above the soil. You’ll likely find it helpful to anchor the midsection so it stays buried– I find paperclips to be useful for this. Unbend your paperclip so it forms and “s” shape, then using scissors, snip it in half. Now you have two “u” shaped anchors. Just push it into the soil over the branch you’re trying to layer, then cover with soil. In a few months time, your baby plant should be rooted well enough to remove from the mother plant and transfer to it’s own pot. It’s that simple! Layering is a great way to create new plants to expand your garden and to have on hand to give as gifts (herbs are always great for housewarming presents!). For additional infomation on herbs, notably other methods of propagation, check out the Herb Society of America’s The Beginner’s Herb Garden Guide at http://www.herbsociety.org/beginherb/index.php.