The sun is shining! and the gardens are drying out!

We had a great day at the market on Saturday. This time the weather cooperated.

We finally feel like we're back in business in the gardens. We're loving the break from the rain! I got a row of tomatoes in the ground yesterday and tomatillos transplanted today. I've got a whole lot left to plant, but it's a start.

Most of the tomatoes I planted before all the rain just drowned. I'll have to replant them. It's disappointing to see, but the plants in the hoophouse look wonderful, and are all just waiting to be put in the ground.

I'm on my way out to transplant more. Danny's been getting the rows prepared for me.

One new little chick greeted us this morning!

So far, it's still waiting for the others to hatch. We can hear them peeping, but we can't see any sign of pecking yet.

I won't be at the market today after all.

Change in plans. We woke up to heavy rain again this morning. Now it is storming. According to radar and the local weather forecast, by the time we could drive to St. Louis, the storm will be there too. It's supposed to last all morning.

So, I will plan to see everyone at the market next week.

Join me at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market Tomorrow!

The summer market got off to a wonderful start last Saturday! The weather was beautiful, just a little chilly and windy. The turnout was tremendous. I hope all of you who were there had an enjoyable time and will join us again. To anyone who missed it, I hope you can visit soon. Stop by and say "Hello."

I'll be bringing lots of tomato and pepper plants again. And I've been very busy grinding flours and making mixes this week. Why not try out something new? I hear there will be lots of fresh strawberries again tomorrow. You could serve them over my Healthy Pancakes or Waffles on Sunday morning.

You could even make them with our delicious Free-Range Eggs. Speaking of eggs, I be bringing more this year than in the past. We have added more hens on our farm and they are happily laying. We have also partnered with another local farm, Sunrise Farm, and I'll be bringing their eggs as well. They share our commitment to Naturally Grown and Organic practices, as well as Free-Range chickens for the best possible eggs.

Hope to see you soon!

The chicks are enjoying the great outdoors!

The chicks have all their feathers now and no longer need to be kept in the brooder. So, this afternoon the boys and I moved the old coop onto fresh grass and stocked it with food and water. Then, Bear and Nate helped me move the chicks one-by-one out to the coop.

Panda, our dog, stood by the garage door as we carried out each chick and waited to check them out. He sniffed each one as if he had to get to know them. Since he's not allowed in the garage, it was the first time he had seen them. It was funny to watch. After each sniff, he stood back and then patiently waited for the next one. After all of them were out, he followed us out to the coop and just stood and watched them as they got accustomed to their new surroundings.

Opening day of Tower Grove Farmers' Market is this Saturday, May 8th!

Come and join us! It promises to be nice and sunny and not too hot! At least that what the weatherman has to say!

Read all about it at http://tgmarket.org/

Opening day runs from 8:30am to 2:30pm. We'll be there bright and early.

I've been preparing grains and flours and mixes for days. I'll also be bringing lots of bedding plants. I have 18 different varieties of tomato plants, most of them are heirloom varieties. And I have several different varieties of peppers, both sweet and hot varieties.

I'll also be bringing lots of free-range eggs. We're getting two to three dozen a day now. Taste and see for yourself what a wonderful difference there is in the way they look and taste when the chickens are allowed to roam. And the nutritional content can't be beat.

…with a little help from my friends.

Thanks to the boys and a couple of their friends, Seth & Stuart, the mulch is finally over all the potatoes! These guys worked like champs and I think they even had fun in the process.

The mulch is a lot of work but we think it's worth it. It will help suppress weeds through most of the season, it will hold moisture in the soil, and it will protect potatoes that are close to the surface from sun damage. It also adds a tremendous amount of OM (organic matter) to the soil when it is turned under at the end of the season.

Our potato varieties this year are Desiree, a European red with yellow flesh, Caribe which has a bluish/purple skin and snow white flesh (reported to make amazing mashed potatoes), and Rose Finn Apple, a fingerling style with rose pink skin and deep yellow flesh that is great roasted. We will have them all at the market later in the season. If you want to come help dig them (yes, its all done by HAND) shoot us an email!

(Bear can confirm…it’s all done by hand.)