13 Jul 2009

Summer Harvests and….Growth!

Posted by Jake

 
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Backyard Homestead..early morning…July 11th 2009
june_3
Blue Hopi Corn

 

Lots of…growth…harvesting… and WORKING in the garden right now. 

 Loving every minute of it!  Learning a lot and feeling GREAT.. being barefoot on the soil..with the plants.. under the sun!!

 Here’s a few photos and video updates from the ”Dome” and “Gardens” so far.. this summer! 

 

Planting many fruit trees this month....figs around the dome
Planting many fruit trees right now….fig tree “guild” around the dome

 

Peach tree "guild" in the front yard
Peach tree “guild” in the front yard

 

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Inside the dome…cucumbers and tomatoes vining up!

 

West side of the Growing Dome
“west side” of the “Growing Dome”
 
Golden Chard, Lacinato Kale
Heirloom Golden Chard, Lacinato Kale

 

Here’s a few sources for great ”organic/heirloom” seeds:

…for sure…check out… seedsavers.org  – an awesome source for heirlooms of all types!!  This is also a great community and educational website with very informative forums!! 

…below are a few other sources we’ve used this summer….

Golden Chardhighmowingseeds.com

Lacinato Kale - highmowingseeds.com

Blue Hopi Corn – groworganic.com

Organic Potatoes – groworganic.com

Biodynamic Cucumbers – groworganic.com

Musk Melons – johnnyseeds.com

Tomatoes - johnnyseeds.com  

 

Harvesting Cabbage
Harvesting Cabbage

 

Brassica harvest...cabbages, kale, chard
Brassica harvest…cabbages, broccoli, kale, chard.
 

 

Potatoes...and more green leaves!
Potatoes…and more green leaves!

 

 
Potatoes.....!!
Potatoes…..!!

 We grew potatoes in 15 gallon buckets…from a method we learned at  growbetterveggies.comhere.  It worked really well…and potatoes… it seems…just like tomatoes… have many different varieties…that are sooooo tasty and full of flavor!! 

There’s something special in these pigments of color.. 

Not a staple food for us anymore…but fun to grow and eat!!

 

Vertical Beds...Tomatoes in front and at the far end...melons.
Vertical Beds…Tomatoes in front and at the far end… melons.

 

Vertical melon beds
Vertical melon beds

 

Melon blossom
Melon blossom

 

Melon...budding
Melon…budding

 

young melon...growing vertically on nylon netting
young melon…growing vertically on nylon netting

 

Tomatoes
Freshly harvested…Heirloom Tomatoes

 

June "summer sun"...hitting the beds and dome
June “summer sun”…hitting the beds and dome

 

Below…are the ”June” videos…. of the ”Backyard Grow Project” and  ”Growing Dome“  

 

 

Happy Harvesting!!

  • http://www.courtneypool.blogspot.com Courtney Pool

    Wow, those are some of the most gorgeous greens I’ve ever seen!!

  • http://www.rawutah.com Jake

    …thanks Courtney…you must be surrounded by beautiful plants/greens right now at the “Tree of Life” …

    The videos I found on YouTube of the Gardens there…and the chapters on growing food in “Spiritual Nutrition” have majorly inspired our grow project…things like growing with ocean solids…and growing with LOVE. It must be such a joy to be there…we love reading about it!!

  • http://www.courtneypool.blogspot.com Courtney Pool

    Yes, I am! Glad you enjoyed Spiritual Nutrition – one of my faves!

  • http://www.rawmodel.com Anthony

    I think you have the best suburban setup ever, everyone in america needs to see this site…and the fact that youre just beginning should give everyone some REAL hope.

    Your brassica harvest looked out of this world…Im am so impressed!!!

    I absolutely love the fig guilds with the sloping rocks…they will love that extra warmth in the winter. Great stuff man!

  • http://www.rawutah.com Jake

    Thanks Anthony!! That Dino Kale… is such a Superfood!! It’s grown happily now in the dead of winter and the middle of summer!! Highly adaptogenic is seems…

    I’m excited about the fig guild too….can’t wait till there’s figs on em!! They’re still getting used to their new spots but taking hold quickly…I used mychorrizal fungi and azomite when planting…hope that helps em a long!!

    Can’t wait till your next video man…the last update from the project…was overwhelmingly inspiring…so cool to see it evolving…I can’t wait to get my cacao tree ordered….yours looks SO beautiful and happy in the dome…..amazing leaves!! The miracle fruit sounds cool to grow and eat too….so many fun superfood options to experiment with!!!

    Thanks for all the great posts….it continues to inspire!!!!