About Joanna
Joanna manages many behind-the-scenes aspects of work on the farm, taking primary responsibility for vegetables & other cultivated plants; she selects varieties, develops and implements the planting plan, monitors and identifies problems, and saves seed. She also takes charge of recordkeeping, database management, scheduling, technical aspects of web development, and accounting. A geologist by training, Joanna enjoys landscape exploration in various forms, including hiking, canoeing, and nature observation, especially bird watching. She also enjoys cooking and eating really good food.
Gears shift in May. Cool-weather crops are in the ground and growing or being harvested. These need maintenance: weeding, mulching, and/or watering, depending on conditions. But the hot-weather crops begin to take center stage in terms of attention. The greenhouse is packed with tomato and pepper transplants that have grown remarkably fast this year. We’re still prone to get frost in our valley through mid-May; we’ve had light frosts at that time for about the last three years. Various questions include: Are we done with frost? And will that next round of storms in the forecast bring hail? Is it better to procrastinate and put incrementally more stress on already big transplants to get safely through one more storm, or is it better to get them in the ground just a bit earlier where they’ll be happier so long as they don’t immediately get pounded by torrential rain or pummeled by hail? How many plants can we protect with sheets if we do end up with a frost threat? We spend a lot of time looking at weather forecasts & long-range models, especially at this time of year. A couple days ago, the National Weather Service was showing 6-10 day and 8-14 day outlooks that showed a high probability of warm. As I initially wrote this on Apr. 30, that forecast window started to trend towards chilly. Sigh. Update: We decided to put the first planting of tomatoes out on May 1 & 2, hopefully for the best. A partial to-do list for early May follows. Continue reading →
Whole-milk ricotta is the easiest fresh cheese to make at home, requiring fairly standard kitchen equipment and a minimum of steps. It doesn’t take very long and produces a very tasty and versatile product which we think tastes much better than the ricotta that’s readily available in stores. By some definitions, whole-milk ricotta is not really a cheese (because there’s no culture or rennet), and it’s technically not true ricotta (which is made from reheating whey of hard cheese but produces miniscule quantities of curd). However, we consider the simple process and tasty results to be a good first step into home cheese-making. Continue reading →
One of our favorite ways to use mint is to infuse its flavor into various beverages. Most of these involve heating the liquid, then tossing in a few sprigs of mint. To maximize the mint flavor, we’ve found that it is best to add the mint when the liquid is a bit below the boiling point of water. Here are a few recipes for using mint in diverse beverages including tea, mojitos, and chocolate milk. Continue reading →
As of 2012, we have had three sightings of Small-mouthed Salamanders at Chert Hollow Farm. All observations have been in the spring in moist permanent beds. We generally find them when hoeing beds in preparation for planting. Fortunately, all of the ones we’ve found have escaped a direct encounter with the hoe. The one in the photograph sat still for a while in the sun, semi-encrusted in soil, before warming up enough to scurry off through the weeds.
We’ve had two observations of the Western Painted Turtle at Chert Hollow Farm between 2007 & 2012, both times near the house, and both times moving fast. Their primary habitat tends to be aquatic, so the ones we’ve seen are probably just passing through. They certainly seemed in a hurry to get somewhere else, and aren’t at all shy.
An excellent spinach for overwintering. Winter flavor is sweet & candy-like. Spring leaves can grow quite large. This is an open-pollinated variety.
A September 2011 planting provided some harvestable yield in each month from November through the following April. Growth habit in the winter requires tedious leaf-by-leaf harvest, as the leaves are positioned parallel to the ground. In spring, growth habit becomes more upright and it is easier to harvest by knife.
Seed source: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Tiger Swallowtails are common butterflies at Chert Hollow Farm.
This individual made its way into our greenhouse but couldn’t figure out how to get out. So in the cool morning, when it was moving slowly, I took it out of the greenhouse (minimizing contact with the delicate wings) and snapped a few photos.
As of 2012, we have one recorded observation of this snake on the farm. Our indoor cat somehow found this one; we promptly took it away from her, photographed it, and released it outdoors. From the MDC description:
This nondescript little snake is a woodland species and usually remains hidden under rocks or logs or in leaf litter….It feeds chiefly on earthworms.
As we were packing & delivering CSA shares today, we thought of a few more details that we wanted to communicate to members. Here’s the list: Continue reading →
Spring is in moving along in fast-forward mode. Soil temperature readings have been over 60ºF, providing good germination conditions for pretty much anything that is sensible to plant at this time of year. Such exceedingly warm conditions are cause for concern, though, as plants may get off to too-early a start and not be prepared for more normal conditions (let alone a true cold spell) in later spring. Here’s a look at the recent weather conditions, and what it means for our current planting plans. Continue reading →
