Garden Log: March 19th-April 1st

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It’s got that new tractor smell!

Delivery of new equipment is the big news at Buffalo Ridge Orchard!  With the new tractor we’ll be able to move the hoophouses through their seasonal rotations and use this second tractor so that we can do two jobs at once.  This New Holland replaces an older, larger Case that was too big to dig potatoes, fit between orchard rows, or maneuver along vegetable rows.  And speaking of those veggies, we’re hoping that the new water-wheel transplanter will make quick work of getting them planted now that Spring really does seem to be just around the corner.  Our brassicas and lettuces are ready for some longer days in the bright sunshine!  With any luck, Winter has had its last laugh this April Fools’ Day, and we’ll all be enjoying nice Spring weather for the next couple of months!

Garden Log March 19th – April 1st:

  • Pruned 500 apple trees (Sweet 16, Crimson Topaz, Jonagold, Fuji, Snowsweet, Pristine)
  • Grafted the majority of our tomatoes for our summer hoophouse tomato rotation
  • Potted up flower seedlings into hanging baskets
  • Potted up herb seedlings into planter boxes
  • Moved all of the vegetable, herb, and flower seedlings from the sun-porch nursery to the greenhouse
  • Received delivery of our new tractor and water-wheel transplanter
  • Harvested 2 tubs of spinach & lettuce greens
  • More weeding in the hoophouses

Garden Log: March 12th-March 18th

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Micro lettuce greens are ready to be harvested in the warm, sunny, Spring-y greenhouse.

Just think, this time last year our orchard was nearing full bloom!  Of course, 2 weeks later we were getting frosts that wiped out nearly 100% of our apple crop for the year.  This year we’re still waiting for warm, sunny spring weather to break out from the greenhouse to the rest of the farm.  The snow was all but melted away over the past few days, only to have a couple more inches dropped on us last night.  And that north wind is still blowing mighty cold!  I for one am starting to lose hope in Punxsutawney Phil’s claim of an early spring this year.  However, spring will certainly arrive soon enough (likely with summer not far behind) and we’ll all be looking forward to April Showers and May Flowers until it does.

Garden Log March 12th – March 18th:

  • Pruned 500 apple trees (Honeygold, Grand Gala, Zestar!, Suncrisp, Winecrisp, Alkmene, Candy Crisp, Braestar)
  • Harvested 2 tubs of spinach & micro lettuce greens
  • Planted 10 flats of endive
  • Planted 20 flats of lettuces
  • Planted 2 rows of radishes
  • Transplanted thyme from soil blocks to plug trays
  • Weeded the hoophouse

Garden Log: March 5th-March 11th

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Orchard row after winter pruning
Orchard row after winter pruning – just 50 more rows left

Garden Log: March 5th – March 11th

  • Pruned 200 apple trees (Snowsweet, Galarina, Smoothie, Valstar)
  • Harvested two tubs of spinach
  • Harvest two tubs of micro lettuce greens
  • Planted 26 flats of lettuce
  • Transplanted tomatoes and rootstock
  • Planted one flat of creeping thyme
  • Planted one flat of oregano
  • Planted one flat of thyme
  • Transplanted sage from soil blocks to plug trays
  • Painted final coat in walk-in cooler

We are already running out of room in the heated greenhouse, which is filled with herb plants and plant starts.  When we first built the heated greenhouse we thought we would never be able to keep it full.  Four years later we have had to be very creative to get everything to fit.  We look forward to Spring so that we can start moving plants into the garden.

We had great time this Sunday brushing up on our grafting skills at Plum Creek Orchard in Swisher, Iowa.  Jerry and Kazumi Fottral have been grafting heirloom and specialty apple trees for several years and invited the crew here at Buffalo Ridge Orchard to join them for the afternoon.  It was a very successful day and we even managed to graft a few Holstein apple trees for our orchard.

Garden Log: February 25th-March 4th

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FloweringRosemary

Garden Log: February 25th – March 4th

  • Pruned 80 apple trees (Cortland, Gala, Snowsweet, Gingergold)
  • Harvested two tubs of spinach for the Mt. Vernon winter market
  • Planted one flat of sage, thyme, and oregano
  • Planted three flats of basil
  • Planted three flats of tomato rootstock
  • Painted walk-in cooler floor

The greenhouse is getting filled with plant starts.  The rosemary plants that we use for cuttings are blooming in the greenhouse.  The orchard has an addition of 12 inches of snow this week.  We have been spending our snowy days painting the walk-in cooler and working in the greenhouse.    Day-time temperatures in the hoop houses are well above 60 degrees.  The spinach is benefiting from the long days and is growing strong.

Garden Log: February 11th-25th

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Marcus Pruning

Garden Log: February 11th-25th

  • Pruned 360 apple trees
  • Harvested four tubs of spinach for the coop and Mt. Vernon’s winter market
  • Planted forty flats of rosemary
  • Planted forty flats of lavender
  • Planted tomato flats and root stock
  • Clean and insulated walk-in cooler

The past couple weeks we have been in the orchard pruning.   Although we wish that the weather was a little nicer it is a welcomed alternative last year’s warm February which caused premature bloom.  So we are happy to put on our ski masks and insulated coveralls to work out in the orchard.  Also we are still enjoying fresh spinach from the hoophouse and are savoring the  last of our winter carrots.

Garden Log: January 2nd-January 10th

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TimberSpent the week clearing timber along the pear orchard.  Vern harvested 120 bunches of carrots from the west hoop house.  The master plan for the farm is coming along with all of the trees inventoried.  The seeds ordered for the Spring and Summer arrived on Tuesday.  We can hardly wait to start the plant starts for the hanging baskets and spring lettuces.

Sweet Carrots

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We have been enjoying the carrots from out hoophouse this week.  We harvested extra carrots for the NewBo City Market and Iowa City Holiday Market.  It wasn’t until early Saturday morning that we realized that the Iowa City market is actually next week.  Although the early morning drive to Iowa City was delightful Vern and Mary were wishing they could have spent a few more hours asleep.  Luckily we were able sell most of the extra produce at the NewBo City Market.  We did have some left over carrots and leeks which I promptly used for a delightful carrot, leek, split pea soup.  Of course there were less carrots then I had originally planned for the soup because I just couldn’t stop munching on them as I was preparing the soup.  There really nothing to compare to garden fresh fall and winter carrots.

First day of official business

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Smaller hoophouse over the carrots for the winter

Well, we’re no longer just operating under Zahradnik’s farm; Buffalo Ridge Orchard, LLC has officially opened for business, as of today (1 November 2012).  And what a day it was!  It all started off with a new roof for the farmhouse.  Then, not to be outdone by the Amish roofing crew, we decided that we’d get the large moveable hoophouse moved over the lettuce, spinach, kale, and leeks.  We thought that we had everything under control until just after we started the house in motion – then the skids slid in, causing the supporting tow bar to bend, and eventually crack.  So, after lunch we got a few more supports figured out, and eventually got everything covered by this evening.  Of course, the roofers were finished installing the new metal roof by about 2:00 (and it looks fabulous, by the way).  So now we have both hoophouses moved into their winter positions, the orchard all with new trunk protectors & cleaned up, deer fence strung around to deter those pesky critters, and a fancy new roof for the farmhouse to boot.  What a great way to start off!

Tomorrow, just to keep things rolling, we’ll be harvesting produce (lettuce, kale, spinach, collards, fresh herbs, a few more tomatoes, etc.) and getting ready for our first vendor spot in the newly established NewBo Market in Cedar Rapids.  We’re hoping that the new market really takes off and will be a real benefit for the community.  Make sure to stop out on Saturday mornings in November and December to see us sometime!

October Sunset

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This last Friday the sunset at the farm was breathtaking.  Normally the calm that is brought by the sunset is followed by a flurry of activity on the farm.  Whether it is racing to spray the orchard while the winds have subsided or rolling the row cover over our fall lettuces.  The open horizon on the farm is interrupted by old farm buildings and volunteer trees and brush along the edge of the garden.  This winter we will work to remove the old livestock buildings and modify some of the units for equipment and bulk material storage.  We will also continue to clear out the volunteer trees along the south side of the garden so that we can replace them with the pear orchard.  However this Friday the sunset made it easy to forget about the future horizon and just appreciate the calm that the red and orange sky brings to the farm.

Midwest Thunderstorm

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Everyday has its twists and turns on the farm.  Lately we have been hoping for more variability in the weather.   It was nice to have a short reprieve from the sun last Friday.  Although the we would have love to see the rain gauge fuller, the thunderstorm that rolled thru refreshed the spirit.  I had forgotten how a thunderstorm smells and feels especially with the rolling landscape at your feet.