Growing organic heirloom produce is not hard. Here are 6 steps to make your journey easy.

1. Find specific heirloom vegetable plants do best in Your Garden Zone area. Local fellow gardeners are a good source of this information.

2. Locate your heirloom vegetable seeds. We use Johnny’s Seeds www.johnnysseeds.com. There is also Seeds of Change, and other

3. Start your seeds in the early spring indoors, or in a greenhouse. When growing your vegetables from seeds you have to get your garden started earlier than if you are buying field grown plants from the nursery. Follow the package directions for seed germination. Some seeds can be started directly in the ground; others should be started in pots and later transplanted.

4. Fencing may be needed to keep out wildlife, or household pets.

5. Keep a close eye on your plants while they are growing. Heirloom vegetables are more susceptible to disease then other types of vegetable plants.

6. Remove any diseased plants from the garden as soon you as spot them. This will help to prevent the disease from spreading to the other plants in the garden.

7. Rotate your crops each year, planting a different vegetable in each area than what grew there the year before. This will help to cut down on diseases that grow in the soil.

Happy Organic Gardening!

Growing Organic Heirloom Vegetables

 Growing organic is not a new concept. Farmers have been doing it for centuries. Before WWII, there were no such things as chemical fertilizers, or insecticides.

After WWII, there was a surplus of chemicals that they had used during the war, and needed a way to use them.
Someone had the bright idea of using them as insecticides. Remember, these chemicals were originally meant to kill. They were not meant to be used in gardens across the U.S.
Before WWII, farmers for centuries used the rotation method as one way to stave off disease. By rotating crops each year or so, it helped cut down on diseases in the soils, and in the crops. Each crop has a different benefit to the soil. For example, beans and clover add nitrogen to the soil.

Heirloom vegetables are also known as old fashioned or vintage vegetables. They are vegetables grown from seeds that have been passed down from one generation to the next.  Heirloom varieties are open pollinated, which means they are pollinated by insects or the wind, and will produce “true” the following season if seeds are saved. True means that the offspring will be the same as the parent.
Hybrids came into existence in part as the U.S. grew. A hybrid is an intentional cross between two varieties to capture the best characteristics of the two different varieties. If a hybrid plant is allowed to open pollinate, and the seed saved, the offspring will bear little resemblance to the parent plant. Because of this characteristic, varieties can be patented by seed companies, and gardeners have to buy new seed every year instead of saving their own.
As the country grew after WW II, consumers wanted bigger and better. Farmers and growers needed a way to be able to transport their produce to a further distance, while still remaining fresh, and not bruised or have them rot.
Although, the consumers may have gotten bigger, they did not necessarily get better. The new hybrid produce didn’t have as much flavor, some nutrients got lost, and you could no longer seed save for the next year’s crop. People didn’t seem to care, as it was more convenient.  Buying from local farms was starting to wane, and these farmers had to choose between going under or joining the band wagon. Most joined in and grew hybrids.
While hybrids became the norm in grocery stores across America, vegetables that we now know as heirlooms were becoming a thing of the past. It is now seeing a come back across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
By planting heirloom veggies and saving the seed you will be helping to safeguard the genetic pool of our vegetables of old—and hence the food supply of our future generations.

I am sure now, when Henrietta left her last chick in the nest, she must have known he was not going to make it. They somehow must know these things. We, on the other hand did not.
We figured she was so busy with her other little peeps, that she had to leave him behind. So, we took him in the “nursery”, and put him under the heat lamp. He was doing well last night when we went off to bed. He was peeping, and still trying to get out into the world.
This morning, we found him dead.
I feel badly for the little guy. He had worked so hard, and finally made it out of his shell, only to die.

It’s exciting here at Cloverleaf Farm. For two days now, Henrietta has been hatching eggs. I have been trying to get a peek under her, but she wouldn’t hear of it.
Today, she took the older chicks out of the nest for the first time, and I got a great shot of the last chick making it’s way into this world.
Watching the miracle of life…is so beautiful, and awe inspiring.

This is Little Peep’s first look at the world outside his nesting box.

We here at Cloverleaf Farm would rather lose a crop than use chemical fertlizers, or chemical insecticides. While “garden experts”, such as Paul Parent Garden Club, are suggesting the use of RoundUp, we prefer to grow the way our ancestors did…organically. Pure and delicious!
Before WWII, the chemicals of today were non existent. The only reason we have chemical insecticides, and fertilizers, is because after WWII, the government had all these chemicals  left over from the war, and didn’t know what to do with them. It was someone’s bright idea to use them in our food gardens. Imagine putting a chemical on a pumpkin patch, and then eating the pumpkins. No, thanks.
We here at Cloverleaf Farm, would rather lose a crop, than use that crap.

Between Pyewacket’s litter of 9 kittens and now the new chicks, our pantry is starting to look like a nursery.
The 9 little kittens have been put in the old 3 seater out house with a gate. This enables them to get out and discover their big new world while still staying in the “playpen”. Pyewacket, keeps a close eye on them, while still sneaking outdoors for some fresh air.
The new baby chicks are in their growing box with the heat lamp shining down on them. This will be home for them for a few weeks until they have feathered in some. They will then go to the “baby pen” that we have set up in the barn for all the new babies.

Michael went out to check for eggs, and discovered something peeping in the coop. Henreitta’s chicks are starting to hatch. We weren’t sure whether or not they would hatch, as we have tried and it didn’t work. Excitement abounds here at Cloverleaf Farm.
She is very protective of her clutch, so we are not how many are under her, but we were excited to see Mother Nature at work. It was a beautiful sight to see.

On the previous post, I got a comment from a man by the name of Robert Nierodzik, from the Midwest. He states that he doesn’t know the Parents, or us. Well, I know he doesn’t know us, and from the way he speaks to others, I wouldn’t want to know him.
I have been doing this blog for almost 2 years, and receive very few comments. This blog was meant for distant family and friends to keep up with what is going on with us, and the farm. So, when I received the comment from “broncobob”, in the Midwest, I knew it was a plant from the Paul Parent Garden Club. If nothing else it gave us a good laugh over how he corrected my use of a possessive plural, but had one of the biggest run on sentences in the history of the English language. We needed an oxygen mask after reading it.

After listening to the Paul Parent Garden Club on Sunday, June 21, I decided to boycott it. I have that right. I am after all, guaranteed free speech by the U.S. Constitution. Read the rest of this entry »

We got the call first thing this morning that are piglets were ready to come to their new home. After finishing up a few touches on the “baby pig pen”, we set off to Tamworth to pick up the piglets. We bought them from Remick Farm.
After a few stops, we arrived at Remick to pick them up. We wanted them to be the last “errand” we did.
Wayne helped us capture two, and put them in the box in our car. The box was lined with hay, and we stuck a bowl of food in their just in case they got hungry. It is also important for them to realize that seeing us=them getting food.
They are now home, in the baby pig pen for a few days until we get the electric fence all charged up.