Our garden is growing

I was looking through some pictures for the shots of the garden, when to my surprise I found this shot. Obviously my kid and my dog don't think my "no dogs on my furniture" rule applies if I'm not looking. I admit that this is a cute shot of the greatest dog we have ever owned, but that couch is over a hundred years old and has been in my family since it was new. The kid and the dog are lucky I love them so much.

Now on to my reason for this session, the garden.

 

A long row of red and green cabbage along side another long row of broccoli (or as little kids say "trees") and cauliflower.

Some of the plants I started in the house are already producing food for us! Here is our first and only little tomato!

And then there is the tiny little sweet pepper!

Then there is this patch of lettuce just because Saide loves salad more than any kid I ever met.

We have started collecting strawberries. Here is what happens when you don't bring in enough to make jam. What a yummy way to prevent waste.

Thank you Lord for all the gifts you do provide with a bit of labor from us.

Going organic

Today Duane and I are headed to West Branch Michigan for a meeting with my friends at Bio Ag. I have worked with them a bit here and there after taking over the farm two years ago, but frankly I had way to much to learn all at once. So now that I have an award winning herd, my focus is going to the crops.

I did plant cover crops behind the corn last year, which is a small headstart into this years crop. I have also been planting conventional corn from the beginning. For those that aren't familiar with the term conventional, it just means plain corn, as in not altered by a chemical company to kill bugs that try to eat it, not resistant to the "killing all things green" round up.

So here's hoping I can master the art of crop management in a hury. Crops are not as simple as plant and harvest. First you need to know all the science that is going on between soil and plant and which plant uses which mineral.