This record breaking summer heat and drought is making for miserable working conditions for Missouri farmers. Dean & I are a part of the local agriculture scene, though we farm more for organic promotion, recreation, and creation purposes. For the farmer who is required to be outdoors all day and everyday, it is disheartening to see your crops dry up and wither in the sun. My friends at EarthDance Farms as well as all the local farmers cannot seed any more carrots, beets, and beans for a fall crop because the earth is rock hard, and the seeds cannot germinate without rain. I miss my favorites: purple haze carrot, candy cane beets, and tender bush green beans! Please pray for rains, several rains for Missouri and our neighboring midwest states. We need God’s divine intervention.
Deanna Greens and Garden Art’s tropicals and houseplants such as bird of paradise, hibuscus, banana trees, spider plants, red leaf philodenrens, arrowheads, rabbit foot ferns, and asparagus ferns love this heat and humidty as long as they are under our shade trees during the day and have plenty of water. We water everything twice a day when it is over 100 degrees, which means almost everyday for the past 6 weeks! Our oldest daughter took care of the plants, cats, and house while we vacationed in cooler Minnesota. We were so thankful for a much needed break! Now onward to the Saturday markets and the rebuild of our greenhouse.
Category Archives: vegetable
The Ambiance and Menu
The ambiance and local menu tonight was colorful. My huge kitchen is decorated with vases of our cut flowers and the fireplace mantle is overcome by beautiful blue hydrangeas from my parents’ yard. Dean & I’s dinner plates were filled with roasted spring root veggies and beef farm fresh by friends who allow their cattle to graze in their farm’s natural pastureland. I sit on my patio listening to the evening chatter of the birds and crickets until the summer night sky is dotted with fire flies. I needed some beauty in my life today.
My feline companions bat at the moth and June bug on the patio screen hoping to get a hold of them. Celine and Lily will need to stay inside as the neighborhood Great Horned owl visits our tall backyard maple tree some evenings. This may be one of those evenings. We protect our animals from harm with barriers like screen doors. Maybe similar to how our God sets up boundaries for us. I take in the beauty of our green friends, the plants we care for everyday. Tonight I will not water or trim or plant. I will sit and enjoy the greenery. They endured the sudden hail storm yesterday. Our elephant ear , banana trees, and birds of paradise have ripped leaves now. These plants will come through after some shedding. Is not life like that? We get hammered by hard blows, unwarrantly and needlessly. Yet, we rise again to be ourselves, probably better people for it if we allow. Thank you God for the beauty my eyes behold tonight, and the reminder that the heart heals.
Restlessness
I have been everywhere and back this past 10 days. Yes, it has been that long since I posted on my blog. Besides my full-time job and everywhere it sends me any given day, I have spent time with family, and of course at the greenhouse. The greenhouse is not so crowded these days. Yeh! We have been selling many botanicals, perennials, and herbs, mostly at the Saturday farmers’ market. Our wild-looking tomato plants have not been a hot selling item. Not because of their looks we do not suppose, but because the township where we sell does not allow its residents to plant vegetable gardens! Yes, you read that correctly. I could not believe what I heard residents saying. So our healthy, long-stemmed tomato plants have made new homes in organic farm fields as well as in family and friends’ yards where they are wanted. Our farmers’ market clients have swooped up bedding plants and hanging planters. Our greens are loved by others besides ourselves! With my restless personality, we have started moving some other plants out of the greenhouse to our yard in preparation of our move Memorial Day weekend. Our “momma” plants, a huge arrowhead, rabbit’s fern, and red-leaf philodendron are sheltered under the Japanese maple near our front porch. The beautiful geraniums made their way to the wagon in our front yard. And the Kingston ferns are loving the filtered sunlight under the big sugar maple. My husband put up the screen house in the backyard ready to put the little plants on tables inside after this busy Mother’s Day weekend. It the midst of all this activity, one evening I found an immature robin bird sleeping in the “momma” red-leaf. It was awaken by my watering. He scurried away from me in short flight, but hung around the front yard. I think this robin bird became as restless as I feel. He was not around the next morning. So happy our plants made a home for him while he was learning to fly. Just hope the neighbor tom cat did not come around.
Happy Harvest Day of My Arugula
Have you ever tried arugula? I highly encourage partaking in this green, grown organically, of course. It has a peppery flavor and is used as an herb, vegetable, or salad green. Arugula is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid, manganese, calcium, and magnesium; a very good source of riboflavin, potassium, copper, and iron; and a good source of zinc. It is an awesome herb, vegetable, and salad green. I planted a flat of seeds, and love the fragance it permeated throughout the greenhouse as it grew this month of March. This leafy green eluded to a fresh salad sometime soon. Well, today I had my first arugula salad for this spring season. Sliced a boiled egg, sprinkled some shredded cheddar, and lightly tossed with a simple buttermilk dressing. Yummy!!! And baby arugula is mighty tasty on a pizza or in pasta. Plans are made already for this weekend’s menu in this culinaire’s kitchen.
Down The Row
Working down the field row of freshly planted garlic bulbs, I cover each bulb with the organic soil using a hoe at the historic Mueller Farm in Ferguson, Missouri. Those bulbs will sprout greens very soon, as we have had a mild winter. Garlic greens add so much flavor to stir frys, salads, and mashed potatoes.
Gazing down a greenhouse row of beautiful houseplants and perennials, asking myself, “what did we get ourselves into”? So many plants to care for in this 1300 square foot greenhouse. Memorial Day weekend Deanna Greens and Garden Art will move this greenhouse to Boone Hollow Farm in Defiance, Missouri. We will have a moving sale on houseplants not sold before the big move. We will convert to total organics, and grow more edibles, lots of vegetables and herbs.



