So I wanted to give some pictures to go with my last posting. Here is the wonderful broccoli that I mentioned harvesting. It weighed in at over 1.25 lbs! Sorry for it being rotated sideways...
And here are some of the cabbages that I mentioned. I'm eating one for dinner tonight, it isn't pictured. Unfortunately I don't remember the variety, I bought them as transplants and threw away the little tag.
This picture shows some interplanting of garlic and arugula. About half the garlic is a Czech heirloom that a local farmer grows, the other half is from another local farmer but I don't know the variety (I bought the cloves in the summer and stored them till fall). They are already doing better than last year's garlic, which was chocked out by way too much lettuce. I've been more careful with my interplantings this season. But, I think the soil is also more fertile.
It's leaf season, which means I've been collecting collecting collecting to put them in the animal pen. They stay in the pen for a year, slowly breaking down and absorbing the urine and manure. The two or more feet of leaves rapidly break into little pieces and compact into about 10-12 inches of organic matter, which acts as a sponge for all the animal waste as well as habitat for bugs and microbes. The chickens eat the larger bugs and larvae, keeping flies down, and continually aerate the litter, mitigating odor. By next fall, the leaves have been converted into a great deal of wonderfully rich stuff, ready for a final composting in a pile. The pile I made of 2011's leaves has been curing for about 3 months now, and is ready for application this spring. I have, however, been using it already for the winter plantings. Here's a closeup of the compost.
Finally, here is a snapshot of the 'shogoin' turnips. They are described as a sort of dual purpose turnip, meaning they are good for both greens and roots, but I think they are mostly good for greens. I pulled these to make roasted roots, along with some beets and carrots, but the roots lacked the sweetness I was hoping for from turnips, and weren't as good as the beets or carrots. I'm growing chantenay carrots and detroit red beets, both widely available varieties, and while they are good, I think I will be switching back to a danvers type carrot next planting, as the chantenays are just too short for my taste. I like a long carrot, and with all the organic matter I've been adding, I think I can pull it off. (Chantenay carrots are short and fat, recommended for heavy clay soils, while the danvers are a bit longer)
