Our new addition "helps" out in the greenhouse

The newest addition to our family snuggles while his sister and mom plant nasturtiums in the warm greenhouse.

These look just like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower seeds. They all roll around. Notice it states "50 days" on the seed packet. From planting until harvest if all works out well.

Lisa is repotting this perennial jasmine. It has many roots and was in a 4 inch wide pot. A tad crowded in there.

Another new flower for this year's bouquets. Tiny seeds in the left hand packet, pelleted seeds in the tube in the right hand packet.

Big brother is ready to help plant nasturtiums. We reserve some of the larger seeds for the little hands to help with. Florencio pre-moistens the soilless seed starting mix and fills 50 cell pack flats for us. When we are all planting at the same time he is hard pressed to keep up with us. Unless of course we are planting tiny seeds.

Louise occasionally needs a pointer as to which hole to drop the seed in. Ethan is on a roll. Baby brother snoozes on.

More seeds mom!

This time of the season the tops of the flats still show the soil. Not too long and this will all be greenery. Florencio has a few stacks of flats waiting for us.

April 7th

Plants are thriving in the greenhouse.These are tomato and pepper plants.

Rhubarb we started from seed. Growing right along.

A 50 cell flat of lettuce. 10 seeds of 5 different varieties of romaine and leaf lettuce in this flat. The red variety is called "Outredgeous" and only two seeds germinated. :(

The first basil has made its way into the raised bed in the greenhouse. Basil likes a warm/hot environment and will grow here all summer. 

More of the purple asparagus has germinated. Quite a few of the 197 we seeded have come up. Excited to plant them out later in the spring.

The red celery is showing its true colors. It will be interesting to see what it will taste like.

The green celery is holding its own too.

Out in the cold frames the broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage is waiting in line to be planted in the field. Many plants move from the warmth of the greenhouse to the somewhat sheltered cold frames before moving to the field and having to fend for themselves in the elements. The cold frames protect from drying, cold winds.

Asparagus is popping up in the new raised be Florencio built up around them.

The blueberry bushes in the foreground are beginning to flower. The electric company needed somewhere to dump a bunch of chips this winter. They became mulch under the blueberries.

These are the greenhouse tomatoes. We started them in January and they are growing up their stakes in their healthy, vibrant green color.

Some of the tomatoes are starting to flower. Next they will be setting fruit. Not all tomatoes will produce inside a greenhouse. All of these full sized tomatoes are specially bred to produce in a greenhouse. We have experimented with growing a few cherry tomatoes in the greenhouse as well.

A fragrant dianthus blooming in its 4 inch pot in the greenhouse.

Tulips and daffodils bloom near the row of roses in the foreground.

Pretty columbine nods in the herb garden. Mom loved columbine and tried to have every variety possible.

This is lovage, a very large plant related to celery. It will get taller than us and is edible.

A flowing bed of Star of Bethlehem greets us as we stroll past the lathe house which provides shade in the heat of summer.

Our family farmhouse near the gardens.

Pink and white bleeding heart. Another sign of spring.

The large and very old King apple tree near the greenhouses is blooming its head off!

A tight peony bud.

I love the stripes of these variegated irises.

Our very large lavender is showing new green growth. The bluish leaves are from last year.

There are two colors of striped irises.

Many spring bulbs blooming together.

A golden hop twines its way up a post.

Delphinium in the back of this bed as well as Sweet William in the front. We grew these from seed last year and they enjoy the heat up against the south wall of Grandma Daisy's trailer. 

Lilies we planted last year are growing and they have little lilies growing up next to them. They have multiplied. Whoohoo!

Another view of the lilies with their little babies. Daisies in the background.

This is slug damage on a new lily we planted this spring.

Another peony bud.

Sometimes peony buds will have ants. They usually aren't a problem.

These first 4 little peonies (greenish-red growth) were in a gallon pot for several years and had grown through into the ground all around. Florencio dug it up and divided it into four plants.

One of the many blooming daffodils at the farm.

The main field at the farm has been plowed by our nephew Andrew. He keeps our equipment operating, too. Thanks Andrew.

The first greenhouse cucumber is ready and she loves them.

A bite from the end, then one from the side. Of course!

"See Aunt Lorrie?"  

Pretty flower seeds, asparagus and walking about the gardens

The red calyxes of this hibiscus plant are used in teas. After reading up on these beauties, the entire plant seems to be edible. Very interesting! Also grows up to 5 feet tall.

These are new to us this year. They are pretty, too.

Seeds of all different sizes, shapes, and colors today. These are fluffy looking. The little pale ends would get caught in animal fur and the animal would help spread the seeds around. Now for humans... our socks might do the same thing.

Eggplant seeds up close and personal.

The Rosita eggplant are a rosey hue. Another new seed for us to grow. You could Google Baker Creek seeds at rareseeds.com and check them our. Pretty.

A pretty orange flower. Go Beavers!

Green cauliflower anyone? I suppose I should be equitable and say "Go Ducks".

Purple cauliflower. We have grown this one before and it is VERY tender. Mmmmm.

Florencio cut some of the first asparagus just now.

Angie and Florencio love to eat it right out of the field. Me too! So fresh and crunchy. Delicious.

Florencio preparing a bed for carrots. Colorful carrots will be planted in the raised bed so they might grow without running into rocks or hard packed soil.

Across the top flap of this carrot seed packet it states what is in their "Rainbow Mix" of carrots. Excited to see how they turn out.

A baby purple kohlrabi has sprouted. So cute.

This is a LARGE tomato that starts out small like all the rest.

Sweet Annie seeds are like dust. So small and difficult try and plant one in a cell. They will grow up to 6 feet tall. They smell wonderful and will go into flower arrangements or wreaths in the fall.

Purple asparagus from seed. It doesn't appear to have a very good germination rate. Not many coming up at the moment. Hopefully more will germinate.

Expanding our herbs. Marjoram and sage for the boxes later this summer. The poppies are dark purple. Excited to see how they transplant out. Poppies don't like to be bothered so great care is taken to get them in their outdoor locations.

The sun is getting low and two sections of the right hand raised bed is planted with carrots. The left wooden cold frames protect seedlings as they make their way from greenhouse to the outside. Tender plants from the greenhouse need to be "hardened off" and gotten used to the elements before they are planted in the ground. These wooden boxes protect the young plants from wind and keeps their temperature a little more constant than just out in the field.

Rows of carrots lined up in these two boxes. Now if the slugs, ants and birds will leave them alone when they sprout.

Fruit trees are blooming in the orchard. 

Blueberries are starting to bloom, too.

The field is almost dry enough to plow. Early this year.

The buds of the various grapes are starting to swell. Leaves and tiny grape clusters will show soon.

The grapes and blueberries have drip irrigation on them. Some of these grapes are very old. The gnarly lower portion is 20-30 years old on some of these grapes. 

Some blueberry blossoms are dark pink like this. Some varieties have lighter colored blossoms. 

Marionberry canes are twisted around each other to act as more support for their trellis system. Then the long canes are gently wound around the double wires. A few leaves are starting to show.

Shorter grapes trellised a bit differently.

This may be the oldest grape vine on the farm. Such a thick trunk.

A different row of Marionberries has more leaves showing.

These are the fig trees. Whitish bark and a different growth habit set them off.

Fortunate to get a photo of our resident hummingbird. He has a distinct call that always catches my attention.

He didn't like me getting any closer to him and decided to take off. This is with a zoom lens.

Mt. Hood through the white blueberry blossoms.


Another day at the farm. Ahhhh.
Lorrie