Tuesday, 11 March 2025
Hello, fellow farmers!
Snap and snow peas are growing in the greenhouse. (See the page banner photo above.) I imagine within a week they will be ready to go out.
I’ve planted the first wave of tomatoes and peppers. None have sprouted yet.
See links below for info. on the varieties of peas, peppers and tomatoes available this year (so far).
Spring is coming! The greenhouse shelves are mostly empty with bags of soil stacked alongside them, but not for long!
On 26 February, I planted snow and snap peas. They have all sprouted and are under the lights in the greenhouse now.
Snow pea varieties:
’Avalanche’
‘Little Snowpea Purple’
Snap pea varieties:
’Cascadia’
’Little Snappea Crunch’
’PLS 141’
’Sugar Ann’ (very limited)
’Sugar Bon’
I will update the pea page soon with full descriptions. Thank you for your patience.
This photo was taken exactly one year ago
(27 February 2025) which shows that I am behind schedule this year. Yikes! I had a persistent cold that held me back awhile. All good now.
This is present day reality. Better late than not at all!
It’s a peak gardening experience to enjoy fresh sweet crisp homegrown watermelon on a hot day! That day on WILLS FARM was Thursday, 5 September. This is variety ‘New Orchid’. Black Labrador Owen and I had some together and shared the rest with the hens. Everyone wins!
Cucumber ‘Baby’
Melon harvest 7 September 2024
Basil and young lemongrass plants need to wait until there is more space on the table. I don’t want to set up a rabbit buffet! Coming soon: cucumbers and melons.
Go to the squash pages: summer, winter, pumpkin.
I know I said that pepper plants are out of stock. Not quite! I have 3 fully mature and fruiting ‘Caribbean Red’ plants in the house which I may drag out today. They were planted last year in mid summer.
Hungry? Try Once a year spring slaw on the prep & cook page.
THANK YOU to the farmer who adopted the 2 purple tomatillo plants that needed a good home!
Beautiful purple tomatillo fruit.
Squashes and cucumbers are growing in the greenhouse. I have transplanted 3 varieties of green basil and one purple. Melons have been planted. Next I will be planting beans and sunflowers.
Tomato plants are crowding me out of the greenhouse!
Tomatillos are also growing nicely.
Planting paper - carrot ‘Purplesnax’
Planting papers!
A simple idea.
Seeds are glued to paper towels
in the proper spacing.
The paper towel is planted in your garden.
How to use planting papers:
Water your garden soil in the planting area.
Place the planting paper on the soil.
Mist (or water very lightly) the planting paper.
Cover the moistened planting paper with 1/4 inch of garden soil or vermiculite and pat it down a little to ensure soil is contacting the seeds.
Keep the area moist until the seeds sprout.
(Radishes sprout fairly quickly; carrots take longer. Be patient and keep the area moist.)
Quick to plant.
No thinning!
No spilled seeds.
I used the cheapest paper towels so that they will break down easily.
The seeds are glued to the towel with washable glue.
Planting paper seed varieties:
Carrot ‘Mokum’ 56 days. If you appreciate fresh carrots, you must try this one! Crisp, yet very easy to munch. So brittle and delicate, in fact, that it has to be hand dug, as it cannot withstand mechanical harvesting. Enjoy Mokum as a baby carrot or as a full-size 6-8 inch tasty treat. Very rich in vitamin A and high in sugars. Striking orange roots with contrasting thick dark green tops. It's still the finest fresh-eating carrot we know. Nantes type. (Territorial Seed)
Carrot ‘Purplesnax’ 70-75 days. The newest member of the Snax carrot family, Purplesnax has a sweet and mellow flavor that makes it a superb variety for enjoying fresh. The lean Imperator roots reach 8-9 inches long with a dazzling combination of color: purple outside and a golden interior. If you’ve had purple carrots that tend to bolt, try Purplesnax, as they stand up longer in the garden. (Territorial Seed)
Radish ‘Donato’ 21 days. New! Early, mildew resistant, and reliable. Our first downy mildew-resistant radish. Donato has consistently performed well in trials, holding its round shape and quality even during warm, summer weather. Earlier and with better field-holding ability than Crunchy King. Crisp and mild with a hint of sweetness. (Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
Extra-early and refined.
Radish ‘Rover’ 21 days. Rover matures early, holds well in the field, and produces fewer oval radishes under heat stress than other varieties. Extremely uniform and attractive. Roots are smooth and dark red with crisp, white flesh. Very widely adapted. (Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
I’ve been busy transplanting: little tomato plants from groups in mini loaf pans to 4 inch pots — 216 tomatoes. Also transplanted 63 tomatillos. Next I’ll be transplanting the smaller group of dwarf tomatoes.
The tomato plant page is up! All 2024 varieties that will be offered on the farm table are listed.
Marydee is already harvesting spring lettuces (and some overwintered spinach) for this gorgeous salad!
Newly transplanted young tomato plants in the greenhouse.
WILLS FARM welcomes three new future laying hens
More updating needed! The chicks are laying now! Cute little 45 gram practice eggs. Someone is producing double yolks! (Don’t have an ID on that one yet.)
Double yolks! In decades of raising chickens, I have never before had a young hen (pullet) produce double yolks in their first smaller eggs. This is the third known instance so far.
Soon I need to deconstruct the micro barn and encourage the new chickens (Ruth Carol, Sybil and Tia) to move into the big barn with Margaret and Quinn.
I may leave it as an open structure for a “hang out” mostly out of the weather.
The chicklets moved to the pen with their new micro barn yesterday. At first they huddled in one tiny corner while the older hens commented loudly. It wasn’t long before they commenced exploring, finding their new food source, happily cheeping and looking at the giant hens next door.
It was all fun and games until bedtime when the cheeping became strident. “WHERE IS OUR FAMILIAR DOG CRATE? WE ARE GETTING COLD!”
I had to force them into the micro barn where there is lots of fluffy bedding, and they eventually discovered their lizard heat lamp (no light) and a big heating panel. I also put a battery candle in there to help them adjust to the new scene.
All survived the night.
First moment in the new pen huddled in the corner. They’re over 4 weeks old now with plenty of feathers and each other to keep warm.
Out exploring the new territory in view of Margaret and Olga, two of the three big hens.
I made the micro barn welcoming, with two heaters and a candle, but it wasn’t the familiar dog crate, so there was some distressed complaining.
At 3 weeks old (left to right): Tia (Production Blue), Ruth Carol (Dominique) and Sybil (Lavender Orpington).
The chicks — 3 weeks old as of 11 April — enjoying their micro park.
(Left to right) Tia, Sybil and Ruth Carol at one week old. - WILLS FARM
Ruth Carol, Tia and Sybil joined WILLS FARM on Saturday, 23 March.
Birds like vegetables, too! (But not as much as rabbits..)
If you see this zig zag pattern of cuts on the edge of leaves, that is from birds. They have done slight damage in my garden, even though they have access to masses of spinach, bok choy, and lettuces. Notably they seem to avoid the red lettuces entirely.
Rabbit in the yard next door on Saturday, 16 March.
- WILLS FARM
Rabbits also like vegetables!
Remember to protect your vegetable plants from rabbits. They really enjoy fresh greens.
Horizontal support netting for peas - WILLS FARM.
For snap pea support, I’m trying a new thing this year — layers of horizontal 4 inch netting. I was reading comments at Tomatoville that mentioned production being higher for both peas and tomatoes using that method. I’ll be setting up tomato plants the same way using 6 inch netting.
Lettuces ‘Newham’ and ‘Merlot’ harvested in 2023
- WILLS FARM
Harvest 2023
For the first time last year I carefully recorded my harvest. You may be surprised at the numbers. (I was.)
The tomatoes are growing steadily after transplant. The tomato page is up now. - WILLS FARM
Tomato seed planting
The tomato plants are growing! (See photo above.) Tomatillos and peppers, also have sprouted and are under the lights.
On 15 March I planted the first group of tomato seeds. The tomato page is up now..
I have also planted seeds of a new category (which are now sprouting): dwarf tomato plants which grow 3 to 4 feet high, making them easier to manage than standard size tomatoes which can grow to 6 feet or more. Another advantage is that dwarf tomatoes are more suitable for growing in pots.
All of the dwarf tomato plants will be open pollinated — not hybrids, so seeds saved will grow true to the parent plant.
Dwarf tomato seeds are from Renaissance Farms in Bloomington, Indiana.
Delaware hen Quinn’s reaction when told that 3 chicks will be joining the WILLS FARM flock this spring.
Radishes freshly rinsed. These are from last year. I’m running late on planting them this year.
Barnevelder hen Olga napping after her dust bath. Supervising the micro barn construction has been tiring - WILLS FARM.
Newly planted vegetable starts covered.
Tips to ensure success when planting.
I used a warm and dry spell recently to construct a micro barn within the hen pen which will be a temporary home for the 3 new chicks when they are juveniles (pullets).
The older hens (Margaret, Olga and Quinn — Black Australorp, Barnevelder, and Delaware breeds) need awhile to get used to the idea of new roommates. They will be able to see but not harm.
The micro barn in progress. Hinged roof installed. It’s made entirely of scrap material and one piece of art because I didn’t have sheet stock to use on the walls. (Painting is a 1984 Slivinski “June is Busting”.) The other walls are cedar shingles on frames.
