Ridge Berry Farm: The Last Frost

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We knew we were taking a risk when we transplanted some of our vegetables earlier this month. That risk was frost....and this week started with our greatest fear: two nights of below zero temperatures.

We were caught off guard on the first night. After assessing the damage the next morning, we decided things were not so bad. We had taken in everything we could and in our raised beds the only casualty seemed to have been our heritage wax beans.

On the second night, we decided to protect as much as possible. We improvised by putting together some makeshift greenhouses. In the barn, we had found some plastic vapour barrier. We propped it up using our trellises and covered the most delicate plants (basically everything but the cabbage varieties).

Makeshift "greenhouse" to protect against the last frost

We were not certain this would work but in the end things seem to have gone quite well.

In fact, we do not seem to have been affected...with one exception: our kiwis. We were horrified to see all of our Kiwi leaves turn black as if they had suffered a major burn. At first we were extremely worried. Last year, they had survived a very early Spring and late frost. This year, I was not so sure.

After a few days though, we were somewhat comforted to see new leaves spring out and actually new flower buds. Things may still turn out very well.

Frost-damaged Kiwi vine, quickly on the path to recovery

On the planting front, Tristan and I finished all of our raspberry rows. By dividing the planting process into separate tasks, we were able to bring our timing from 3 hours a row, to one and a half hours and eventually down to 35 minutes.

The front portion of the farming is almost complete and looking rather good. Our skills are slowly improving.

Our rows are getting straighter and our efficiency is improving

Amazingly, our red and black currants, planted just a couple of weeks ago, look like they will flower and fruit (like our Gooseberries). All of of our stock so far has taken to our soil very well. The more we see things like this, the more we are motivated.

Red Currants: planted as "little sticks" but already showing signs of budding

Having planted all of our stock, we decided to begin work on the side of the barn. Here we were determined to plant Lavender. When I think Lavender, I usually think of the Cote D'Azure in the South of France. However some folks in the Niagara Peninsula have made it a viable local agricultural crop.

Since some of the items we will carry in our store include Niagara based Lavender products, we wanted to showcase this plant close to the country market. For this purpose, we obtained from our friends at Niagara Essential Oils a local variety of Lavender which is effectively a cross between English and French Lavender (it has the scent of French Lavender but is easier to care for and smaller like its English counterpart).

So Tristan and I created a new raised bed which was eventually covered with gravel. The stone will reflect the sun and provide a hotter climate for the plants.

Planting Lavender...and making it look relaxing!

Now we wait....hopefully over time these 40 plants will mature to beautiful blooming bushes.

This week, we also expanded our vegetable garden toward the Beaver pond. With our potatoes chitted (or pre-sprouted), it was time to create some rows and plant them. I guess we'll see how these turn out later in the year.

Our "chitted" potatoes

The expansion to the vegetable garden: rows of potatoes being tilled

This week, our foraging experience came courtesy of Roger, our neighbour and postmaster. He brought to us a Dryad Saddle mushroom which he had found in the forest. This was an edible find he suggested we look into. He told us where he found them, but try as we might, we simply could not find them.

Returning home a little deflated, we actually discovered some on an old fallen log across our creek leading to the Beaver pond.

These are beautiful mushrooms and given their look, I prefer their other name: the Pheasant Back Saddle mushroom; the pattern on the top is very reminiscent of the feather pattern on a pheasant.

The Pheasant Back (or Dryad) Saddle Mushroom

These mushrooms can grow to well over 12 inches and the ones we found were certainly in that range. When they are large, they are not as tender as younger versions of this variety. In any case, we decided to give them a try.

I sliced them and fried them in butter. We then added caramelized onions and dried herbs. I even tossed in some of our Garlic Scapes. A touch of salt and pepper and some heavy cream provided a decadent topping for an open faced baguette sandwich....what a find!

A great way to enjoy the Pheasant Back Saddle mushroom

With the many trees blossoming, I decided to try to create an inventory of useful trees (for nuts, tapping or fruits).

Since we had used the bush hog to clear some of the inaccessible land last fall, we quickly discovered certain things we had not noticed before. One of these great finds was two rows of Juneberries (Amelanchiers or Saskatoon Berries). I had actually planned to plant some...now, we may not have to.

The last Spring time blooms of the Juneberry

We also discovered quite a few strawberries. These are not wild, but seem to be remnants of the old 10 acres of "pick your own" that used to be on the farm.

These surviving Strawberry plants can be found just about everywhere on the property

These along with the many old raspberry and wild blackberry canes will definitely keep us busy come harvesting season.

I will leave you this week with just a few Spring time photos of some the flowering trees I have been working to identify. The list is long. There is so much, I fear it will be quite a while before we can really catalogue all of the little treasures on this land.