The weather is beginning to turn warm here. I figured it’s time to give the soil a brief rest before it begins its warm weather crops in about a month. In order to give the soil a rest, I had to harvest my carrots this weekend.

I ended up pulling out about 70 carrots yesterday. We washed them and will plan on eating them for the next few weeks. I’m really excited about these carrots- the only crops to have really successfully grown in my garden this Winter. Sure there were some radishes, and the lettuce is ready as well, but nothing was as abundant as the carrots.

The carrots are mildly sweet, very crunchy and obviously extremely fresh.

To my pleasant surprise, I have some medium sized radishes in the SFG box. Tons of carrots are growing fairly well too. Weeds had dominated the boxes for a while and competed for resources with my crops. Having taken care of those, things are going well again.

Small lettuce is also coming out as well as tiny beets. I just planted swiss chard in place of the now dead celery- which was a total failure. Spinach is now replacing the harvested radishes.

For a few weeks, the compost had smelled foul beyond anything. I tried keeping the compost tumbler latch door open for a few days, but that didn’t help. I spent about 20 mintues collecting dry leaves from our street two weeks ago, piled them in, and the scent has since disappeared. I clearly underestimated the simple yet important balance of greens and browns in the bin that are necessary for a proper compost pile. It was amazing how quickly the horrid scent went away.

a couple/few times a week the farm opens up the farmstand for people to come in and buy whatever is available.

In my last post, I mentioned Full Circle Farm. We visited the farm for the first time on Sunday, November 29 (2009). The farm has bees, chickens, lots of crops, a farmstand, and even a greenhouse.

I really loved the place, and feel very fortunate to have a farm, here in the Silicon Valley (South Bay) so close to home. Plus, I could stand to learn a thing or two from them.

We bought really great carrots, garlic and some herbs at the farmstand. Here are some pictures from our visit:

they are raising chickens at the farm. Currently I believe they only sell eggs (not meat).

nice rows of spinach, broccoli and other fall and winter crops.

it was really warm, as expected, in the greenhouse; helps extend the season when it’s too cold otherwise.

strawberries and artichokes nearby; some trees and not yet utilized land in the background.

I couldn’t resist putting up a picture of my eggplants from early October last year. I am using it to remember better gardening times, as our weather is absolutely terrible for growing anything right now.