Today I spent the better part of the day in my high tunnel getting ready for fall.  Yep, that's right.  It was 90+ outside and I am thinking about fall.  I started my trays that you see above with great dreams of fresh cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and broccoli to last me through the cold winter months ahead.  Some may think I am a bit late to get them going but with the high tunnel for protection, I will be just fine.

In addition to starting the trays I performed some much needed maintenance on my tomato plants in hopes to keep them going as long as possible.  I actually went through and pulled several that were not doing well so that I can concentrate on the healthy ones.  As you can see, this guy does not look so good.  It took me nearly 4 hours to get through 2 rows of tomatoes.

As you can see here, when I was done, it was all worth it.  Much better airflow and cleaned up all the dead leaves.  Now on to planting radishes.

If you are already into gardening, I am sure that you have heard of the Jang seeder.  If you have not, you need to look it up.  It is amazing and saves me a ton of time,  A bit on the pricey side, but worth every penny.  I will show you how to load the seed plates below.  You need a specific size for each seed that you are going to plant.  Today, I am doing radishes.

The first thing that you do is remove the cotter pin holding the main shaft in place.  Next slip the shaft out.

Next, unscrew the white button screw.  This will allow the entire cartridge to open up and you can remove the seed plate that is already installed so you can put the correct one for radish seeds in.  I had a bean seed plate already in it as I planted beans last week.

Bean out and radish in.

Now just put it all back together and get your seed.  

I am planting "Easter Egg" from Johnny's.  I get a lot of my seeds from there.  They are located in Maine, but ship very fast.  I actually bought the Jang seeder from them also, as well as the row rake that you see below.

Add the seed, put on the lid, and the entire piece is ready to go into the Jang.

It just slips into the metal frame and snaps in place.  Easy as pie.  There are also gears that can be adjusted, but I generally don't mess with those.  Just leave them the same for each plant.  Now, we are ready to mark our rows.  I already have the bed prepared.

This is the row marker I was referring to above.  You slide the red pieces of pipe over the teeth to mark where your rows go.  Just drag it along and walla, it's done.

Next, just drive the Jang up and down each row and your planting is finished my friend.  Plants and covers all at the same time.  I planted six rows of radishes in about 5 minutes.

The finished bed.  Fresh radishes in about a month.  Now off to check the cows.

Sandy loves to ride the Mule with me.  It's kinda awkward though cause she wants to be right under my legs.  The bigger she gets, the harder it is.  We are going to have to come up with a new arrangement soon.  By the way, notice my stylish cowboy boots.

You can't get a prettier picture to end the day with than this.   Happy Gardening!

Friday is bread making day at my house.  At least from the first of May through September.  I make sourdough bread to sell at the local Farmer's Market.  It started as a filler until my produce took off, but has now become a standard for my booth.  I have developed quite a following.  Having a sourdough start is like taking care of a child.  It must be fed everyday, regardless of how you feel.  Sometimes, I think that I almost hate it.  You can keep it in the refrigerator after it gets developed, but I find that it stays better if I leave it out and just feed the darn thing.  

This is what it looks like after the first rise.  I push it down, and dump it out on my table to portion for another rise.

I try to make sure that each loaf is very close in weight to each other.  It is weighed before baking and again after so that I can put the weight on my label.  It loses a small portion of weight from baking.

Each batch that I make produces 6 loafs.

They are formed and allowed to rise in the pan before baking.  I have a commercial proofer/heater that works great for this.  

I bake them in a convection oven.  It was a learning curve for me, but works out great.  Found it on Craigs list and saved a bunch.  Just don't ask my husband or son about the day we brought it home.  It just so happens that I forgot to measure it and compare to the door of my barn kitchen.  Needless to say we got it in, some hours later.

My pride and joy!

If you are in the area of the Lake of the Ozarks, be sure to stop by the market.  We are there every Saturday morning, right on the square in Camdenton.  I will be there with my bread and other items.  Will talk about my fresh home made pasta next time.