Photos of Maui.

We headed off to Maui, Hawaii in November and stayed for a few weeks.  We had a great time exploring the beaches, inland and the Haleakala crater, highest elevation on the island.  From the pictures I chose to post you can get an idea of what I enjoyed the most. There were flowers EVERYWHERE.  The sights and smells were intoxicating.  We visited three of the four botanical gardens on the island and hiked along paths throughout the forests and along the coasts.  The weather was fabulous and we came home rested and feeling great.

Flower Lei

Blue Jade vine.  These flowers were fabulous.

Painted Gum Eucalyptus

These trees were everywhere and very fascinating.  The colours were unbelievable.

Not sure what these were.

Protea

Don`t know what these are either, but assuming a fruit of some kind.

Orchid

Type of Agave, I believe.

Of course the ocean.  

The coast and ocean were spectacular.  Lots of turtles swimming around the rocks eating the green foliage growing on the rocks.   Our daily beach walks were often highlighted with glimpses of the turtles.  The Humpback Whales were starting to arrive in the area to give birth and mate, so we were fortunate to see several sightings.  If you have the opportunity to visit, go for it.

New residents at the farm.

Time has gotten away on us in May and June, but we are back at our regular tasks, which includes a weekly blog post.  Want to start out with the new additions to Mistik Acres.  First being, fifty baby chicks arrived May 15th.  They resided in our garage for the first three weeks (in a pen) and since Monday they were moved outside.

The picture below is a movable pen Pat built to house the chickens for the rest of their days with us.  They are moved to new grass every day, which they love.  As soon as we move them to a new patch of grass they run around and explore.  They are all healthy, happy, eating and drinking a lot.  It is amazing how fast they grow in a very short period of time.  Our grandchildren have really been enjoying the chickens, hand feeding them worms they dig for in the soil.
We have not been able to resource any birds for meat that have been raised, watered and fed the way we wish to have them raised, so we decided it was time to take the matter into our own hands.  Along with being raised outside in a pen they can be a bit vulnerable, so they need some extra protection at night.

So, hence our second addition to the farm.  Meet Max, a Heinz 57 mix of Maremma and it looks like a Retriever x.  The family we acquired him from thought he may be a Golden Lab x.  But whatever his ancestry we really lucked out with him.  He is a gentle giant, loves kids,  and is busy keeping the coyotes out of the yard throughout the night.  

The gardens are coming along quite nicely.  There are five gardens planted at this time and we have the field garden to transplant into yet.  Some of the plantings are already mulched, but with the half inch of rain we received yesterday the gardens that are not mulched will have to be weeded before we can lay the straw.  We are taking a few weeks off from attending the Saskatoon Farmers Market this month to stay on top of the planting, weeding, watering and mulching.  Below are a few photos of the gardens.

The garlic is looking great.

Sunflower transplants.  Keeping them spaced 6" apart, so the heads stay small.

The sweet Williams will be ready within the week.

Allium

Iris Smart

Harvesting

Gourd blossoms

We are at the time of year again where the growing season is winding down, days getting shorter and nights getting cooler.   The tomatoes have produced a lot of fruit this year and they are really starting to ripen.  Our little furry friends (chipmunks, gophers and squirrels) are enjoying the ripening fruit, so we pick the tomatoes before they are fully ripe.
I came across a couple of tips for managing your tomatoes at this time of year when the nights are getting cooler.  
Pick the leaves off around the tomatoes so the sunshine can reach the fruit and they will ripen quicker.
There aren't enough warm growing days ahead to ripen newly emerging fruit, so stop the growth of tomato plants by pinching out all growing tips.  This will force energy into enlarging and ripening the fruit.

Wedding bouquets

Our Cayenne peppers and Jalapeno peppers have produced plenty of peppers and they are hot, hot, hot.  It has been a good year for celery production with all the rain.  They are crisp, juicy, sweet and strong celery flavored, unlike the grocery store celery.  The garlic is being harvested today and the onions will be dug in the next few days.

The flower harvesting has been fantastic.  We cut approximately two hundred stems of dahlias three times a week and every stem is sold.  The zinnias are also cut three times a week and are in high demand.  The sunflowers are just starting to show colour and the brown and red sunflowers are proving to be quite popular with the florists.  We have Amaranthus, Sea Holly, Ageratum, Celosias, Cosmos, Broomcorn, Millet, Wheat, Grasses, Rudbeckia, Poppy Pods, Scabiosa, Crocosmia's and many others.

We have had a wwoofer staying at the farm for the last three weeks helping us out and learning a few things about flower, vegetable and herb growing.  Wwoof stands for World Wide Organization on Organic Farms and connects people whom are interested in learning about organic farming with farms whom practice organic farming.  The extra hands have been much appreciated and she has helped out with many tasks associated with the growing and harvesting of the vegetables and flowers as well as creating flower bouquets.    Thanks so much for all your help, it has been a pleasure spending time with you.

This weekend is customer appreciation days at the Saskatoon Farmers market.  To show our appreciation we are providing a discount on all of our plants.  The perennials are 50% off the marked price and the succulents and planters are 25% off the marked price. 

EcoFriendly Sask

The following link is a newsletter written about EcoFriendly alternatives in Saskatchewan written by Penny McKinlay.
http://www.ecofriendlysask.ca/2011/08/earth-friendly-flower-arrangements.html

This particular newsletter focuses on fresh cut flowers and discusses alternatives available throughout the year.
Please support the florists whom buy locally as they are providing us, the birds, bees and critters whom make Mistik Acres their permanent or summer home, a sustainable lifestyle.
I encourage you to subscribe to the newsletters, which are interesting, informative and may provide new ideas on living an earth friendly lifestyle.

Thank you Penny.

Vegetable harvest is underway.

This past week has been the start of harvesting the peas and beans and freezing them for future consumption.  We planted both vegetables in succession, approximately two to three weeks apart.  The second planting of both vegetables are catching up to the first planting, so may have to increase the time frame between plantings next year.  We are also picking and freezing Saskatoon berries every few days.  There are plenty of wild shrubs in our yard and there is enough berries this year for us and the birds.At this time we have picked about six gallons and there are plenty more to ripen.  The raspberries are starting to ripen and we will have them available at the Saskatoon Farmers Market on Saturday.

Hen & Chick blooming.

In recent days the Tree Swallows have left the yard, sure hope they return to consume the mosquito population.  The Bluebirds are feeding their second batch of babies.  The Barn Swallows are feeding their young, as well as the Wrens and Western Wood PeeWee.  We came across a nest of Yellow Warblers while we were picking Saskatoon's.   The babies had a few feathers but their eyes were not open yet, so still very young.  We looked in the nest a week later and the young had all left the nest.  The Robins are still hanging around the yard, feeding on the ground.  I think they may be tending to eggs or babies.

At this time the Barn Swallows are chirping loudly and quite upset.  Very unusual to hear them when it's dark.  So we took a look and an Owl was in the yard, which is what was upsetting them.

Centeaur.

There will be plenty of fresh vegetables at the market this week, including leeks.  We tried a recipe for supper this evening with beets called, Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese.  My oh my, that is a tasty combination.  

The flower selection this week will include Sweet Peas, Lilies, a few sunflowers and a whole lot more. 

Fata Morgana Dahlia.

Visitors.

Last week we had a couple of visitors to the farm, Penny and Isobel. Penny McKinlay is a freelance writer and has been hired by the Saskatoon Farmer's Market to help out with creating a newsletter. In the newsletter she plans on writing vendor profiles, so we invited her to come out. We took a tour of the gardens, which they enjoyed very much. I do not think they were expecting the abundance and varieties of flowers and vegetables we grow. We had a lot of fun and Peggy took lots of pictures. Have included some of them today and will post others in future posts.

Explosion!

The recent warm sunny days, (very little rain) has prompted the plants to grow with such vigor.

The flowers have all exploded into colour. All are coming into bloom with intense colour and fragrance. Yesterday afternoon we walked by the sweet pea garden and we could smell them from about 20' away. It just catches your attention and draws you to the area where they are growing.

We are busy cutting flowers and vegetables for Saturdays market. We will have available new potatoes, beets, beet greens, green onions, carrots, dill, cilantro and mint.

There will be plenty of flower choices this week, including sweet peas (of course), lilies, gladiolas (red ones), peonies (white, burgundy and pink), sunflowers, dahlias, and zinnias. Stop and enjoy the colours and smells.

The picture today was taken by our daughter, Mandy Harding, whom is a professional photographer. They started their own business, Memories by Mandy Photography, 3 years ago and have had huge success with it. They regularly post photos on their blog www.mandyphotography.blogspot.com. The website address is www.memoriesbymandy.ca. Check it out, you will enjoy the pictures.