I can't believe I am finally planting.....

     Most of my winter projects are finally completed so it's TIME TO PLANT ! Hallelujah. Seed deliveries have been arriving and my green thumb has been getting twitchy.
     The soil in the hoop house is ready for planting so I started with it. I like variety so I planted multiple selections of spinach, bok choy, carrots, beets, radishes, kales, chards, mustards and lettuces. I also planted sugar snap peas, kohlrabi and broccoli raab. Soil temperatures in the hoop house have been fairly warm so germination should not be an issue with most of these seeds. If the February weather would have been a bit more frigid, I may have presoaked some of those seeds.
     That was a good couple of days work. I hope that the seeds appreciate all the preparation and hard work needed to make them happy so far.
     After completely planting the hoop house, I began seeding trays for future transplanting into the hoop house. I have begun several trays for broccoli, tomato, onions, leeks and romaine transplants. I hope by the time these seedlings are ready to transplant, a spot will have been created by a hoop house harvest.
     In a few weeks I will begin seeding trays for the rest of the MicroFarm.

The last of the hoop house improvements.....

     Space in the hoop house is precious.  So I designed the floor plan with only a few narrow aisles.  The aisles look wider than what would be needed now, but wait a few weeks when the vegetation is spilling over from the raised beds. 
     The beds were created when the soil was removed to create the aisles.  Of course I wasn't going to use any treated wood, but I also wanted to be conscious of using any material that would need to be replaced over time.  I want the MicroFarm to be as earth friendly and sustainable as possible.
     Another project completed today was the creation of four heat sinks.  The greatest concern of an unheated hoop house is the cooler temperatures after the sun sets.  These heat sinks consist of barrels filled with water which will heat up with the daytime sun and slowly release their stored up heat throughout the night.  The water-filled barrels have the extra benefit as an emergency water source if the outside storage totes freeze. 
     I also placed some cement paver stones in the areas that will see the most foot traffic and around the washing stations which could become muddy.  These should act as additional solar heat collection units.
     It's beginning to look like a professional MicroFarm.
     When can we start planting !

Starting with a good soil....

Looked like a bit of garden art,
but actually some mud which was
left behind by the tractor to dry.

  Since it is my first year on this property, I had sent soil samples from the hoop house on the Green Kuisine MicroFarm to the University of Wisconsin Soil Testing Laboratories. Today I received the results. I expected the findings to be very encouraging and I was not disappointed.
     The MicroFarm's hoop house will be a work horse and I plan to grow produce in it nearly year round. It's true, some chefs search far and wide for winter grown, hoop house spinach since the colder growing conditions produces a crisper, sweeter harvest.
     With the soil currently fallow, it was a great time to give it a simple organic boost for the upcoming season.
     I began amending the soil with some of the MicroFarm's very own compost to add lots of living micro organisms and to improve the water holding capacity of the soil.
     Then I added small amounts of organic blood meal (nitrogen source for leafy greens); organic bone meal (a phosphorus source for healthy roots and a calcium source to prevent blossom end rot in tomatoes); organic sea kelp (every mineral on earth exists in the oceans and many have been absorbed by its plants) and a few other minor supplements.
     I gently worked them into the topsoil and thoroughly watered. I wanted to make good environment for the microbes/bacteria in the soil/compost to begin breaking down those fertilizers to a form usable by the plants.
     Still nothing planted ..... I can't wait much longer !!

Making improvements to the hoop house.....

     During some unseasonably warm days these past few weeks, I made some modifications to the hoop house on the Green Kuisine MicroFarm.
     I began by digging a trench completely around the base of the hoop house. Then I attached some hardware cloth to each of the base boards. The wire mesh was attached so nearly two feet of it would be buried into the trench. This was to deter any furry creatures from burrowing into the hoop house to enjoy the warm environment and some tasty vegetables.
     Then, I filled the trench with active compostables so they could work as a heat source and as a frost barrier from the cold exterior ground. If this works well, I will repeat the process next fall. If it doesn't work as well as predicted, I plan to fill the trench with pea gravel so it can drain away the water from winter thaws and overhead snow melt off from the hoop house. *A spring project of mine will be to design and construct a water collection system for the hoop house to use during summer rains.
      The side panels of the MicroFarm's hoop house are designed to roll up and down depending if the weather forecast is for clear skies or for stormy conditions. This puts allot of stress on those thin sheets of greenhouse plastic. They were beginning to show some wear and several holes were clearly present. I was already working with the trenches below the panels and the weather was good for another day so I stretched the rehab project so it included new side panels for the hoop house.
     I sure hope that the work and foresight to do these projects now lends itself to some great harvests in the future.
     I am dying to plant something !!

Who.....

In the past few years, I have met some truly amazing and groundbreaking people.........

WILL ALLEN may be the greatest evangelist Milwaukee has to offer regardless of the topic. Anyone who has spent anytime with Will, or the many volunteers at GrowingPower, will leave their meeting wanting to roll-up their sleeves and willing to join the cause.

GRETCHEN MEAD began the grassroots movement known to one and all as the Victory Garden Initiative. Her tirelessness and perpetual smile leads hundreds of like minded individuals to do some amazing things simply because she posed the question..."Why Not ?".

JAMES GODSIL is truly one of a kind, and most definitely, the über passionate ambassador of all his beliefs and none of these more important to him than that of Sweet Water Organics.

DR. ELSE ANKEL who had the vision and foresight to create the UrbanEcology Center.

KATHY PAPINEAU, ANNE STEINBERG, MARTHA DAVIS KIPCAK and all the wonderful people associated with Slow Food of Southeast Wisconsin who were some of the first persons to carry the torch in the promotion of eating locally, eating healthy and respecting mother earth.

MATT RAY an educator at Fernwood Montessori who is teaching our future generation of leaders in the areas of ecology, as well as social awareness, with the school's fully functioning aquaponics system and greenhouse.

SUSAN BENCE is a WUWM reporter who balances the dire environmental forecasts commonly heard with enthusiastic and positive environmental success stories often overlooked by other broadcasters.

MIKE & PAULETTE FLYNN are husband and wife. Mike heads a private-sector, commercial agricultural business and Paulette is the director of the not for profit Wisconsin based SHARE. Together, they demonstrate how the 'green movement' will truly succeed only if persons from both sectors work harmoniously towards a common goal.

UWEX's Dennis Lukaszewski, Jan Alba, Linda Reynolds, et al who have graciously provided me a chance to start a business and who will continually aid me throughout the learning process.

They, and a host of others who I have embarrassingly omitted, have inspired me more than words can demonstrate.

I thank them one and all !!!

What.....

     Green Kuisine Microgreens came about from my desire to enjoy local, freshly grown produce.
     I wanted to see something alive and growing in December or January. I wanted to eat something fresh and flavorful in February or March. And, I didn't want to create an artificial environment that necessitated depleting the earth of any more resources or to use any synthetic products or chemicals.
     Yes, I enjoy my summer time harvests this time of year thanks to lots of pickled, frozen or root-cellared items. I grew them, canned them, stored them and I eat them. But, I also wanted to see and eat something green and vibrant during the gray, overcast skies of a Wisconsin winter.
     All this led to the creation of Green Kuisine Microgreeens.
     Green Kuisine Microgreens are grown using four simple items: 1) Organic, Non-GMO seeds. 2) A soil-less mixture of renewable items such as coconut coir and or Green Kuisine vermicompost. 3) Water. 4) Reusable and recyclable growing trays.
     There are no pesticides or fertilizers of any kind used to grow Green Kuisine Microgreens.
     I was all set to roll out this company with a soft introduction this winter. My field studies were completed and my products were aligned following some consumer testing.
     Then, the idea to include a working, local, urban farm entered my already cluttered brain. I began to picture it to be a logical, summer extension to the ideals of Green Kuisine Microgreens. All in all, it did seem like a great idea.
     So, I put off the launch date of Green Kuisine Microgreens and began to plan for the larger launch of Green Kuisine Microgreens and Urban MicroFarm.
     Look for more information of our grand rollout in the next few months !

Where.....

     Surprisingly, that question was the simplest to answer.
     First, the MicroFarm should be very close so the additional carbon footprint generated from the workers (me) would be very small. Secondly, and just as important, the MicroFarm needed to be very close so the products would be at their ultimate color, flavor, freshness and nutritional value when they reached the customers (you).
     I am a garden plot renter through the Milwaukee County UW-Extension's Wauwatosa community garden. Two years ago, an unheated, high tunnel, hoop house was constructed within a very large working garden. The plans were to develop the site into a working farm and CSA program by a dedicated gardener named of Nicole Capizzi. I was saddened to see her move out of state just as she had begun such an endeavor. [Nicole is currently operating Amaranth Urban Farm near Seattle, WA.]
     Well, the MicroFarm became available just as my personal awareness and transformation was taking place. Plus, it fulfilled my two primary desires of my dream location.
     I am ecstatic to say that the Green Kuisine MicroFarm will be based right here in Wauwatosa !!!
     Freshly picked produce, Asparagus to Zucchini, is just minutes away from your family's kitchen table !!!

When.....

     Our first season will begin in just a few months !
     I have spent the last few weeks reading through stacks upon stacks of seed catalogues. Please don't fret for me as I find this as exciting and engrossing as others may find reading the latest New York Times best seller.
     My desire is to find that perfect mix. Of course the Green Kuisine MicroFarm will include the 'must have' staples such as beans, carrots, tomatoes peppers, etc. But why not grow some unusual or unheard of options such as Asian beans, round carrots, pea-sized tomatoes, peppers of every color, etc.
     My hope is that this mix will make eating healthy, locally produced vegetables and fruits something the entire family can enjoy.
     I know of two foot-stomping, vegetable hating tots who became part of the vegetable-loving converted just because one day they had to try one of my purple carrots.
     The grand rollout is rapidly approaching.  Look for more information about Green Kuisine Microgreens and Urban MicroFarm in the very near future.

Why.....

Clearly we need to become more aware !
 
Aware of how our food was grown and prepared. 

Aware of how our food arrives to the dinner table.

Aware of the stress and harm we are placing upon our planet.

And most importantly, aware of what simple changes we can make in our daily routines to improve our lives and the lives of future generations.