Visit to Kansas

The boys and I went to Kansas to visit family...grandpa and grandma, aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews...

Having pizza with cousins after fishing

Denise with Delilah, Evan and Silas (niece and nephews)

Dennis (Denise's dad/grandpa) by the creek after 4 inches of rain.

Mark, Joshua, Elijah, and Evan (cousins) feeding lemurs at zoo in Kansas. 

Rooster guinea at Klenda farm....the day after I took this picture, a baby calf fell down between these logs and landed upside down and could not get up.  Dad rescued him and he is doing okay...

This mama cat adopted these 2 babies.

Denise's mom with Tyler (Denise's brother) feeding the calf with the help of Delilah and Silas:

Visiting Cackleberry Farms

My Aunt Julie has been raising free range chicken eggs for over 20 years.  She sells them to 2 local grocery stores.  She estimates that she has around 1500 chickens!  Joshua and I helped gather the eggs the night that we went to visit.  

Sunflower Update

The sunflowers are really getting big and some buds are starting to appear.  I have been out weeding and still have some more to do.  Hoping they can hold out for the heat that is coming this week...supposed to be in the 90's the next 2 weeks.

In the Kitchen

You may have seen on the ReMARKable Farms Facebook page that I chopped off tops of my garlic (scapes) and then I pickled some.  This will allow the garlic to put more resources into making bigger bulbs of garlic (and not into flowering).  Click on the picture of the jar of pickled scapes above to go to the recipe I used.

Finished planting sunflowers

Farm Update:

This past week, I planted the remaining sunflower seeds that I had ordered in April.  I ordered a total of 1700 seeds.  I planted about 400 seeds in mid-late April.  I planted the remaining (1300) this past week.  That was a good amount of work...

I bought all my seed from Johnny's Seed.  Most all the varieties are hybrids and pollenless.  

Here are the varieties I planted and why:

Sunbright Supreme
Sunbright Supreme: I only bought 100 seeds of this variety.

More rounded petals and shorter, more rigid stems with reduced lower leaves make this an excellent variety for bouquet work. May also be used to produce dwarf-type blossoms. Also known as common sunflower and annual sunflower. Single stem. Pollenless.

Sunrich Orange Summer

Sunrich Orange Summer: I bought 100 seeds of this variety; one of the early blooming flowers.

This nonbranching, pollenless sunflower is the same color as Sunrich Orange, one of our most popular varieties, but blooms 5-10 days earlier and is just a little shorter. 4-6" blooms are ideal for cut-flower production. 

Pro Cut Bicolor

Pro Cut Bicolor: Bought 250 seeds; early blooming; wanted a couple different 2-tone varieties.

Tall, with strong stems. 3-4" blooms. Pollenless. 

Pro Cut Lemon

Pro Cut Lemon: Bought 250 seeds; early blooming and light color for something different.

Tall, with strong stems. 3-4" blooms. Pollenless. 

Pro Cut Gold

Pro Cut Gold: Bought 250 seeds; early blooming and unique look with orange center

Petals are a rich gold around a golden center. Tall, with strong stems. 3-4" blooms. Pollenless. 

Pro Red/Lemon Bi Color

Pro Red/Lemon Bi Color: Bought 250 seeds; early blooming with light yellow/red petals.

Tall, with strong stems. 3-4" blooms. Pollenless. 

Double Quick Orange

Double Quick Orange:  A double sunflower for something a little different.

This bright golden, pollenless cut flower matured early and impressed us with 4-5" blooms. Still a favorite in our sunflower trials. 

Moulin Rouge

Moulin Rouge:  A red sunflower for something different.  This one is also branching which means the flowers will probably be smaller...

A pollenless, branching variety with 3-4" blooms that are a hit with everyone. Use in bouquets mixed with contrasting colors. Side stems are thinner, yet stronger than most other branching varieties.