Archive for Farming

Summer’s End

August 9, 2010 · Filed under Brendan, Farming, Shannon · Tagged , , ,

It’s not officially the end of summer, of course, but I consider the season to be over when the kids head back to school.  So from that perspective, summer ends tomorrow.  Tonight we headed on over to the high school so the kids can scurry about and find their various classrooms.  Shannon already knew, pretty much, where her classrooms are but this will be Brendan’s first year in the high school.  This past Friday he spent the morning there for the JROTC meet-and-greet, at which he seems to have had a pretty good time.  Besides that class, the rest of his schedule is made up of the typical reading, writing, ‘rithmatic sort of stuff.  Most of Shannon’s schedule is made up of AP and Honors classes, but she somehow ended up with one hour of Floral Design.  I guess she was trying to get onto the yearbook staff and that didn’t work out, so she had this particular class listed as sort of a “joke” alternate.  Looks like the joke’s on her…lol.

As for the garden…meh.  The raccoons completely devastated our corn.  Nary an ear remains.  The vast majority of the peppers succumbed to pests, as did a lot of the tomatoes.  We tried applying an organic pesticidal soap, but it appears to have been too little too late.  The plants produced plenty, but very little actually made it to a ripened state.  Cheryl and I have been discussing strategies for next year, and I think we’re going to go in a radically different direction than the two previous seasons.  I’ll post more about that once we solidify those plans.  On the bright side, we’ve been overwhelmed by a large variety of squash…lol.  Some are unbelievably huge, so we must be doing something right!

The various squash retrieved from the garden

Overall the summer of 2010 has been unremarkable.  No vacations, little success in the garden…it should come as no surprise why there hasn’t been a lot of blog activity lately – nothing to blog about!

Some of our tomato yield. The Lumpy Reds are lumpy, but not so red.

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Catching Up…Again

June 2, 2010 · Filed under Farming, Miscellany, Shannon · Tagged , ,

While this blog has certainly been frozen in time, life on the farm definitely hasn’t been.  Much has happened over the course of the last month and a half, and due entirely to my lack of blogish motivation none of it has been shared here.

First and foremost, of course, would be the status of the garden.  The fields have been tilled, retilled, and tilled again in preparation for the seeds and transplants.  All are in but for a handful of pepper and tomatillo plants that were started a bit later than the rest.  Our corn, both sweet and popping, is coming along nicely as is the broccoli, cabbage, sweet potatoes and onions.  In early may we were subjected to somewhat of a deluge, receiving over 7 inches of rain in about 36 hours, but since then the farm has been high and dry.  The temperatures have recently been hovering in the upper 80s, making manual watering a necessity.

Next steps for the crops include making the tomato cages (no, not done yet), a bit more weeding, and the addition of another couple of rows of sweet corn.  There’s plenty more to be done, of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  Cheryl and I have been contemplating a switch to a different growing method for next year.  I’ll let the cat out of the bag when we’ve worked out a plan.

Other happenings on the farm include a new member – Draven.  We sold Kole to a friend in Virginia, who is loving him to death and giving him a very active life, so that Shannon could have a horse that was more experienced and could help rebuild her confidence in her riding ability.  Draven is just such a horse, and Shannon has been spending a considerable amount of time riding him around the farm – no longer nervous about riding outside of the pastures.  So far it’s been a great match.  Now all we need to do is find a good horse for Cheryl…lol.

Hopefully the motivation that has crept back into me will linger a bit longer this time, keeping my posts regular and – hopefully – interesting!

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2010 Garden Diary: The Beginning

April 4, 2010 · Filed under Farming · Tagged , , ,

How about this Midwest weather?  There’s little doubt that Spring has arrived, and so we eagerly spent the weekend taking the first steps of the 2010 growing season (when not distracted by designing new flower beds in the front yard!). Like a rocket, our seed order from Baker Creek arrived on Friday -  leaving only the small order from Sustainable Seeds somewhere out there in postal limbo.  We picked up some potting trays and peat pots and, using organic seed starting mix from Johnny’s, we started all of our tomatoes, broccoli, and peppers (with the exception of cayenne, which is in the Sustainable order).  We’re in our “last frost” window for Zone 6, but the fields need a little more work so our schedule is to transplant around Memorial Day weekend.  Until then, however, it’s time to nurture our seeds with just the right amount of sunlight, water and warmth for the next several weeks.  That time won’t be spent idle, though, as we’ve got tomato cages to build, fields to till, and a couple of other varieties to seed in about 2 weeks.  Can’t wait!

Our peppers and broccoli tucked away in their cells.

We gave our tomatoes a little more room this year.

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Seed Order Addendum

April 1, 2010 · Filed under Farming · Tagged , , , ,

Concerned about the possiblity of missing out on the Lumpy Reds this year, Cheryl put in a call to Wilson’s to make sure they planned on stocking the plants.  Sure enough, they’re not!  With a little bit of Google sleuthing I was able to find some seeds through Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Missouri.  We’ve never ordered from this company before, but growing this variety of tomato is crucial to our farming plans so I’m willing to give it a try.  Browsing around their site, I was impressed with the large selection of unique and interesting heirloom varities they have available and it was hard to resist going on a shopping spree.  As it happened, though, besides the Lumpy Reds a couple of other varieties lept off the shelves and into my cart:
Fortna White Pumpkin
Candy Roaster Winter Squash

If all works according to plan, those should turn some heads at the farmer’s market!

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The Seeds Have Been Ordered

March 29, 2010 · Filed under Farming · Tagged , , ,

We’re about two weeks behind, I know, but the past couple of weeks have been dominated by some mostly unwelcome distractions.  But as circumstances and the weather both shift for the better, Cheryl and I are once more able to focus on getting our crops started.  Unfortunately, at the end of last season we committed a farming faux pas by not collecting seeds from our harvest and so have to restock from scratch.

This year we included California’s Sustainable Seed Company in our short list of suppliers.  I’ve read some good things about the quality of their heirloom seed stock so we put in a small order to give them a try.  In addition to seed quality, selection, and product info, their shipping rates are extremely reasonable.  I’ve included links to the product pages so you can get some background on the varieties we’ve chosen.
Copenhagen Market Cabbage
Lemon Cucumber
Tendersweet Carrot
Cayenne Long Red Thin Pepper

We had a moderately large order from our standard organic seed supplier, High Mowing Seeds in Vermont.  For the most part we’ve been pleased with the quality of the seed stock we’ve received in years past, but I tend to gripe when it comes to their prices and shipping charges.  I suppose that’s just further incentive to save our own seeds!
Amish Paste Tomato
Gilbertie Paste Tomato
Black Cherry Tomato
San Marzano Paste Tomato
Black Hungarian Pepper
Early Jalapeno Pepper
Hungarian Hot Yellow Wax Pepper
Corno di Toro Pepper
Golden California Wonder Pepper
Success PM Straightneck Summer Squash
Delicata Winter Squash
Sugar Dumpling F1 Hybrid Squash

Our largest order, at least in terms of cost, was to Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Maine.  They don’t have the best selection when it comes to organic seed  stock, and in fact we did order some non-organic seeds, but they do have a considerably large overall selection of vegetable varieties.  While their shipping charges are quite high, it’s not difficult to find an online coupon for free shipping.
Luscious F1 Sweet Corn
Miniature Blue Popping Corn
De Milpa Tomatillo
Striped German Tomato
Serenade F1 Melon
Savor F1 Melon
Belstar F1 Broccoli
Round of Hungary Pepper
Mars Plants F1 Onion
Deep Purple Scallion
Beauregard Sweet Potato

Later in the spring we’ll be heading back to Wilson’s Nursery to (hopefully) find some Lumpy Red tomato plants.  I’m really kicking myself for not saving those heirloom seeds!

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Quick Update

February 23, 2010 · Filed under Brendan, Farming, Miscellany · Tagged ,

Once again I’ve let the blog slip.  What can I say, except that late-winter life lacks much in the way of excitement…lol.  Even so, I’ll stoke the fire a bit and report on what little we’ve been up to.

Today is Brendan’s birthday, but since it falls in the middle of the school week we’re not going to do anything spectacular to celebrate.  Cheryl is making him his favorite dinner (chili, which goes well with this time of year) and Daniel and Kelly will be over for cake, ice cream, and presents.

Cheryl and I devoted some time this past weekend to preparing our seed order.  We’ve trimmed the variety of crops we plan to grow, but expanded the number of tomato and pepper cultivars.  I’ll post a full list of our orders once they’ve been placed, since seeds have a nasty habit of becoming sold out between the time we decide to purchase them and the moment we actually place the order.  Johnny’s and High Mowing will once again be our primary suppliers, though this year we may be leveraging Sustainable Seeds for a few items.

The Fusion est mort.  The insurance company has decided that the car is a total loss.  It seems that when the windshield shattered, tiny shards of glass found their way throughout the venting system in the dash.  There was no way to completely clear those fragments from the labyrinth of ductwork, so the entire dashboard was going to have to be replaced.  The cost of doing so, combined with the body work, radiator and mounts, and transmission repairs added up to more than 75% of the retail value of the car.  And so, my car was hauled away to the scrap heap and we have to relearn how to be a one-car family for the time being.

Well, that’s about all that has been going on around these parts so I’ll wrap this up and leave you with a little advice.  If you happen to have any sort of relationship with Bank of America, do yourself a favor and sever those ties immediately.  If there ever was such a thing as an evil empire, they are it.  As large as that corporation is, it depresses me to know that there are so many people in this world (BoA minions) who can do the things they do and still sleep at night.

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Hay Day

July 24, 2009 · Filed under Brendan, Farming, Miscellany · Tagged

A few days back we received our first load of summer hay for the horses.  We were scraping the bottom of the barrel, quite literally, as what hay we had that hadn’t been eaten over the winter was moldy and unsafe to feed.  Normally it wouldn’t have been a huge concern, but all of the rain we had this spring made just about everyone’s first cutting worthless for horses.  The hay cut on our property ended up being put into round bales and stored away for cattle, but thankfully the neighbor held off cutting one of his fields just long enough to secure all the square bales we need to get us through the rest of the year.  His farm hands drove over the first load and Brendan was right there to pitch in.

The first delivery rolls in.

The first delivery rolls in.

Brendan building those biceps.

Brendan building those biceps.

Stacking 'em in tight.

Stacking 'em in tight.

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Garden Update

July 13, 2009 · Filed under Family Fun, Farming · Tagged , , , ,

It’s been an awfully busy several weeks here on the farm, though not everything going on was farm-related.  Life sometimes just seems to get in the way of the things that we enjoy doing, a fact that I’m sure everyone has experienced from time to time.  As for the garden, there has been a good deal going on despite our hectic schedule.  The peas are forming pods, so it was time to erect a trellis to make sure they grew up off the ground like we want them to.  Instead of forking out the cash for something from the store, I took on the task of constructing it myself – with ample assistance from Cheryl and the kids, of course.  It’s a simple design of 2×2 uprights with 1×2 horizontal crosspiece at the top.  The lumber is untreated, and besides being dirt cheap it solves the issue of potentially unsafe chemicals seeping in to the soil.  Brendan and I inserted small eye hooks at regular intervals along the supports and the crosspiece through which Cheryl and Shannon wove twine to form a netting for the vines to attach to.  It all went together quickly.  The ground has become quite hard due to our lack of rain, so digging the holes for the support beams wasn’t all that much fun – not to mention tedious since I had to be sure not to accidentally chop one of the plants.  Daniel stopped by to lend a hand, which meant the whole family was able to get in on the fun.  In the end, though, we got what we wanted and are now ready for the peas to take over.

Finished pea trellis

Finished pea trellis

The weekend also turned out to be a bountiful one as we collected our first harvest.  The squash and cukes have been growing like mad, but we were also fortunate enough to find a ripe tomato of the Whopper variety…and it certainly lived up to its name!

Cheryl pleased as punch with our garden's output

Cheryl pleased as punch with our garden's output

The other crops are looking very promising (besides the onions, of course) and should be ready to pick in the very near future.  Melons, green beans, eggplant, even the sweet corn are all coming along nicely – not to mention a ton of squash!  I’m very excited about how well the Lumpy Red variety of tomatoes are doing, since this year is the best we’ve ever done with heirloom tomatoes.

Here's our Whopper

Here's our Whopper

A Lumpy Red well on its way

A Lumpy Red well on its way

So that’s what we’ve been up to.  Of course, I got nicely burned while putting up the trellis and managed to become involved with a patch of poison ivy while clearing brush from around the barn, but I suppose that’s to be expected.  No pain, no gain…right?

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The Planting is Finally Done

June 7, 2009 · Filed under Farming · Tagged , ,

Last Tuesday evening, as a storm bore down on our little farm, Cheryl and I scrambled to get the last of the seeds planted before the heavy rain hit.  Once finished, this season’s plantings were completed and it was finally time for us to sit back and wait for a bountiful harvest.  If only it were that easy!  Weeks of weeding, watering, and studying each plant for pests and disease lie ahead, but it is quite satisfying to finally have everything in the ground.

Here I am getting started with the tiller

Here I am getting started with the tiller

We’re considering this first year a bit of an experimentation year, trying to find out what techniques work best and which plant varieties are hardiest in our area.  For example, some rows are mounded while others are not.  We planted our seedlings at various times, while all of our seeds were sown in one day.  I’m keeping a detailed notebook, and from that we hope to increase the health and production of our plants over the coming seasons.  A long term goal of ours is to supply fresh produce to some of the restaurants in the area who prefer to serve local veggies. But, that is a long way away and right now our focus is to just get what we can from our current plantings and make improvements as necessary.

Cheryl doing her fair share

Cheryl doing her fair share

I mentioned the sweet potatoes in a previous posting, but here’s a list of what else can  be found in our garden:

Corn
Luscious (F1) sweet corn, organic, from Johnny’s
Miniature Blue popping/decorative corn, from Johnny’s
Beans
Maxibel Haricot Vert snap bush beans, organic, from High Mowing Seeds
Tomatilla
Toma Verde, organic, from Wilson’s Nurseries (Frankfort, KY)
Tomatoes
Whopper, organic, from Wilson’s
Roma, organic, from Wilson’s
Brandywine Pink, organic, from Wilson’s
Celebrity, organic, from Wilson’s
Lumpy Red (a Kentucky heirloom), organic, from Wilson’s
Cucumber
Burpless Supreme, organic, Wilson’s
Eggplant
Little Fingers, organic, Wilson’s
Melon
Serenade (F1), from Johnny’s
Savor (F1), from Johnny’s
Broccoli
Packman, organic, from Wilson’s
Peppers
Better Belle, sweet pepper, organic, from Wilson’s
Red Cayenne, organic, from High Mowing Seeds
Early Jalapeno, organic, from Johnny’s
Lipstick, sweet pimento, from Johnny’s
Corno di Toro, sweet Italian heirloom, organic, from High Mowing Seeds
Round of Hungary, sweet pepper, from Johnny’s
Squash
Success PM Straightneck, summer squash, organic, from High Mowing Seeds
Sugar Dumpling (F1), winter squash, organic, from High Mowing Seeds
Delicata, winter squash, organic, from High Mowing Seeds
Onions
Pikant, shallot, from Johnny’s
Deep Purple, bunching, organic, from Johnny’s
Carrots
Napoli (F1), organic, from High Mowing Seeds

Farming involves the whole family!

Farming involves the whole family!

We have a pretty full garden, as you would imagine, and we’re hoping the majority of our plantings yield well.  Several varieties of tomatoes and peppers never made it through the seedling stage, so we don’t have as many different types of veggies as we would have liked.  Still, we’re very excited to see how well we do this first year!

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The Sweet Potatoes Are In

May 6, 2009 · Filed under Farming · Tagged ,

Cheryl and I planted the first crop of the season yesterday.  The fields are still needing a bit of work before the other plantings can go in, but the sweet potatoes arrived ready to plant so we got out there yesterday evening and tilled a row by hand.  Tough work, tilling, so hopefully we can secure a gas-powered tiller this weekend to take care of the rest of the job.  Anyway, we chose the Beauregard variety (Ipomoea batatas) of sweet potato from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.  It’s a pretty standard, popular variety that does well in mild climates.  We purchased 25 plants, but Johnny’s shipped us 29.  Not that we’re complaining – all 29 are in the ground!  Cheryl was hoping to tackle the onions today, but it looks like we’re in for another day of rain and storms.

On an unrelated note, I’ve landed a gig as the music writer for the Lexington edition of Examiner.com.  I’ve put up a link to it over on the sidebar, so take a few minutes and check it out.  I’m really looking forward to making a contribution to the local scene, which is really lacking any decent coverage.

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