Kinda quiet around here, how about an update.....

12 years ago

It has been so quiet here, I thought I would post an update and see how things are going.

For me, it has been an interesting season. Sales are better than last year, but that is deceptive, I have been selling more and for longer than last year. The high tunnels have saved my bottom line many times.

The August slump is here. We are just powering through. This is also my busiest time at school. We start school on Thursday and I have done just about nothing there. I am riding on my 10 years of experience to get me through the first two days.

About the garden. I have been working hard at the succession planting. It has been extremely hard with all the heat and now moisture. The weeds are trying to win, but I am trying to beat them back as much as possible. I still am harvesting lots of thing. Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Okra, Peppers, Potatoes, Onions, Leeks, and Cherry Tomatoes. We have been very busy getting crops started too. I have direct seeded carrots, green onions, spinach and lettuce. Which I am happy to say are all coming up nicely. I also have lots of seedlings to go out in the high tunnels. I have also started another 720 cells tonight. I am getting better at transplanting. It can really buy you time when you need it. Instead of spending hours I don't have tilling and preparing ground, I seeded the trays and that will buy me 2-4 weeks.

My two big projects, sweet potatoes on black plastic and a 1/2 acre of winter squash are doing great. I am battling weeds with the winter squash but after a 4.5 hour weeding marathon, I feel better about the patch.

Winter Squash

A before the weeding marathon

I am kinda embarrassed to even post that picture, but maybe it will get me to try harder to keep it cleaner. However, the 30 mile trip only happens once a week and I only spend about 4 hours there each time.

Sweet Potato Patch

{{gwi:50346}}

I am also trying my hand at some late season tomatoes in one of my movable buildings. We will see what happens. They are growing like crazy and blooming away. Lots of them are just setting on. I hope they start to produce my the 23rd of September.

How about you?

Jay

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Comments (3)

myfamilysfarm
12 years ago
Hi, Jay.

We have mowed off several patches, sold 2 beef and got 4 more (now up to 11 steers and 2 heifers), and basically got out of 2 farmers markets. We left those 2 due to 1 vendor deciding to sell his items super cheap. He's retired and he is a hobby gardener, and his stuff looks good. We were having to travel farther and were barely breaking even. Now, our stuff will go to 2 other markets and into canning jars. James and I start community college next week, and since it's been since the 70s, it should be interesting. Need to remember how to study!!

We have the greenhouse frame installed, just waiting on plastic. Actually, I think it's may qualify as a high tunnel. I'm not sure, at this time, how much of it that we will plant in ground and how much will be tables for plant production. We were given another one, just need to go pick it up and install, not even sure how big it is. The person said it was 20 x ???. I guess we'll see when we get it.

Yes, this season has been interesting, too much rain/cold and then too much hot/dry to balance it out.

Marla
magz88
12 years ago
I like the look of the sweet potatoes, Jay!

We have had some issue with powdery mildew on our squash and cucumber plants so we have had to pull a few.

Most of the fall crops have been planted. I put in kale, chard, mustard greens, beets, and some onions for salad onions.

The zinnias are starting to produce well and we should have enough for a full booth this weekend. The asters will be blooming shortly.

I have lots of foxgloves and aquilegia for next years' markets. The other perennials are growing but not AS well.
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henhousefarms
12 years ago
Dang Jay - wish our winter squash looked that good. We planted July 1 then someone decided to shut off the spigot. Hardly a lick of rain here since except for a downpour that hit here at the house but not four miles north where the winter patch is. Plants are stunted - even the weeds look poor. It's not on our land and there is no water onsite so we did not lay drip (guess next year it might be a good idea - probably be a flood year). Just finishing digging the potatoes and have a few red onions to get out hopefully by the end of the week. The potatoes are about average in size and yeild but the onions have done wonderfully. Big and sweet with lots of those nice $1 Candies. Guess the old addage about onions might have a grain of truth - water the heck out of them till the Summer Solstice then let them go dry. Very little neck rot and have dried down better than normal. The cukes and zukes are pretty much a write off - the early plantings did well but even with water the second and third plantings have not done much. Same with the beans - think I picked a half bushel last week and they were pretty poor quality. Nobody has any beans at the markets or the auctions so figure everybody is in the same boat around here. Peppers are doing fine although there has been a lot of sunburn. Toms are doing well (with the exception of a lot of BER on the early pickings and some water cracking thanks to the afore mentioned deliuge two weeks ago). I think the flavor is not quite as sweet in them this year but not sure if it is weather related or something else (perhaps faulty memory). The real bright spot in the toms is the Mountian Magic. They are a little bigger than Juliets (read easier to pick) and much sweeter (more like Jelly Beans). They yeild like crazy and are pretty much bulletproof against cracking. We dropped in a late planting of beans this week along with more zukes and cukes so pray for rain. As soon as I get the rest of the potatoes out going to get in turnips and beets for this fall. The orchard is OK but nothing to brag about. As dry as it has been the apples are small and have quite a bit of scab (think maybe Dad missed a cover or two) but should make a good cider crop. Aside from all that everything is going well - the markets are running above last year and we have not drop from exhustion yet. When's that first frost date again??

Tom

Kinda quiet around here, how about an update.....

Comments (3)

myfamilysfarm

magz88

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