What's New At The Farm, 7/09/08

We’re busy; that’s for sure!

The pollination crew started last week and the fence crew starts this week. The weeds, insects and diseases are upon us along with what could be a shortage of water if we don’t get some rain soon. Actually we’ve done very little irrigating so far this season, some in May but little since then.

We’ll hook up the irrigation system and get some water out there this week. Unfortunately we have received no moisture this week so will start pumping some water Thursday this week.

The last two weeks we’ve spent trimming trees and cutting bushes around the farm where the fence is going to go. It had been at least six years since it has been done and the trees and bushes had grown in quite a bit. It’s also a lot more work than it used to be, or perhaps I am older than I was once. Either way I’m glad we left it to the time of year that’s warm. Too warm really.

We borrowed a straw spreader from a local farmer this week to spread mulch hay between the rows of squash and pumpkins in the breeding workshops. After many years of weeding all kinds of different ways, we have settled on spreading mulch hay between the beds. This has several advantages besides controlling the weeds. It keeps the soil moist and keeps the fruits up off the ground. It also adds some organic matter to the soil.

We used the mulch spreader on Wednesday this week, and although it’s not quite what I had in mind, it does speed up the task of spreading mulch. What took us a week last year will take us two days this year. Works for me; I’m sure we can find something else to fill our time.

Until next week, enjoy the weather.

Brian