Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Photos from the Research Farm, July 13, 2010

Pumpkin patch

Johnny's farm workers lay down straw mulch on the pumpkin patch.

Planting lettuce seedlings.

 
Row cover removal.

Grafted tomato trials

Zinnia

Zinnia close-up view.

A garter snake scurries off after enjoying the sun.

3 comments:

Heidi said...

Jeez, I feel for you folks working out in this heat. Great work. And great photos John.

tj said...

...Love the pumpkins and the mulch you use. Do you have to worry about weed seeds with the hay?

...My pumpkins are up and doing great just like yours. Of course, they're Johnny's Seeds! :o)

...Stay cool and remember to stay hydrated you all!

...Blessin's... :o)

Johnny's Seeds News said...

tj: We don’t worry about weed seeds. The hay we use is primarily annual blue grass which rarely becomes a weed in cultivated crops. After the hay mulch spends all season and all winter in the field, any mature grass seed is eaten by birds and mice, and a lot of any remaining seed rots where it lies.

Straw would be an ideal mulch but it does have some issues; the two major ones are cost and unthreshed grain in the straw. Cost is prohibitive on a large scale and the unthreshed grain often sprouts and grows, defeating the purpose.

Brian