This has been a busy week on the farm. We try to give a semi-annual update that talks about what is going on at the farm in detail. We’ve also been working this week on our potatoes, developing the back field and planting a few ornamental plants.
I had a few days on the farm this week to ponder the future plans for the farm. I’m taking a class with IDEO on Insights for Innovation. The class project revolves around the farm so it was good having time to ponder the future plans for the farm while working in the field.
The last few weeks have brought us rain every week. We had hoped to start planting this week, but it was just to wet to prep the beds for the winter squash, pollinators and summer cover crops. Instead we worked on planting olive trees and a Yaupon holly tree. We also trimmed the grass in the blackberry beds and put down mulch in part of the blackberry beds. We also started putting mulch around the mulberry trees and a few of the elderberry bushes in the food forest area.
We planted comfrey around the trees and bushes in the food forest area as we put the woodchip mulch down. It will take several work days to put all the mulch down and plant comfrey, but we are off to good start.
The garlic is putting out scapes. Those are great for cooking. The taste is similar to a green onion.
The bees are staying busy. We hope to have our first harvest of honey in June.
The blackberries in this area are ready for summerPotatoes are coming up in some areas, but not in others. Having a wet spring can be difficult with potatoesThe blueberries are growing nicelyBees are staying busyThe garlic is putting out scapes. The scapes were cut and will end up in dinner
We planted our first hazel trees. This is a test planting to see how they do. We should have our first nuts from the hazel trees in 2-3 years, if all goes well.
We also pulled up drip feed lines so we can trim and to make it easier to cut the grass. Drip irrigation is great, but having lines everywhere does make for some management challenges when it comes to cutting grass and keeping everything looking nice and well managed.
We also had a few logs to move from a dead pine tree that we cut. Its been too wet to move the logs until now. It is nice to get them out of the way so I can mow that area.
The spring flowers are blooming and the bees are busy.
We’ve learned that young seedlings are often enough reason for a deer to want inside the anti-deer fence area, so we put cages around them.
We planted the 3rd pecan tree, spread pine straw and took some time to enjoy the pleasure of flying a kite in the back field. What a nice day. Warm and sunny.
Since we started the farm, one of the things I’m looked forward to is planting blueberries. We had a couple of delays putting them in, but now they are finally installed.
The picture doesn’t show the blueberry plants amidst the pine stray, but they are there!Experiment of using the hugelkultur mound for blueberries
My wife Connie, came up with a wonderful idea. She suggested that we plant blueberries in the Hugelkultur mound. This gives the blueberries a wonderfully sunny place that is very well drained. The hugelkultur mound is approximately 85 feet long x 30 feet wide. It is now home to 20 blueberry plans (all rabbiteye), raspberries and goji berries. This area has easy access to drip irrigation and is inside the anti-deer fence. We planted a mixture of blueberries, including Columbus, IRA, Yadkin and Tifblue varieties. The raspberries are Fall Gold from Rabbit Ridge Nursery in Coates, NC. The raspberries are acclimated to this area, so we hope they will do well. We still need to put up the trellis for the raspberries and the goji berries.
Bees on the Farm, means Honey will be Available Later in the Year
Beekeeper installing the bee hives
We are excited to have bees on the property. We have partnered with a local beekeeper so we can offer honey from our farm later in the year. I’ll post a blog entry when the honey is available. The bees will also help pollinate our berries and crops.
We also plan to bees on your place in the mountains again this summer (www.troublesomegap.com) so we should have sourwood honey available as well.
The flowers are coming up on the farm, so spring isn’t that far away.
There are lots of great crops to grow in the winter. The best part is that there is much less weeding in the winter!
Cover crops thrivingCover crops improving the soil for usDaikon radish are getting bigBroccoliBroccoliSugar snap peas! Great snackCabbageMore cabbageEven more cabbage
It was relaxing putting lime on the back field and getting it mowed. It is ready for winter. Nice to be able to take a break from a very busy summer growing season.
Checkout the winter garden
Tractor is ready to spread the first batch of limeSugar snap peas are growingCover crops are working hardWinter garden is growingMore winter garden goodnessBrussels sprouts are growingFig trees are dropping leavesCover crops growing tooDaikon radish are really growing
Thanks to the families that have made this year’s community garden a success!
Okra and peppers are still producing even with the cooler weatherCover crops are growing!Sugar snap peas are taking offSugar snap peas reaching for the skyGarlic from the previous season ready to break up and go in the groundHills for the garlic and onionsHay covering the garlic hillsHay covering the blackberriesBlackberries ready for fallGetting ready to stir fry the sweet potato greensJust a few rows for a winter gardenCover crop on the HugelKultur mound
Everything is growing! Here are some images from this week.
Cushaw, corn, daikon and sun flowersCushaw, corn, daikon and sun flowersCushaw squashCushaw, corn, daikon and sun flowersGarlic is almost ready to harvestZucchini coming, might have planted too much ZucchiniTree Kale is growing, what the deer don’t eatPlanted sweet potatoes this weekend and covered with haySweet potato plants are in the groundTromboncino squashOkra is coming upPumpkins on the Hugel MoundZucchiniSummer squashSummer squashSummer squashMagnolia blossomBeans!Beans on a trellisBeans coming soonBeans coming soonTromboncino squashTromboncino squashTromboncino squashTromboncino squashTromboncino squashBlackberries are almost hereBlackberries are getting ripeYes, they tasted great
