mostly for my records, but you can see what i’ve been up to

2021 –

march 7 restart this web pagge and try to figure out what heck i’m doing!  😉   they have totally update in the 4 plus years since i’ve done this.. have to get back in the routine of knowing where everything is.

march 6  –  turn compost, weed a few garlic beds, plant  potatoes .. about 7 varieties, not much volume.   caught 2 mice that had gotten a tray of sunflowers in the potting shed… keeping in the mouse house for a bit.  fed and watered  . sigh.     harvesting perennial onions, carrots, parsley, cilantro.     first mow of septic field

july 4   water 328 gallons used

830 – noon   weed and mulch with straw from sarah and adam

630-9

• water  middle section , weed and mulch.. weed buffer area

june 27   30 – 1    cool out, bring luna.   weed and plant cucumbers and beans in fenced in section

june 26  8-1     more mulching of lower area.   plant cucumbers and basil a nd rice and lettuce in fenced in section   .  weed

afternoon seed lettuce at home.

june 25     8-noon   – spread mulch in lower garden.  deer totally got most of tomatoes in unfenced areas.   tomatoes with snapdragons around weren’t eaten.. hmm  maybe a good companion , turn compost pile

june  23rd 24th . not much, just checking temps.. friends in from out of town

june 22nd  am, 9-3  ,  weed, mulch ,

5-630  harvest.. light rain – storm through between time went home 3/4 inch

june 21    8-820 am  check fields and weather, bring luna.. too hot for work today.. it can wait  🙂

june 20    7-11 am

• turn 2 compost piles
• weed
• water by hand from rain barrel lower fenced section

6-630 pm – harvest   extremely hot/humid

june 19 – water used  355 gallons

930 am – 1 pm    farm tour and harvest

• scout potatoes and tomatoes.. more potato beetle larvae – about 30 and 3 tomatoe hornworms
• deer doing moderate feasting on tomatoes and beans.  they like the beans.
• weed and plant winter squash, rice, beans, peas
• turn 2 compost piles

4- 830  pm

• plant and weed
• water (2.5 hours) mid section and seedlings and fill rain barrel at bottom field  –

june 18   – 930 am – noon

luna with me.. probably last cool day for awhile.  drizzle here and there.

redig and plant in lower fenced area – cucumbers, rice, mustard, a little basil

weed in lower area, finding some tomato hornworms and colorado potato larvae.. missing whereever the potato bugs are laying their eggs.

june 17  320 gallons water used

10-noon     turn 3 compost piles, plant  rice, carson beans, acorn squash, blue hubbard squash, altor-kyona mizuna

5-730 pm

plant rice, beans, peas, water upper half of  field.   finding more potato beetle  larvae  and a couple of tomato hornworms – one row of tomatos doing poorly..  likely lack of water.   in clayey soil…

2 informal harvests .

june 16 – away from farm field day.  jack in to water  – 9 gallons water used

june 15 – 9-11    97 gallons water used,

with luna.   water seedlings and clean out rain barrel and fill for jack watering tomorrow

june 14   10-3  mulch remainder of cotton/squash beds in buffer area with corn compost.   turn 2 piles compost,    seeing a couple of plants with colorado potatoe larvae.. and 2 very young hornworms.

6-830   water seedlings and water lower fenced section.    ran barrel needs to get cleaned out.. watered using up all water in it.     tomatoes that had all the vetch and grass around it not doing so great.. cucumbers are flowering

june 13     9-11 harvest , delivery.    4-630 harvest, delivery, show jack watering  quarter inch rain night before.  soil nice , moist

june 12  9-11   mulch buffer areas with corn compost  start of rain.. head home luna with me

june 11  9-2,  mulch buffer area with corn compost.    plant out remaining lettuce and chard seedlings and rosemary plants     4-6 harvest… deliveries

june 10  didn’t go in.. extreme heat, etc.   took the day off

june 9   930-2,   4-830 pmweed lower area, water lower area and seedlings recently transplanted.  some of the lettuce not doing so well..  heat and missed watering one section.

june 8  10-2, 4-8 pmweed area outside fence by jose and dig rows and plant beans and peas

june 7   9-1,    4-7   weed middle/ lower section, plant canteloupe, watermelon

June 6    930 – noon,  230 to 8 pm   171.5 gallons water used for new planting and onions and carrots  – and newly sprouting sunflower seeds in cotton area and in front mini rows.

• dug, tidied up along potato rows to make more room for plantings
• planted seeds for  canteloupe,, watermelon, beans , cucumbers,
• turned 2 compost piles

June 5      930 am – noon  no water used today

• continue working way down hillside weeding and planting
• dig and plant dry bush  vermont cranberry beans, superbo and osmin basil, sesame
• weed,  taking out onion weeds in pathways
• about half dozen large butterflies
• luna with me..
• plant some rosemary throughout rows.

230  –  7 pm

• tour/harvest
• weed, string tomato plants
• turn 2 compost piles
• more butterflies  ,  emily (large bunny) in fenced in area has a little bunny baby..  calling it sprout

June 4    9 am to 1230     water used 4 gallons

• plant and water in flat of black seeded simpson
• weed upper section ,    turn 2 compost piles.. finally smelling some actinomycetes in the uppermost pile
• twine along tomato row
• moisture in ground still good

June 3    430-600 pm

• harvest

June 2     out for harvest and tour with carrie

June 1     1-2?  wasn’t really tracking my time – no watering

• plant sunflowers in buffer area
• plant  ornamental pumpkins and squash in buffer area
• plant mini pumpkins
• plant some yellow watermelon seeds
• harvest scapes
• hopefully some ./good amount of rain… tornado watches and warnings in area.

May 31         11am – noon   – no watering

• harvest

May 30    10-noon   no watering

• harvest
• weed
• turn 4 compost piles

May 29    14 gallons of water used to water in new lettuce seedling and basil transplants

10am – 2 pm

• plant lettuce seedlings  vulcan, red romaine, and tom thumb
• noticinig that in heat and drought stress the lettuce under the row covers doing much better than lettuce without.. lettuce i was planning on harvesting from this week getting bitter
• lowest section showing some heat and drought stress in tomatoes and peppers slow growing in lower area.

530 pm to 630 pm

• harvest

May 28   114 gallons of water used

hot – high 80’s doesn’t seem as bad as yesterday

10am-2 pm

• dig rows/ redig rows from bolted spinach and plant bush beans, dry beans and carrots
• weed lower section
• sarah and adam and jose out in their fields

6-845 pm

• water in plantings and some of greens and onions in upper field
• tomatoes mid field starting to show some stress from lack of water, rain predicted for tonight..
• not seeing any colorado potatoe beetles yet.. maybe the solanum is a good trap crop to have around.
• seeing some kind of long thin beetle on the potatoes though.. no damage.. need to id.
• swallowtail catterpillar on potatoe plant.. is it setting in to form chrysalis?  will keep an eye on .
• zinnias starting to flower more all over the farm.. small but coming in.
• cotton sprouting in upper field.  lower a few peeking out.

– water in new plantings mostly and watering some carrots and onions and cilantro and greens

May 27    3.5 gallons water used

very hot, humid,  high 80s

10-1130

• string tomatoes, give tour, harvest
• no rain for days now, very humid and high 80’s .. plants wilty and stressed but hanging in there.

530-845 pm

• string tomatoes – running out of twine
• weed
• tour and evening harvest
• sighted, baby praying manits, strange albino potato beetle larvae, and a swallowtail butterfly catterpillar on the potatoes
• sara , adam , jose and one of his guys out at farm.
• ground dry.. need rain.

May 26         280 gallons of water used, about 2 hours at end of day

9am – 1pm

• weed, dig and plant out peanuts and beans , plant some sesame seeds
• harvest and delivery

530-830  pm

• water, turn 2 compost piles , string tomatoes

May 25      342.3 gallons of water  watered  about 2 hours at end of day

• 8-10 am  luna out with me , very warm , hot, bring luna home before sun hits lower garden
• dig rows and plant out 3 flats of lettuce in fenced area
• 11- 3ish   back, weed, dig and plant beans in upper area,  turn 2 compost piles
• string tomatoes
• 6-830   pm  weed, and water upper and mid level portion of land  ,

May 24

water used 12.5 gallons

• planted out 2+ flats of amaranth.. finishing out borders
• planted black seeded simpson lettuce
• planted about 10 cinnamon and thai basil and 6 pack of regular genovese basil
• planted out about 20 rosemary plants
• weeded
• scouted,  about 20 cabbage worms
• so far not seeing colorado potato beetles on potatoes…  see them on other thorny solanum plants  – so far so good
• not much rain  😦  ..  will need to water in cotton seeds soon if nothing happens tonight.
• no deer activity last night that i see
• harvest for  delivery in evening

May 23   11-4

• plant out 2 flats of cucumbers
• weed
• string up about 3 rows of tomatoes
• plant random sunflower seeds
• weed along outer edges of growing area… tidy it up a bit
• turn 2 piles of compost.. starting to degrade a bit now. looking better
• hummingbird and dragonflies ..
• deer starting to eat more of the lettuce.  but still have plenty
• deer munching on some of the tomatoe plants.. but still way more than plenty of those
• dissapointing that thunderstorms never showed up. could use some rain
• cotton starting to sprout.. looks good.

May 22   – high 76, low 64 predicted     8am- 130ish pm

• weed , thin carrots
• dig rows and plant –  heirloom green cotton, and short row of lt.. red kidney beans, and 1 short row of black turtle beans
• harvest lettuce, kale, lemon balm,snap peas, mustard greens, for on farm order
• luna along for am.
• plant some amaranth
• hummingbird sighted!!!! butterflies, white cabbage butterflies all over, several ladybug larvae…  ground moist from rain but not soggy where i was working mid field.  very muggy, but cloudy so fine

• 4-830 pm
• finish seeding cotton in buffer area
• scout brassicas .. finding fair amount of cabbage worms
• also in evening time finding slug/snails on brassicas.. about a dozen overall
• string about 3 rows tomatoes
• weed
• no watering today (or yesterday when i wasn’t in )

May 21, rainy off and on, stayed home and separated cotton seed and rested

May 20, sun   weather high mid 70’s

4-7pm

• weed, dig rows for cotton and beans
• harvest spinach for share,
• harvest 3units  radish, mustard greens and 6 red leaf lettuce heads for on farm share
• ground still ok for moisture. hoping for rain tomorrow.   first set of cotton seeds starting to sprout.   deer are getting into peas on upper part of field.  still haven’t disturbed peas in fenced area.     some tomatoes starting to flower.  tomatillos flowering.  ho mi z starting to bolt.   spinach bolting.. on the way out and seedlings of new spinach not growing that fast.
• seeing a few more wasps.   birds are starting to use the stakes to hang out and flit around.  pair of cardinals, a blue bird and others i don’t know.
• jose and carlos and another out working in field

May 19, sat.   weather predicted – high 77 low 54

9-10  seed more lettuce 4 trays including iceburg lettuce seeds from jose.   canteloupe and watermelon seeds not germinating.. and marigold seedlings not holding strong.  not sure what is going on in the greenhouse right now.

11-830 pm   half hour lunch

• dig rows for and plant – beans , dry – yellow china and black turtle, carson yellow bush bean, squash patty pan and zephyr,  red heirloom lima beans (from caroline winslow), cotton, black seeded broom corn (sorghum)
• scout and smush colorado potatoe eggs.. no larvae yet
• scout and relocate @ 30-40 cabbage worms.  hard to see in siberian krinkly kale
• water in seeds from yesterday and todays plantings.   after get meter will be able to quantify.  watered for an hour.  guessing 3 min 2 gallons so 180 gallons estimated used.
• put compost (2 bags)  from home on carrots, onions, some leeks and some cilantro in upper field
• harvest some early peas and try tom thumb lettuce for home.  –give  to jack with the hot peppers for him and jung

May 18  –am — 9-2

• tour farm to 2 adults and 2 kids and get some produce out
•             red leaf lettuce (4heads), some kale, collards, rainbow chard, radishes, spinach,
• plant amaranth in buffer areas about 3 flats
• plant stock in buffer areas 2 half flats
• weed a little
• use about 10 gallons water from house hand carry to field
• spinach really starting to bolt, cutting whole plant at harvest.

pm –  430-830

• luna with me
• dig, plant snap beans, sweet corn, popcorn, dill
• string sweet peas… a little late on stringing a couple of rows.. tangled in with vetch, etc…
• no rain predicted for a couple of days.. will need to water in upper area cotton and newly planted seeds.
• weed

May 17

• hill more potatoes
• plant remaining peppers and misc basil, zinnias and amaranth
• weed lower section
• turn 2 corn compost piles
• rake up grass cuttings from lawn area adjacent to farm area
• fill water barrel
• at home water…  hard time getting marigolds to germinate properly
• about 8-9 hr day
• luna with me for morning
• notice that lots of ladybugs on wheat of grower that sprays chemicals in next lot over..   wheat seems to attract ladybugs…

May 16  – rain past couple of days – no need to water.  lots of weeding.  seeing quite a few ladybug larvae  –  YAY. !

• start trellising some of peas and tomatoes
• weed upper half of farm
• seed in some spring mix of pea, vetch and wheat in some paths
• seed in new zealand clover in some paths
• hill about 5 rows of potatoes,  remove some flower buds.  find first colorado potato beetle.. busy laying eggs.. relocate beatle and squash eggs
• find frog in potatoes while hilling them
• braising mix going to flower.. never got a good harvest
• spinach starting to bolt
• oldest red leaf lettuce holding on nicely
• find a few cabbage worms while scouting kale and collards.. but moths are busy so should see more soon
• a few of tomatoes flowering
• tomatillos flowering
• one set of carrots under cover.. something is nibbling at seedlings  ..
• oldest set of carrots growing nicely
• in fenced in area vole or like tunneling in freshly dug areas.. might be affecting sweet potatoes in that area.. peppers seem fine
• established clovers starting to lose their blooms
• radish doing well… more coming into size.
• kyona mizuna and baby mustard greens at limited availability ready soon
• turn 2 compost piles.   adding fresh weeds still into corn residue piles.. need that extra nitrogen.
• day is hot, but evening lovely.   if not for the dark could have stayed out for hours.