June 26, 2008

Sometimes farming seems like a futile battle against the elements - until you remember that your job as a farmer is not to battle nature but to learn to work with nature.  One of the things I learned last year was to let plants do your work for you and so instead of spending so much time weeding I've been planting a lot of ryegrass and white clover.  They choke out the weeds and leave me mud free pathways to work in.  I'll be seeding more ryegrass and clover between the tomato and potato rows soon.  First I'll let the weed seedlings come up then till them down and then seed - an old and effective strategy known as stale seedbedding.

Despite the persistent rains, a lot of progress has been made.  All of the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants are in the ground and the rain has helped them make the transition.  The potatoes finally got hilled,  just before the last round of rain.  They look beautiful and will look even better once I get the hay mulch down and get the between rows seeded with ryegrass and clover.

The beans are flowering and should start setting fruit soon.  The potatoes are flowering as well which means potatoes are forming!  Potato flowers are gorgeous and are the color of the potatoe - white flowers - white potatoes, blue flowers - blue potatoes.  Garlic scapes - the flower of the garlic plant - have also made their appearance which means that the garlic is bulbing out.  If you've never tried garlic scapes - now is the time - the season is short and this exotic delicacy should not  be missed.

The onions are looking sleek and sassy and the first green onions are making their appearance (check out the price list for a description - http://www.reverencegardens.com/content/799).  The cabbages are heading up and looking beautiful nestled into their beds of white clover.

Carrots and beets are also coming on nicely and while radishes are done (they've gone to seed) there is some nice looking daikon about to make an appearance.

The second seeding of both summer and winter squash are taking (earlier seedings met with a lot of flood damage) and if it stays dry a day or two I'll be able to get in the edamame, and second seedings of watermelon (which drowned), beans, carrots, and beets.  Radishes will be reseeded in flats so they can be watered frequently, a necessity in the hot days of summer.  Fall crops of broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts will be seeded into flats soon, as well, for later transplant.  The one thing I can definitely say about farming is that I am never at a loss for something to do!  And right now that something to do is making and eating a salad topped with some nice green onions!

I'll be taking and posting some pictures so you can see how pretty it all is - check back soon!