Over the weekend Charles was able to lay a bunch of the plastic mulch for our plants to be transplanted into soon. Then it started to rain, so that gave him a day or two in the greenhouse to get more plants ready to be transplanted!
Thank goodness for the pretty days we can get out in the field, and thank goodness for the rainy days that force us to get into the greenhouse and get more seeds in trays. Sometimes if it's sunny for too many days in a row, we get behind in our greenhouse work. And vice versa when it's rainy, we get behind in our field work.
Such is the life of a farmer, though, we're at the mercy of the weather - big time! Who needs a one-armed bandit when you have mother nature to gamble with?
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Charles, the Mulch-Laying Man!
Charles worked at laying plastic mulch pretty much all day. When you lay a couple miles of it each year, it takes a little time.
The process goes like this: After plowing and working down the soil, you till the beds so the soil is nice and soft. Then you lay the plastic with the raised bed mulch-laying machine (ours if partly homemade by Charles, partly store-bought). Voila, nice, ready-to-plant-in, raised beds!
We hope tomorrow we'll have most of the day to lay more plastic before the rain comes. It was nice having some warm, sunny days to work outside.
But,
Sunny, warm days cause the greenhouse and tunnel temperatures to skyrocket. So you have to water them more often to keep the poor little plants moist. Running back and forth from the farm (where the tunnels are) to the house (where the greenhouse is) takes some time.
Hopefully mother nature will cooperate on a regular basis and let us get our work done.
The process goes like this: After plowing and working down the soil, you till the beds so the soil is nice and soft. Then you lay the plastic with the raised bed mulch-laying machine (ours if partly homemade by Charles, partly store-bought). Voila, nice, ready-to-plant-in, raised beds!
We hope tomorrow we'll have most of the day to lay more plastic before the rain comes. It was nice having some warm, sunny days to work outside.
But,
Sunny, warm days cause the greenhouse and tunnel temperatures to skyrocket. So you have to water them more often to keep the poor little plants moist. Running back and forth from the farm (where the tunnels are) to the house (where the greenhouse is) takes some time.
Hopefully mother nature will cooperate on a regular basis and let us get our work done.
Friday, April 11, 2008
More progress on the planting front
Well, we got some peas transplanted out into the patch by Rt. 219. You'll see them as you drive by, they're in the left-most row (closest to the driveway).
Charles drove the stakes and ran some string through the stakes first, then set them out by hand. He carefully put the plants on the prevailing wind side of the stakes and string, so the wind would blow the pea plants onto the string, the peas would grab onto the string with their tendrils, and all would be well.
Well.
Of course, the wind blows one way in that field 90% of the time. The day Charles was putting the peas out, the wind decided to switch. So rather than blowing the peas onto the climbing string, the wind blew the peas over away from the string. So much for good planning.
But nature is pretty good at correcting herself. So some of the peas have recovered and found the strings. Others will find their way soon. All will be well, and we'll have delicious sugar snap peas in about 5 weeks.
Let's hope the cold weather the forecasters are calling for next week doesn't last long!
Charles drove the stakes and ran some string through the stakes first, then set them out by hand. He carefully put the plants on the prevailing wind side of the stakes and string, so the wind would blow the pea plants onto the string, the peas would grab onto the string with their tendrils, and all would be well.
Well.
Of course, the wind blows one way in that field 90% of the time. The day Charles was putting the peas out, the wind decided to switch. So rather than blowing the peas onto the climbing string, the wind blew the peas over away from the string. So much for good planning.
But nature is pretty good at correcting herself. So some of the peas have recovered and found the strings. Others will find their way soon. All will be well, and we'll have delicious sugar snap peas in about 5 weeks.
Let's hope the cold weather the forecasters are calling for next week doesn't last long!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Taters and Peas are in the Ground!
We've planted potatoes and peas in the ground! I think that's the earliest we've tried planting things outside. (Gambling with Mother Nature again). The warm dry weather we had a few days last week allowed us to get into the fields.
We have lots of strawberries, spinach, peas, and kale planted in the high tunnels as well.
With our first market starting May 3 in Morgantown, WV (www.MorgantownFarmers.org) we only have four more weeks to get ready! The warm weather really helps, but these cold nights really slow our plants' growth down.
Our tunnels are getting full, and we still need a "staging area" for our plants still in their trays, but not ready to be put outside yet. So, we're on the lookout for a used greenhouse or high tunnel. Let us know if you find one for a good deal!
We have lots of strawberries, spinach, peas, and kale planted in the high tunnels as well.
With our first market starting May 3 in Morgantown, WV (www.MorgantownFarmers.org) we only have four more weeks to get ready! The warm weather really helps, but these cold nights really slow our plants' growth down.
Our tunnels are getting full, and we still need a "staging area" for our plants still in their trays, but not ready to be put outside yet. So, we're on the lookout for a used greenhouse or high tunnel. Let us know if you find one for a good deal!
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