The past few weeks have been busy and exciting. Spring is the busy season for farmers, and this year has been unusually wet. As a result, planting has been delayed and some crops even lost, which means that things are still very busy. Almost all of our garden, which is wet even in a normal year, has been planted now. We still have a few things which we hope to plant tomorrow.
The garden stands in striking contrast to the wilderness of brush growing around it. The rain has caused enormous growth in the brush, and the weedeater has been busy just keeping the areas we walk and work on clear. These rows have just been planted to squash, melons, and cucumbers. (All of the pictures I took are either dark or blurred, due to the fact that I didn't get around to taking them until dusk. After all, I'm a farmer, not a photographer.)
We started our tomatoes from seed and planted them out while it was raining. I've found that rain doesn't actually hurt you.
The squash is just beginning to sprout.
Our corn is an heirloom variety called Texas Honey June, which is supposed to have a honey-like taste and good resistance to earworms. We didn't have very good germination, so I replanted some today. I also sowed white clover with the corn so that I will have a cover crop ready to turn under as soon as the corn is harvested.
I couldn't get a very good picture of the goat kids, but here is the best shot.
The pullets which I started in February should begin laying in a month. 
The turkeys have done very well, and I just moved them out to pasture. I still have 17 out of the 20 which I ordered. They look and sound much different than chickens, especially with their extremely long necks.
Our two lambs, Percy and Benjamin, are getting along well. Both of them are growing faster than I would have expected- much faster than goat kids. Unfortunately, I took the pictures of the lambs last, so they're very dark.
Our two lambs, Percy and Benjamin, are getting along well. Both of them are growing faster than I would have expected- much faster than goat kids. Unfortunately, I took the pictures of the lambs last, so they're very dark.
These flowers caught my eye on my way in, so I thought I would include pictures of them. We have many hydrangeas growing wild along the edges of our woods.
Tomorrow we plan to continue our planting with more squash, cucumbers, peppers, and okra. We also hope to plant some popcorn to sell at the market next year, and some purple hull peas.
Have a great weekend,
Sherlock
3 comments:
The first flower picture is so pretty. I love it. The yellow is lovely. ^_^
What do you do about preventing weeds in a garden your size? We have a tiny one and the weeds are out of control! Thanks. Jennifer
We spend hours weeding. We have two special types of hoes, as well: a stirrup hoe for weeding large areas quickly, and a collinear hoe for weeding carefully around plants. When the plants are too close for these we weed by hand.
We also work to balance the mineral ratios in our soil, which is a long-term process. Most weed seeds only germinate due to an imbalance of minerals, so a balance results in far fewer weeds.
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