Hello Everyone: As usual, plenty to catch up on. Lounging among the flowers just is not in the works for me any time soon.
Anyone have interesting weather events at your home? One of our black walnut trees came down, apparently due to the weight of the rain and an infected portion of the trunk.
It came down on the back of the trailer. Two nights previous, the car was hitched up, so a very close call .
One more reason to plant a couple trees every year, as I assume there will be a few more "wind falls".
Not that I mind a few more walnut trees coming down. This wood is very prized by carpenters.
My friend Gord is a luthier by trade, and will have first opportunity to take all he wants of this for guitar necks.
This is in return for spending a day chipping wood, and several hours dismantling an old fence and erecting a new one, mounting the gate by the store, and raising the walls of the nursery.
For me, a little less shade and a few less walnuts messing up the yard.
In spite of trees coming down, nature continues to do it's thing. I pulled the tarp off the compost last week and discovered over a dozen young garter snakes slithering in and out of a maze of holes.
Some folks might be squeamish upon finding all these snakes in one spot (I can think of one relation that would flee screaming), though for me, MUCH preferable to starting to turn a pile only to find that yellow jacket wasps have taken up residence. That happened to me at the previous farm.
I've lost two tarps to rodents taking short cuts into the compost, so I hope they keep coming while the snakes are still around,
It is not uncommon to find snake egg clusters in compost; has not happened here yet though was a very common occurrence at Elmtree Farm.
These snakes should grow up quickly as there are hundreds of frogs all over the farm this year. In some areas, taking a step into the grass causes three or four individuals to leap away. Good for reducing all kinds of insects.
I am glad I delayed delivery by a week, the next round of lettuce is looking quite nice.
There should be some butterhead mignonettes in the next delivery - the survivors of a hot day in the nursery several weeks back.
I did not intend to harvest lettuce in August, but with fewer CSA sales this year, space for leaf crops opened up and I decided to give it a try.
Weeks that do not have delivery can still be harvest weeks. After the final June delivery, I started to bring in the garlic. A little early, but between the early emergence of the garlic in the spring and the amount of rain over the summer, I started harvest two weeks early. (Too much rain can cause the bulbs to open up or "shatter" as it is called while they are still in the ground, greatly reducing the bulbs shelf life). Happened to me a few years ago.
This usually means smaller bulbs, but not this year.
I use the broad fork (typically used for aerating soil) to harvest garlic, potatoes, and carrots. With rock hard concrete-like soil that muck is, it is essential for saving time and preventing damage to the crop.
Another source of potential damage is sunlight, which can burn the bulbs and reduce shelf life.
And because I save seed bulbs, there are lots pf photos and note taking.
In the weeks and days before harvest, I watch for plants with a yellow mottling on the stalks, indicating the plant is infected with a virus. The main effect of a virus is to impede the growth of the plant, resulting in smaller bulbs. Infected plant's are pulled, and the nearest plants are marked as potentially infected - not suitable for seed saving.
While harvesting, I look for other details that stand out, to determine which bulbs will be suitable for saving. The one in the middle is not like the others of the same variety, and worth investigating further.
Can't let them get wet, must keep them out of sunlight, and nowhere where rodents can sample them. These are the garlics hung to cure in the rafters of the barn.
This has been a very good season for our garlic. Can't wait to share it.
Still more to come for this post...
