Farmer Friday 11/8/19

Rearranging and adding to the soaker hose. Peas and arugula will go down the center. 

And turning compost. 

Picking flowers, herbs , kale, mustard and arugula. 

Giant red mustard and arugula 

All set up at market. Was a nice evening. But I am wore out. Good night. 

Throw Back Thursday

November 30, 2017 I still had productive zucchini plants. That was a very warm fall. And before the root knot nematodes really set in.  

Back to today. Ducky warming her toes on the compost pile which is back up to 150°. 

I cut down the sun roots and spread some mulch. 

I spread compost down the center of this area. I want to plant some peas in here. There was a row of tomatoes here all of which died except the brand wine in the center of the row. 

All the others had root knot nematodes. I found a few sun roots in the row and dug them out. ( no pic tho)

Why I really don’t like soaker hoses or drip systems. This soaker ran over night. 3 inches away the soil is dry as a bone. Plant roots cannot grow in dry soil. So their root systems are confined to the wet spot. Not nearly as big an area for root growth as most plants need. 

In another bed the Red Russian kale is still covered in aphids, along with the green wave mustard next to it. 

The girls enjoyed it. I’ll plant something else in that area instead. 

What a pathetic egg collection today. 

Another Wednesday 11/6/19

The compost pile has been sitting steady at close to 150°. So I turned it this morning. 

I made an experimental batch of potting soil. Normally I just do peat and vermiculite but I’ve been listening to the soil scientists and so this batch is 2 parts fine compost, 2 parts peat, about 2/3 part vermiculite with a small amount of gypsum and some kelp. The idea is that germinating seeds need good bacteria, fungi and trace minerals to be really healthy and vigorous. We shall see how it goes. 

I spent some time working indoors as the house is a train wreck. I didn’t get a pic but picked some mums to take to a friend who broke her knee and is having surgery tomorrow. Then I picked up feed and came home. Time for dinner and bed. 

Just a Tuesday 11/5/19

This garden bed has had serious issues.  Some sand, a lot of rock and gravel, major nematode infestation. It’s been mostly fallow this past year. Because it doesn’t hold water well I’m applying a trick I used in TX when I gardened on pure sand. 

I’m digging trenches across the bed and burying my butchering waste in them. You can use any organic matter here, food waste, compost, weeds, anything that will break down, feed the soil and hold water. 

I found a lot of grubs to feed the chickens. 

I’ll mark where I left off and continue after the next processing day.  I may also use other materials and see what differences I see in the plants later. 

The new pile is back up to almost 150° but it’s not stinking any more so I’ll leave it until tomorrow. 

I spread some fresh compost on a small bed in the back garden and planted some mesclun mix. And then I did chores and went to work. 

And that’s a Monday 11/4/19

Mmmmmm.  This volunteer zinnia was growing where 2 years ago the cucumbers died of root knot nematodes.  Perhaps zinnias are not susceptible to nematodes..... I don’t know. 

 Time to clean up. 

Getting ready for peas. 

Fresh compost put down. I also added minerals and gypsum. I’ll plant peas tomorrow. 

Mmmm. Droopy plants.  Dry soil. Time to water. 

Giotto getting some live. Trying to get the kittens to play with him. 

What do you mean I’m not supposed to be in the bed?

Sunday 11/3/19

Yes cousin compost -again-  Back up to 160° this morning so another turn and as much carbon as I could scrape together, I even dumped in some old potting soil since the peat base will help absorb the nitrogen. Hopefully this will end the stinkiness. 

All set up waiting the water to get hot. I was able to get 7 cockerels done. They are now cooling in the ice chest. I’ll rinse and pack them tomorrow after I get off work. 

Then I picked up the half a range fed beef my daughter and I bought. 

Time to clean up. Blood is diluted with water and poured around trees and shrubs that need a boost of iron and nitrogen. 

All done with that part.  Will deal with feathers and guts tomorrow. 

Just a Saturday 11/2/19

Tink seems to be making peace with the kittens finally, tho Loki is a brat a lot of the time. 

The new compost pile was over 140° and getting stinky again, so another turn and some more straw. Composting is as much an art as a science. 

I finally got the chicken plucker wrestled around to the patio.  The wheels are not made for rocky roads. 

I went to hook it up to the water for a test run and discovered this.  So had to replace the hose end. Plucker runs, it does spit out a lot of water. Would be nice to figure out a way to direct the water to a garden. But for now the important part is to get some cockerels off the feed bill and into the freezer. 

  I started clearing out the compost pile the squash was on. 

This bed is having issues. There may be some freeze damage on the mustard but the Red Russian kale is covered in aphids. I sprayed everything with kelp for trace minerals and put down some more compost.  If the kale continues to have major aphid problems I’ll rip it out and plant something else. 

Then I got these two beds covered with row cover before it was time to do chores. It’s going to be a little warmer the next few days but now they are ready for the colder nights coming. That just leaves 3 beds of spinach to cover. 

Welcome November Farmer Friday 11/1/19

I really was thinking it would be the end of the month before hard frost hit but Halloween is when we used to get it. Not like the past 2-3 years when it hasn’t shown up until Thanksgiving. I collected some of the zinnias to dry for seed this morning. 

Holy moly almost 160°. That is way too hot and the ammonia cloud clogging my sinuses tells me why- too much nitrogen and not enough carbon. So I flipped the pile, adding straw between the layers for more carbon. That should bring the temp down and hold onto the nitrogen. 

Turning and adding straw. 

All done. 

Picking arugula for orders. I had no idea how popular it was going to be. 


The row cover blew off the potted plants. But there were still a lot of good tomatoes hiding under the wilting foliage. 

I only picked the largest ones that looked like they might ripen inside.  The peppers look pretty frozen but I’m hoping I can at least get some seed. 

Time to start taking down bird net and shade cloth and putting on row covers. 

The first sun root (aka Jerusalem artichokes). I think they probably need a bit longer   

And a fun surprise. The first egg from this years pullets. Time to get some nest boxes put out.