Mid-Winter Update...(hoe hoe hoe)

We have about five inches of snow on the ground but you would never know it. The ground in front of our door and near our cars is clear. All the snow as piled itself neatly along the sides of the road. These piles also happen to block one entrance completely and another partially. Bryce has no trouble in his heavy vehicle but my cavalier is another story.

A few things from last year: Bryce covered the entire strawberry field with hay and cornstalks to hold in some of the warmth over the winter. He started a warm compost with horse manure, red worms and newspaper. It's hard to tell if they are still alive because there's so much manure. Bryce also thinks his bees are dead. We could go out there and listen for them but right now, its too cold and windy.

I'm excited for the new season. We have big plans for this year. We're going to have our first major crop of strawberries. We plan to take these to the big market in downtown Springfield and sell out every single time. Bryce has put me in charge of the garden this year. We are deciding on seeds this week and we'll set up seedling shop in about six-eight weeks. Before then, I've got to get everything organized into rows and make a schedule for planting, hoeing, and picking. All volunteers welcome!

It's Funny Hoe Wrong I Can Be

I just recovered from a cold, the first one I've had in a long time, and now I'm ready to bring the fields back under control and ready them for winter. The temperature dropped for a few days a week back and this led to a whole ground covering of fresh greens in my first eight rows. My uncle says these creepers will overwinter, so I'm back in the field hoeing them down.

Surprisingly, my strawberries haven't slowed down at all and now they are my number one weed. They are just thick, covering the rows and aisles, not even leaving space to walk in some areas.

I've made apple juice once already, but want to make more before all the fruit falls from the trees. I've been storing apple sauce for the winter. It is delicious. Also being stored for the winter: carrots, green/wax/purple beans, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries. I might be storing some of these in my grandmother's freezer, as mine are already running out of room.

My other large project for the fall has to do with poles and posts. I've only put about 2/5ths of the posts in for the bramble trellis, and I don't like how my tomato trellis turned out, so I'm going to salvage those posts and the string, and rebuild it next year. I might not pull all of the posts out, but some of the rows need rebuilding for sure.

After the first few days of frost, I'll be covering the strawberries with straw &/or corn stalks for winter protection, and that'll be the end of the season.

O! hoe the seasons change!

I believe I went to my last farmer's market for the season last week. I may still sell apples, the remaining tomatoes, and those ever everbearing strawberries by the roadside, but my first summer as a farmer has nearly passed. There's still some hoeing to do, but germination has slowed down and each row hoed goes quickly.

Fall will be heavy with the wood chopping, trellis building, and repairs. The strawberries will need winter protection soon enough. But I know I'll be germinating seeds by early January and the whole thing begins anew.

Early notes for next year's garden: x4 on the green beans! +sweet corn! (I heard Chicago was paying a dollar an ear this year)

I saw a tree yesterday that had the audacity to already have a dozen yellow leafs.

It's Quite Hoet Out.

Man that title is terrible.

Finished going through the strawberry patch again. It's looking strong in most spots, but my late replants to fix the bare patches from washout haven't begun runnering yet. I'll just have to take care of that in the spring.

The roadside tomato stand is working well. I make as much there as at a market. But the heat is ridiculous. Heat index has been over 110 the past few times I've gone out. One lady said she couldn't imagine a worse job. Thank you for the kind words, ma'am.

I have tomatoes in the following colors: red, pink, green, yellow, purple, orange.

There are a few black ones too, but I don't sell those.

Hoed Every Row

A little behind schedule, but every row has been hoed.

The tomatoes are beginning to turn red. The cherry tomatoes have been yellow/orange for a couple weeks now, but I've ate all of them instead of taking them to market.

I have a bunch of broccoli that has been big for a while, but a few of them have only now begun putting on the actually head of broccoli. I don't know what's up with them, but I sure wish they'd hurry up.

I also dug up some potatoes after the last rain. I planted a variety called All Blue, but the potatoes themselves are purple. They're a little hardier than the other varieties. I haven't figured out the best way to prepare them yet, but last night I cut them up and fried them like breakfast potatoes. They were alright that way. I might try them in a stew instead.

When It Rains, Hoe Boy, It Pours!

Five and 3/10ths inches in 36 hours here. After about 2 weeks of no rain. Quite the wash out.

I hoed today and monday, and am 10 rows deep. I plan on going out again this evening and being done with the field by at least Saturday.

The tomatoes are starting to turn, I'm getting a lot of cherry tomatoes but they haven't made it to the market yet because they're just too good eating.

My tomato trellis end-posts aren't quite anchored well enough, and the pulling tension combined with the sudden rains have made a few of them lean. Toads have taken up residence in the ensuing 2 inch gaps created by the leaning posts.

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