Each season Ken makes a decision whether to mulch or not. If he decides not to mulch he plants a green manure crop. When it is hot or dry and the green manure won’t sprout, it’s a good time to mulch. Both mulch and green manures cover bare areas. They retain moisture in times of drought. They moderate the soil temperature to promote microbial life in the soil. The weed germination and pressure on …
Ken has always encouraged broody hens to hatch chicks. A few years back when the price of day old chicks went to $4 each, Ken got serious about hatching out chickens to replace older laying hens. A chick grows into either a pullet (female) or cockerel (male), and then as adult they are hens or roosters. Pullets grow for about six months before they lay eggs. Their first eggs are small and people call them …
We love daylilies. Just as the summer turns beastly hot and the perennial selections seem few, the daylilies start blooming They come in many sizes Colors And even blossom shape varies with splayed petals or a cup shape. They are each so wonderful.
Greetings from the Garden! This week’s CSA box has lettuce, spinach, bok choy, green onions, radishes, beans, cabbage, zucchini, broccoli, anise hyssop and thyme. Field Notes Temperature fluctuations are extreme this week; we had a sweltering day Saturday and a cool easy to work day Sunday. The temperature spread was about thirty degrees. This is stressful on the plants and animals (and farmers). We are hoping for more moderate temperature swings. Ken has been wheel …
Greetings from the Garden! This week’s CSA box has summer spinach, chard, kale, mixed brassica greens, beet thins, bok choy, green onions, rutabagas, and herbs – parsley and marjoram and the last of the strawberries Field Notes. Ken has been planting and weeding. He plants some crops like greens throughout the season. Others like peppers he plants and transplants once. As the plants grow he keeps the plants ahead of the weeds so …
We have hens for eggs. In the past we did a combination of buying day old chicks and encouraging broody hens to hatch out a clutch of chicks. A few years back the price of day old chicks straight run (a mixture of male and females – it’s cheaper) rose to nearly $4 per chick! Ken got serious about setting up a successful breeding situation. Last summer he had a series of batches of chicks …
Ken has a set of radio headphones. He really enjoys folk music, so most Sundays he sets them for Wisconsin Public Radio’s Simply Folk show and heads out to garden or field. This week he is going through the walkways in the garden with his wheel hoe It is a two handled tool that has one wheel and various attachments – one has tines one has a pointed …
We grow berries. Now we have strawberries. Many berries are “utilities” – not cute enough to be number one, but perfectly good to eat or freeze or cook. I cut them up and make jam. Today I made jam. The ping of the canning jars sealing is so satisfying. It will taste so good when no other fresh berries are in season!
Greetings from the Garden! This week’s CSA box has lettuce, spinach, salad greens, braising greens, snap peas, beets or carrots, green onions, herbs, and strawberries Field Notes. Although Ken is always planting, right now he is really focused on cultivating and weeding. If he and the crops can stay ahead of the weeds now when plants are small, those crop plants can establish “canopy” and make shade so they can stay ahead of the weeds …
I am not as spry as I used to be. I still pick many of the small items we offer for sale like strawberries, peas, and beans. I usually pick the peas into a four or five gallon bucket; this one is a second hand molasses bucket from the co-op. The strap on portable milking stool is a real lifesaver – one of the best investments I ever made!
