Post by Alan on May 2, 2010 17:30:46 GMT -5
A general update:
We got a pretty good frost the other night, luckily I didn't have anything very tender up and out of the ground yet. Some of the Amanda Palmer corn got yellowed up a bit but it's coming out of it nicely now.
Prior to the storms that moved in on Friday we got a lot of the crops in the ground. I've been planting corn for a month now, spacing by distance and time, 5 varieties so far. Amanda Palmer, Astronomy Domine, Bear Island, Painted Mountain, Old No. 101 SH2.
I put down plastic and am growing grexes of high brix red icebox watermelons (from Ken Ettlinger as well as F1 seed from Alan Kapuler via Holland seed), grexes of high brix yellow icebox watermelons, some of Ken Ettlingers crosses, and many of Curtis Showells varieties, oh yeah, and some white fleshed icebox grexes. Oh, and the Absinthe melon I started work on three years ago is also back in the rotation.
About 20 varieties of bush beans are in the ground along with our various summer squash mixes and crosses, should be really diverse this year.
I also planted in isolation several small, medium, and large hubbard squash color lines along with some various grexes of hubbards. Ken Ettlingers Cheese squash mass cross is in the ground as well along with our three selections; small medium and large, of Long Island Cheese.
Plastic has been placed on the ground for absinthe, osu blue and crosses, the pink floyd, heart tomato grexes, yellow slicing tomato grexes, and many others along with many peppers and eggplants.
Asian white cucumber grexes are in isolation along with a green grex of large slicing type tomatoes.
There is still a ton to get in the ground and a lot of general "organizing" of seed collections, notations to be made, and general grunt work. There is so much to do since we have expanded this year. Still to hit the ground is our grex of C. Pepo winter squashes, spaghetti squash, some more tomato lines, some peppers, a couple more corns
This week we also planted several Kazak apple seedlings, pear and peach seedlings, yellow and orange raspberry seedlings (from crosses), 4 varieties of everbearing strawberries (for use in making crosses to white alpines in the search for a large white fruited everbearing strawberry with runners).
The first 23 young turkeys are in the new turkey shed and have been free ranging with the larger flock and French Guineas over the past week.
There are 6 rabbits with babies at the moment and two incubators full of eggs as well. Also there are two turkeys and two guineas setting on a nest of 30-40 guinea eggs and a dozen or more turkey eggs.
There are also 11 turkeys and one guinea in a brooder box inside of the worm house and 20 more turkeys which will be delievered this coming week.
This week we have to muck out the rabbit area and the goat pen and feed the resultant muck to the worm heard. Harvest some castings and get them spread to the field. Do some general upkeep work to some farm equipement, till through and hoe the early crops that are up and going (an amazingly diverse grex of Swiss Chard, Spinach, Raddishes, Cabbages, Onions, Lettuces, Kales and a lot more.
Not only do we plan on producing all of this produce for market this year, but this promises to be our first major year for seed production of specific varieties or grexes as well which we will offer via a catalouge this fall. We are also carying on selection in our poultry flocks for the color traits, body conformation, egg laying abilities, hardiness, and mothering instincts as well while also preparing to expand upon some building projects in the coming months.
So very busy and sorry I haven't had much time to speak to my friends online lately, but once all is in the ground and the rain lets up a bit there will be plenty of time to update everyone regarding specific crops, selection criteria, breeding experiments, and of course pictures which Kim has been taking left and right this year. We are trying harder than ever to document all that we do, both for personal records, but also as part of our continued research and education for the public domain regarding the self sustainable possibilities available to small farms and farmers.
We got a pretty good frost the other night, luckily I didn't have anything very tender up and out of the ground yet. Some of the Amanda Palmer corn got yellowed up a bit but it's coming out of it nicely now.
Prior to the storms that moved in on Friday we got a lot of the crops in the ground. I've been planting corn for a month now, spacing by distance and time, 5 varieties so far. Amanda Palmer, Astronomy Domine, Bear Island, Painted Mountain, Old No. 101 SH2.
I put down plastic and am growing grexes of high brix red icebox watermelons (from Ken Ettlinger as well as F1 seed from Alan Kapuler via Holland seed), grexes of high brix yellow icebox watermelons, some of Ken Ettlingers crosses, and many of Curtis Showells varieties, oh yeah, and some white fleshed icebox grexes. Oh, and the Absinthe melon I started work on three years ago is also back in the rotation.
About 20 varieties of bush beans are in the ground along with our various summer squash mixes and crosses, should be really diverse this year.
I also planted in isolation several small, medium, and large hubbard squash color lines along with some various grexes of hubbards. Ken Ettlingers Cheese squash mass cross is in the ground as well along with our three selections; small medium and large, of Long Island Cheese.
Plastic has been placed on the ground for absinthe, osu blue and crosses, the pink floyd, heart tomato grexes, yellow slicing tomato grexes, and many others along with many peppers and eggplants.
Asian white cucumber grexes are in isolation along with a green grex of large slicing type tomatoes.
There is still a ton to get in the ground and a lot of general "organizing" of seed collections, notations to be made, and general grunt work. There is so much to do since we have expanded this year. Still to hit the ground is our grex of C. Pepo winter squashes, spaghetti squash, some more tomato lines, some peppers, a couple more corns
This week we also planted several Kazak apple seedlings, pear and peach seedlings, yellow and orange raspberry seedlings (from crosses), 4 varieties of everbearing strawberries (for use in making crosses to white alpines in the search for a large white fruited everbearing strawberry with runners).
The first 23 young turkeys are in the new turkey shed and have been free ranging with the larger flock and French Guineas over the past week.
There are 6 rabbits with babies at the moment and two incubators full of eggs as well. Also there are two turkeys and two guineas setting on a nest of 30-40 guinea eggs and a dozen or more turkey eggs.
There are also 11 turkeys and one guinea in a brooder box inside of the worm house and 20 more turkeys which will be delievered this coming week.
This week we have to muck out the rabbit area and the goat pen and feed the resultant muck to the worm heard. Harvest some castings and get them spread to the field. Do some general upkeep work to some farm equipement, till through and hoe the early crops that are up and going (an amazingly diverse grex of Swiss Chard, Spinach, Raddishes, Cabbages, Onions, Lettuces, Kales and a lot more.
Not only do we plan on producing all of this produce for market this year, but this promises to be our first major year for seed production of specific varieties or grexes as well which we will offer via a catalouge this fall. We are also carying on selection in our poultry flocks for the color traits, body conformation, egg laying abilities, hardiness, and mothering instincts as well while also preparing to expand upon some building projects in the coming months.
So very busy and sorry I haven't had much time to speak to my friends online lately, but once all is in the ground and the rain lets up a bit there will be plenty of time to update everyone regarding specific crops, selection criteria, breeding experiments, and of course pictures which Kim has been taking left and right this year. We are trying harder than ever to document all that we do, both for personal records, but also as part of our continued research and education for the public domain regarding the self sustainable possibilities available to small farms and farmers.
