NEWS FROM THE FARM |
October, 2009
There's less and less to do with each passing cool day. Garlic went in this week: I doubled what I planted in '08 as I sold all that I had, save a few pounds for seed garlic. I plant a combination of Phillips and Red Russian - both are hard neck varieties that are resilient to pests and disease and store well into spring. I worked up the bed with the tiller on the tractor then brought in loads of compost. I then went back over the bed with the broad fork, working the compost a bit into the soil. Once the garlic went in I then covered the bed over with a thick layer of mulch hay.
Our broilers are heading off for slaughter tomorrow, which draws to close that chapter for this year. These birds are BIG. I learned the hard way that fall is an incredibly busy time for slaughter houses in the state. After speaking with Steve up at COOP - a USDA inspected facility in Monmouth, I learned that the houses are hampered by the need to have a State Inspector at the facility. Due to budget constraints and mandatory closure dates, the inspectors are available only two days per week.
So while I was feeling very sorry for myself that these birds were going to be POUNDS larger than I wanted them at slaughter, I learned that there are many farmers in the state holding on to chickens, geese, turkeys and ducks longer than they'd like as they await slaughter dates. This delay adds exponential feed cost and increases labor (and stress) and increases the chance for mortality in the flock.
After getting off the phone with Steve I immediatly sent a letter to my State Representative letting her know how concerened I am about budget cuts and that mandatory State closure dates are affecting the small farmers efforts at turning a profit. I heard back from her that same week and she shares my concern and sent my letter along to our Commissioner of Agriculture.
The work is never quite done! A little armchair political activism and plenty of winter reading should keep me busy until early spring. Oh, and there's the hoophouse experiment: I sowed spinach, kale, winter lettuce, cutting greens and carrots a few weeks back. Within a few days (the hoophouse is 100 degrees on a sunny day) the seeds had germinated and the rows were beautiful with an abundance of bright green seedlings. The next day I came out and they were gone! I thought for sure I had a slug problem but I'm now thinking it was the voracious horn worm that wiped out the rows. The tomatoes in the hoophouse were attacked pretty fiercely by hornworm this year, and the warm temps in the hoophouse have kept the population alive and active. I have since removed all the tomato plants and reseeded the greens. I'll build clotches for the beds and try out various row covers throughout the winter to see what works best for highest yield. I'll keep you posted.
Trish
| August, 2009 | |
| July, 2009 | |
| June, 2009 | |
| May, 2009 | |
| April, 2009 | |