Goings On

 Never a dull moment at the Genuine Faux Farm - that's for certain.  Ok.  If there ARE dull moments (and I am not saying there are) we wouldn't tell you about them - because that would be - dull.

With the dry weather, we have to admit that our flowering plants are doing less than they have many years.  Much of our clover is drying off.  The daylilies aren't looking terribly happy either.  But, some plants have the benefit of being close to a water source.  One of those plants is the Jackmanii clematis near the front porch of the house.  

Because we need to water the houseplants on that porch, we will periodically reward "Jack" for being nearby and give it some water as well.

The reward has been a nice bloom that has lasted longer than many flowers in a dry season.  At the very least, we would like a little rain to revive the clover.  Our pollinators would like that.

The picture above is from several years ago when Durnik, the Ford 8n/2n tractor, was the ONLY tractor on the farm.  Durnik has been sitting in the Poultry Pavilion for ... oh... about as many years as we have had Rosie on board as our main tractor.  

It's not that we do not like Durnik.  We do.  But, the realities are Rosie is a stronger and safer tractor for us to use with the implements we have.  And, yes, she's got a loader/bucket as well.  And, older tractors require older tractor care.  Neither of us have professed to want to be mechanics, so...

Well, Durnik came out to play recently when our good friend, Steve, wanted to see if we could get the old tractor started.  Surprisingly, it wasn't all that hard and Durnik is now out where we can see him.  That means, of course, that we have to decide exactly what to do with him.

This year is shaping up to be a year where the insect pests are going to be a bit more aggressive than they are most years.  We did not see all that many Cabbage Butterflies, but the few we have seen have apparently been busy laying eggs.  The result is we've got a lot more larva munching on our brassica plants.  

Some of this has to do with the drought conditions.  With many of the plants in our natural areas suffering from lack of water, our crops are looking much nicer for the pests than they might be most years.  On top of that, some of our companion plants are not as robust as they might be most years.

The result is - we're just going to have to accept that we'll have more of the irritating green worms in our broccoli this year.  I am not certain I can tell you how annoying that is.

This year we identified some key crops.  Bell peppers, cucumbers and green beans for Seed Savers contracts.  The bell peppers look good.  Most of the cucumbers died in the late frost (we're trying to get a second batch going now).  The beans haven't germinated.

We are growing garlic for the Food Bank contract and... of course... broccoli.

I begin to think I should just not target any crop for a research project or a contract.  I can have ten years of success with something, but the moment it is identified as critical...  

Alas for us.  Don't worry, we'll figure it out.  This was just my evening/morning whine (depending on when you read this).

 Another fatality of the weather will be out 2021 apple crop.  The picture above is from a few years ago.  While it is a bit early to see much for visible apples, we should be able to see fruit developing.

Well, this year, there isn't much on our trees.  The cold weather cycle prior to our late May frost actually hit our apple blossoms pretty hard.  This sort of things happens - we're just hopeful the local orchards were able to survive the weather.  If we don't have many apples, we will be fine - but disappointed.  It's a bit different when you try to run a profitable orchard.

On the other hand, Tammy and I have been happy with our snow pea harvest - even if it was cut short by the hot weather.  The first batch of green beans have been great and we have had a few heads of broccoli from the early planting in Valhalla.  In fact, everything to do with Valhalla and Eden has been pretty good this year.  So, we'll take that.

We look forward to the first broiler batch taking their trip to the "Park" on July 2 because that reduces some of the daily work for a little while.  They are looking good and we're pleased with the health of the flock.  The turklets are their normal curious selves.  The henlets have figured out how to go into the Summer Cottage for the night (always a relief when they figure it out) and the Stu and the hens continue continuing.  

And, I'll be honest.  While a drought is not a good thing in and of itself for our farm, I am still enjoying walking about the farm without walking through puddles and mud.  I hope that's not wrong of me to feel that way - but we've dealt with such a high percentage of days like that since 2013 that I might be forgiven.

Next chance for rain is likely Friday night.  Here's hoping.