4th week of April 2009
It feels like we catapulted into August with a stretch of several days with temperatures in the 80s. It was hard getting used to working in the heat without time to acclimatize. The warmth also made everything jump with new growth. We almost missed seeing the asparagus before it started going to seed. Here is how we enjoyed our first asparagus meal of the season - creamed asparagus over toast. The cover crop of rye also shot up quickly and Olin disked it under when it was a little over a foot tall. After it breaks down for several weeks, we'll till it again and plant in soil full of organic matter. To help it break down faster we sprayed on a "plant brew" consisting of skim milk, ocean water, calcium and an organic plant food. This will hopefully help wake up and feed the soil microbes so that the rye will be quickly digested and the soil will be alive with action. I also have assigned a couple of our boys to sprinkle this brew out to the drip line of all the fruit trees. After dragging several 5 gallon buckets around to the first round of trees they started creating plans for a barrel attached to a pipe with holes and mounted on the back of a tractor to help them finish the task. We'll see if their technology reaches fruition before they finish the tree job.
With some dry days for planting, we are getting many things in the ground. The last round of peas went in on April 27th including a 30 foot double row of my Carouby snow peas intended for seed production. Piles of broccoli and cabbage also were planted near the peas and then the whole lot surrounded by electric fencing. This has been effective in preventing the rabbits and groundhogs from sharing our crop. I have two areas of broccoli set apart for growing out for seed also. Umpqua and Thompson are the varieties I'm using and hopefully I can gather enough seeds for both planting and using in making sprouts. We finally got the last of the onion sets and shallots planted along with several types of onion plants I grew from seed - Red Bull,
Tropea Lunga, Jaille Pasille and Copra plus some leeks. I probably went a little overboard with the alliums but they are such fun to grow. Beds of carrots, beets and snapdragons plus a patch of potatoes also got planted. The lettuces under the trampoline cold frame (see March 5th journal) are now ready for harvest so we moved the frame over two rows of beans and a row of zinnias which will be the next crops to encourage along with some added warmth. I want to get just a few more things done before the predicted rain comes and then I can sit back and enjoy the precipitation.
The wildlife is coming alive too. With fruit trees blooming in full there is a buzz of pollinators around each tree. When we move black plastic strips in the garden, there is often a snake or two who scurry away (sending me into a panic and bringing the kids running to see the dear creatures). The kids also enjoy finding all sizes of frogs by the stream. As Olin was disking he noticed a killdeer nest in time to swerve around it. We are checking it frequently to watch for babies.
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