3rd week of July 2009

arlic Harvest This week I have several extra farmhands around with three nieces and nephews from Indiana staying with us. Our daily schedule includes time for garden chores and I'm making use of my extra work force to get all the garlic pulled. It is a very kid friendly job as long as I can keep my dozen different varieties separate and labeled. Another job I'm glad to give to my helpers is the task of pulling pea plants to make way for fall carrot and beet beds. Preparing meals for 8 children all week means everyone needs to pitch in too so I have meal helpers to do tasks like digging potatoes for supper or snipping beans for lunch. Other tasks needing attention this week were cleaning out the chick shed to prepare for a new batch of peeps and picking applesauce apples. There is also plenty of free time for the cousins to play and enjoy summer on the farm together.

Family Farm Field Day Our family attended the Family Farm Field Day in Fredericksburg over the weekend. It was a wonderful wholesome event that the whole family enjoyed and it was fun to see many of our farming friends there. They estimated that around 4500 folks gathered for all the speakers, vendors, kids activities, nature walks, etc. I didn't have time see everything that day since I helped present two sessions in the homemaking tent. I did a short session on yogurt making and then teamed up with Elsie Kline to do a fall gardening session. Both were very well attended and I hope people went home with some fresh ideas to try. Pictured is the group that gathered after the fall gardening session to ask further questions. I know I learned a few things from Elsie's sharing about her fall gardening experience. I'm planning to try China Rose winter radishes that are one of her family favorites and I also want to try direct sowing some of my fall Chinese cabbage and bokchoy like she does. Now is the time to get busy planning some of my fall salad plantings along with root crops and cover crops. It would be easy to get carried away by all the harvesting that is needed this time of year and neglect to make plans for the harvest to continue into the fall months.

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