Dealing With The Weather

We had rain almost every day for month or more, which has led to a near total loss for our tomatoes.  The roma tomatoes are still hanging in there and producing, but all others were rotting almost as soon as they were formed.  I cut the plants down to about 8 inches tall.  I figure there is 2 months of growing left, lets see what will happen, after all, we have nothing to lose at this point.  Talking with the neighboring growers, they have all experienced the same thing.

Our peppers are growing, but not like previous years.  Again, I blame the cool, wet weather.  With days in the 60s and nights in the 40s in the middle of July & August, it's just not the optimal conditions to grow peppers.  My super hots do have lots of peppers on them and look healthier than my sweet peppers, so hopefully we'll be able to sell some.

The cool, wet weather has given us an abundance of pole beans.  We always have a lot of beans, but this year it is going to a whole new level.  I put in less plants than normal, about 50% less, but they have produced 100% more beans so far with 2 more months to go.

1/2 bushel of beans

So far, the pole bean experiment is working well and we will continue to grow pole beans in the future.

• They are easier to pick;
• Don't require as much back pain to get to them;
• Require less seed per pound of beans;
• And produce extremely well

 In the future though, I may have to figure out a way to support more of the vine.  An 8 foot high support would be great, but would also require a ladder to harvest the beans.  I'm going to experiment next year with an arch and see how that works.

This season has left me with the conclusion that there is no point in complaining or worrying about the weather, but just accept what you get.  When the weather is poor for one type of vegetable, others will thrive.

Ready for More Buckwheat

I cut the buckwheat down and tilled it in.  I found out that I need to buy a mower for the tractor.  I figured I would try to cut it with the lawn mower.  It knocked the plants down but the deck kept getting clogged and it didn't chop the material as much.  So our next purchase is going to be a 60-72" 3pt mower.

The discs did a decent job of chopping the the buckwheat while incorporating it into the earth, although it took a lot of passes.  Overall, it didn't turn out too bad.

Tilled field of buckwheat

 Now we'll plant another crop of buckwheat to be cut down at the beginning of September.  That will give 6 weeks for the next batch to start to break down before we form beds and plant the garlic.

Buckwheat in Full Bloom

The buckwheat that I planted has really enjoyed the rain and hot weather.  The plants are 5 feet tall and in full bloom.  It's quite pleasant to look out the window and see a field of white flowers.  I was worried that the aroma from the flowers would be overwhelming, considering how many there are, but they are not at all.  There is a faint fresh smell around the field, but that is it.

Field of Buckwheat

The other day I went down to pick some zucchini, which I planted at the corner of the field, and was amazed at the amount of insect activity.  I didn't realize that there would be as many pollinators attracted to this field, which is only growing buckwheat as green manure for the garlic crop.  Bumblebees, what looked like two distinct types of honey bees, butterflies, and all sorts of other flower loving insects were happily feasting on the pollen of these little flowers.  We are quite pleased with the side effect of helping the local bee population. 

Bee Gathering Pollen

Processing Carrots

After taking care of the rabbit that was getting into the carrots, I found a young groundhog eating the tops of them.  So, I figured it was time to pick them.  The carrots weren't as big as I was hoping, but anymore time in the ground wasn't going to help them.  There was one that had split open, but all others were fine.

Knowing how much Debbie hates me bringing dirty food into the house to process it, I decided to be a little smarter with my carrots this year.  With 2 wooden crates, a rotating stool, and a bucket of water, I had a very comfortable carrot set up.  The crates we came across at Home Depot on clearance for $4 each (I couldn't make them that cheap); the stool is for a drummer and can be found at any music shop.

Carrot set up

Spring carrot harvest

Our baby enjoyed teething on one of the carrots and we couldn't help but to get some pictures of her