We decided to try and go to the farm as early as possible to avoid the heat. We made it there by 7 am. Well worth the effort because we didn't start to feel the heat until just before lunch time.
I started the cool-bot up right away and picked six heads of broccoli and about a quart of side shoots. Then I picked a few butterhead lettuce but the majority of it had already bolted or tasted bitter. I leave it growing until I can get to it for composting or feeding the chickens or goats but I'd love to have the time to pull it all out and clean up the row. I'll save that for another day. I also cut about 12 heads of cabbage, four of them were the small heads and a few were the conical heads. To me that just seems strange and I can never remember which one it is and I keep planting it. I got one last Chinese cabbage.
David weeded the corn right away while I weeded and mulched the peppers and tomatoes. It took us until lunch time to finish those two projects but it looks really good and will help hold the moisture when we don't have rain. We also put a shovel full of compost around each plant before mulching. Same with the corn. There are three patches of corn. They are small patches but I'm hoping they will come in at different times to extend the harvest. It is not for market but rather just for the family to eat. I am hoping some will be ready by the end of July so we can take some with us to Michigan. Tomatoes too.
I planted some parsnip seeds I have had on a wet paper towel in a baggie for a couple of weeks to check germination because they were last year's seeds. Several did sprout and there were many that were fat and ready to sprout so I planted them all. I think if I can keep them wet I will have a chance at getting them to germinate.
I had soaked some new corn last night so I had to plant it today. It wasn't a lot so I put it at the end of the pepper row. Country Gentleman, an heirloom. I hope the taste is good.
The newest strawberries are starting to get big and red but it looks like they will have white shoulders. I am okay with that since they are very sweet. I really want to weed and mulch them. They were mulched but David did it and he didn't put the straw on thick enough and it's an area that gets really weedy. Plus, they are in a row where I had asclepia (butterfly weed) planted previously and it seems even plowing it under didn't get rid of it all so I'll have to go in and try and dig the smaller ones and just pull the bigger ones.
I could have kept weeding even with the heat but David was beat so we headed home around 4:30. When we got home we sat at the table and had a bear and some chips, then some crackers and cheese and chicken salad. That was dinner. Then we took showers and promptly fell asleep on the couch. Hope I can sleep tonight.
Post a new thread about this blog entry:
