Talkin' About the Weather

The other day I laughed out loud when the man on the radio said, “you know farmers are ALWAYS talkin’ about the weather!”  He was right, but he missed a few things…we also fuss about the weather, worry about the weather, cuss about the weather, and sometimes even dream about the weather, among other things.

I know that the man on the radio talks about the weather a lot, too.  He does a segment on the noon show that covers the weather conditions for fieldwork, planting and agricultural spraying.  In agriculture, EVERYTHING is dependent upon the weather…and I mean EVERYTHING!

We have been fighting with the wind and the cold for some time now.  For well over two weeks, we have had freeze warnings at night.  Some orchards in the area have lost their entire peach crop for the year. There are no “do overs” in most types of farming. The beautiful blossoms from March just couldn’t stand up to the incredible, unseasonable cold of April.  Personally, we have hauled the row cover out several times, hoping to salvage something of the berry crop.  The onions and potatoes are fending for themselves.   Our situation is not yet hopeless, although I must confess, I am both worried and disheartened at present.

The wind is a constant here on the hill.  I really don’t think we have ever had a completely calm day.  As I have said before, if you have “views, views, views”…then you have WIND, WIND, WIND!  Usually, the wind is just one of those things, something that is just tolerated or overlooked…other times it begins to grate on every nerve in my being.  Today is one of those grating days. The wind is harsh and cold and completely relentless.

Working in the greenhouse, the wind rattled the fan louvers and made the plastic sides quake.  I turned my music up to drown out the racket.  Then, I went to work in the hoophouses.  The wind was even more evident there.  With the shadecloth tethered by nylon ropes, the creaking and groaning made it sound like we had suddenly set sail on the high seas.  The entire structure seemed to shudder in the biggest gusts. I couldn’t crank the music any louder without possible hearing loss.  A walk to the post office proved to be an extraordinary work-out as we faced a strong headwind all the way back up the lane.  I hoped to gain some relief upon returning to the house.

Before I could retreat to the house, my other chores led me around the farm where it seemed I could watch the precious moisture being sucked out of everything by the relentless wind.  The broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower we planted last week are looking bleached and beaten between the wind and the cold. 

 The potato garden looks like the surface of the moon or some sort of desert.  Dust devils rise and swirl as the sheep run along the path to the barn. To say that I was glad to come inside was an understatement.

Escape from the wind was not to be.  When I heard the dogs barking, I looked out the window.  Something billowy and white was draping through the fence, waving in the breeze and continuing on into the sheep paddock.   The sheep were huddled in a frightened group under the pines. WHAT? 

The row cover that was to provide the strawberries some protection had blown off for the second time today.  Now, we are well aware of the powers of wind, so this had been held down with 10….yes, TEN pieces of rebar (4 foot metal rods that are used to reinforce cement…in other words, they are heavy) With a sigh and a few choice words, we headed out and picked up the mess.  We are hoping the wind will calm a bit to aid in the re-application.  Regardless, we will attempt to secure the row cover on the strawberries for the night. This time we used FOURTEEN pieces!

Then, I got another weather notification. (Maybe I should uninstall this phone app…..It’s getting depressing)  It seems the cold is going to continue for yet another night.  Now, the cold is hanging on until Thursday.  That’s not going to help anything. My list of things to cover after supper just got longer…and I’ll have to make sure to do it tomorrow night, too.

There is little or no chance of rain in the foreseeable future.  That’s not going to help anything either.  We really need some rain.  The verdant beauty that is Spring is fully dependent on the plentiful rains of Spring. The lush Spring growth is imperative to a abundant late season harvest. But, there is not a thing we can do about that. (or the wind either)

So, we wait.  We water….and we worry. With a deep well and the knowledge that the creek has never gone dry, we know we can irrigate the crops and keep them growing.   We have done all we can to protect from the continued cold. It is so hard…the watching, the waiting, the worrying.  We know that with just a little rain and a break in the temperatures, the grass will again thrive for the sheep, the vegetable crops will burst forth with vigor and our outlook on life will be exceedingly positive. As I said earlier…EVERYTHING is dependent upon the weather!

It has often been said that farmers have more faith than any other group of people. I reckon that is true.  We keep on doing what we know to do and rely on God above to keep us and the farm going on a daily basis.

Forget talking….now, this farmer is PRAYIN’ about the weather!

Okay, Now You're Freakin' Me Out

the Pond Mountains

I grew up in the country….on a gravel driveway at the end of a dirt road. 

There are not too many aspects of country living that I don’t appreciate… or that I can’t handle.  Although, I must note…I am not always (or ever) calm, cool and collected. But, I learned to drive on a stick-shift FORD pick-up, I don’t get squeamish about “processing” animals, and The Boss taught me to shoot a long time ago. I am a country woman clear to my core. I love it way out here…and sometimes wish we were further out in the wilderness. But, there are times when things get to me.

 Life in the country is far different than life in town. The sounds, the smells, the way of life are foreign to most folks from more urban areas.  A case in point: my “townie” grandfather stayed with us for a while when I was a child.  His biggest complaint?  It was TOO quiet!

Lately, I would have welcomed some quiet.  For some time now, we have been hearing the foxes call to one another in the night.  A vixen calling to potential mates is a very creepy sound, particularly when it comes from the complete blackness that is a moonless country night. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk1mAd77Hr4&feature=endscreen&NR=1

There are a lot of pleasant sounds in the nighttime.  The spring peepers have all begun singing their little song.  It’s a nice “background” type noise provided by the tiny frogs that live near the creek.  Occasionally, a bull will hoot…there is nothing like an Angus bull’s nocturnal love call to let you know you are no longer close to town!  There are the night sounds of various birds and owls, that once identified, are quite interesting to hear. Until 10 o’clock on spring/summer nights, we can hear the sound of contact between the bat and ball, and the cheers of the crowd that float up from the ballfield in M’brook. Country life is something special!

The calls of the foxes do not fit into the pleasant/special category at all.  I have been unable to capture the sound on video (dogs barking, doors squeaking).  So, I borrowed this from Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxLHUxzEoRU   Keep in mind, the night is pitch black, and you can hear these sounds IN the house, WITH the television turned on. Scary!

Okay, so the foxes make a bunch of noise.  Then the dogs take issue with this and cause their own noise.  So much for quiet nights in the country! I was not too concerned with all of this until the Boss and I noted coyote tracks down the road a bit.  Then we noticed some scat on the side of the lane.  I have been unable to determine the species, although I suppose it could be coyote.  I am hoping it is NOT! I began to get more than a little nervous.  Then it was time to put the sheep out on pasture.

When we first turn the sheep and lambs out on grass, I always have a few restless nights.  The lambs are dumber than rocks, and scream whenever they lose sight of their mothers.  Unfortunately, their night vision also seems to be impaired. Sometimes, the amount of nighttime screaming is truly astounding! Occasionally, although very rarely, there is an issue that needs human intervention.  The problem is…you never know!  So, I make a lot of nocturnal trips to the sheep paddock.  A quick shine of the flashlight, count the glowing eyeballs, listen for any other problems and go back to bed.  That’s just part of springtime as a shepherd.

Between the coyote tracks, the vixen calling, and the lambs’ bleating, I     finally…completely…utterly….freaked out last week.

 The dogs woke me from a sound sleep.  There was a lot of commotion in the field across the lane.  (for the record…all those sounds on the Youtube video…yep, heard ‘em all!) When I shined the “big” flashlight (million watts) out to check out the noise, there were FOUR sets of eyes shining in the neighbor’s field.  Two of these sets rapidly fled as I panned around with the light, but the others stayed still, blinking fixedly in the glow of the spotlight.  But, all the noise had stopped…although the dogs continued to bark ferociously. I figured the “glowing orbs” were probably foxes’ eyes, but a quick headcount showed a missing sheep/lamb. I counted again…and again.  The number kept changing, but those eyes in the far field stayed there. The memory of those coyote tracks lingered in my sleep-deprived mind.

Next thing I knew, I was walking down the lane, clad in my pajamas and rubber boots…. (in the country, FASHION is everything!) and armed with TWO flashlights.  I was ready to battle those eyes.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest until I figured out what they were. I didn’t hesitate, despite the fact I didn’t have my glasses…or my Leatherman! It wasn’t until I was crawling under the neighbor’s fence (yes, in the middle of the night…in my pajamas and rubber boots) that I realized I had finally….completely….utterly….lost my mind.  Just as I had this thought…the big, blue eyes blinked again.  Before I could react, two deer shot up from their resting place and bolted up the hill, white-tails flying like flags in the night.  I’m not sure which of us was more startled. Well, that mystery was solved! The dogs went ballistic.  They feel it necessary to “protect” us from the deer pressure, or at least alert us to their very real presence.

I clambered back under the fence, wondering at my sanity.  Then, I caught more glowing orbs in the beam of the flashlight.  This time, it was in the middle of the lane.  This time, it was smaller.  This time, it was calling out….”me-ow….me-ooooowwww!”  Yes, Booooyyy, the mighty hunter (!) had followed me and was now in need of a ride back to the farm.  As I scooped him up and headed home, the sheep and lambs all started following along the lane and down the drive.  A quick headcount (again) and all were present and accounted for. The dogs happily escorted me down the driveway, happy that Mama had come out to play again in the dark of night.

You know, I really need to learn to relax!

This Week on the Hill 4-8

Sugar Loaf 

This week, Spring spread green a little further to the trees and hills. The weather has been up and down, with  cold temperatures that give us great concern.  The potatoes have been nipped back more than once.

a portion of the brassica patch

We planted out the brassicas (broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower) about 700 of them.  So far, the cold has not killed them, although the cauliflower plants are looking a little peaked.  We are also starting to pray for RAIN!

The strawberries are blooming!

Apple Blossoms

The blossoms are absolutely beautiful; we are hoping that the cold will spare some of the fruit for later this year.

The maple tree is producing helicopters in near record number.  Everything is so pretty against the brilliant spring sky!

The hoophouse crops are looking particularly nice. It is a pleasure to go in the hoophouse to work.  ...and our customers seemed to greatly appreciate all the greens on the Opening Day of the Market. (which was a smashing success!)

It's been a good week on the hill. The week ahead promises plenty of hard work and good times.  Maybe that's why Squeekie is smiling in her sleep.

Let's Go to the Market! - opening day 2012

Saturday morning comes very early! 

The trailer was packed with all the farm products harvested the day before and the Boss headed out to town.  This particular Saturday morning, we had some special helpers…actually, I think all the barn kitties were looking for a hand-out…again.

As the Boss pulled out of the lane, I headed down to the barn.  The beautiful full moon made it much easier to see to do chores.  Although, the beautiful full moon meant very cold temperatures and that meant that the water system was frozen in more than one place.

The clear weather also meant that the temperature would rise dramatically in a short period of time, so provisions had to be made in the brooder, hoophouses and greenhouses.  Finally done, I headed off to town.

I was amazed when I arrived at the Market.  It looked like every vendor spot was full and the place was bustling with activity.  It was still quite chilly, but it was shaping up to be a gorgeous day.

It was great to see our customer-friends, as well as our fellow vendors, some of whom we had not seen since last year.  The children have grown taller, some families have new additions, and everyone seemed happy that the Market was open once more.

Since it started out cool, it took a while for the customers to come out. But, once they did….WOW!  

It was one of those bright and brilliant days of Spring when the colors of the abundant blooms are nearly overwhelming.  There was a great band performing music for atmosphere and just about everyone was in a good mood. Check out these pictures from the Staunton/Augusta Farmers' Market FB page.

What an amazing Opening Day!

We are grateful to all our customer-friends for making it an overwhelming success. That’s the kind of start that makes us look forward to the rest of the season.  See y’all next week!

Get Ready, Get Set

Here we are…the Friday prior to the OPENING DAY of the Staunton/Augusta Farmers’ Market.  Long awaited and eagerly anticipated…it is finally here!

As we prepared for what should be our all-time record opening day, I thought perhaps a pictorial tour might be in order.  I have written extensively about the Market…I even DREAM about the Market, so suffice it to say the Opening Day is a BIG deal in our lives and the viability of the farm. You can read my other posts here.http://homesteadhillfarm.blogspot.com/2010/04/opening-day-2010.html http://homesteadhillfarm.blogspot.com/2011/03/countdown-to-market.html http://homesteadhillfarm.blogspot.com/2012/03/54321.html 
http://homesteadhillfarm.blogspot.com/2011/11/even-in-my-dreams.html

Since we started growing and selling year ‘round, the “big push” of Opening Day is a thing of the past. We take a week “off” at the end of March to get caught up on the big jobs (planting onions, potatoes and the cole crops) and have little difficulty getting back in the “swing” of things. The picking/packing took a little longer, and there were signs to print…but, I am getting ahead of myself.

We work as a team around here in just about every facet of the farm.

  So, after breakfast we head out to our appointed tasks. I headed to the hoophouses,

 where each leaf is picked individually. (yeah, there are faster ways, but I can assure quality this way)  Every type of lettuce is checked for edibility…if we bring it to the Market; you can be assured it has passed my stringent taste test.  No bitterness, I promise!

The Boss is in charge of the washing and packing.  

He weighs each bag to make sure that each one is precisely the same.  He runs another quality check and makes every attempt to rid the leaves of any “proteins” that may have decided to make the lettuce their own lunch. He is also in charge of radishes and green onions.  He even designed a special tool to process his onions (although I failed to document this).

Working in tandem, we can knock out most of the picking/packing before lunch.  On really big weeks, we go on into the afternoon. This was one of those weeks, as we ended up with over 140 bags of greens!

Once the packing is finished, the Boss moves on to making signs and entering the inventory into the computer.  I head out to pick herbs and other small things that we sell by the “bunch”.

.

By chore time, we’re about done.  The freezer is stocked with all sorts of meat, freezer jams and some produce from summer. All of the greens are chillin’ in the cooler until it’s time to pack everything up in the morning.

It’s time to relax…

Morning will come quite early.  Five AM will find the Boss heading out the lane toward town, trailer of farm products in tow.  I will be off to feed and water all the critters before heading into town for a morning of sales.

Opening Day…. #15!  Here we come!

A Long Row to Hoe

When I was a little girl, I remember my dad and other grown-ups saying… “He’s got a long row to hoe…or a tough row to hoe” fairly often. Even back then, there was never any question in my mind as to what the grown-ups meant.

A quick Google research reveals some serious discussion regarding the original source of this phrase.  While growing up in the country…and being expected to work in the garden…there was no doubt as to the meaning.  It simply meant that the job or life situation ahead is going demand commitment and hard work. The original source didn’t really matter. The idiom is as true today as it was when I was a child, or whenever it was first uttered.

I got to thinking about this while we were planting the first of the potatoes for the 2012 season.  Since we do this job in the spring AND in the late summer, it seems like we’re always hoeing (or actually raking) some long row. For the record, a rake works better because you can cover more ground in a single motion. It doesn’t have the same ring to it, though.

After we purchase the seed potatoes, we plan for our planting days.  Just prior to planting, the potatoes are cut into egg-sized chunks.  This grants many pieces that will each be a potential potato plant, every one yielding many (hopefully) tubers. When the potatoes are cut, each piece must have at least one sprout on it, they are called “eyes”…that is the beginning of the new plant. You can’t leave the cut spuds too long before planting or they dry out too much and become useless.

In order to plant the potato crop, the Boss plows, tills and then goes back and digs a deep furrow for the potatoes.  Then the potatoes pieces are placed in the row, hopefully sprout side UP, about a foot apart.  That’s my job.  I walk backward in the furrow, so that I don’t compact the freshly plowed soil, plunking the potatoes.

Then the Boss rakes the loose soil back over the rows.  First he rakes down one side…then the other.  By this time, I have finished plunking and have started helping him with my own rake. It is my opinion that this is the origin of “a long row to hoe”!

Once all the furrows have become small mounds, our work in the potato patch is done.  Then all we can do is wait for the rain, sun and passage of time to “do their thing”.  In about 60 days, there will be new potatoes in the garden.  Nothing can compare to fresh, “new” potatoes with their delicate skin and silky texture.  When they are topped with a bit of butter and salt, we are talking food perfection!

Sometimes, when I look back…those rows look kinda long.  One year, ages ago, we had the girls compute the row feet (sneaky math lesson).  It came out to 2/3 of a mile!  WOW.  They were impressed with themselves, to say the least.  Since I don’t have to complete any math lessons…I can’t say if we plant that much anymore.  I know we don’t plant that much at one time, although our multiple plantings may well surpass that number.  There’s something to be said for a great number of small, manageable tasks.

During the time the potatoes are growing, the Boss generally “hills” them at least once.  This means he runs the tiller (with a special attachment) down the center of the row, pushing fresh dirt up over the growing plants.  This allows the plants to make better, bigger (and hopefully MORE) tubers before we dig them later. It also keeps the weed pressure on the potato crop to a manageable level.

Potatoes are susceptible to their own set of pests.  The Colorado potato beetle is pest #1.  These voracious creatures begin eating as soon as they hatch from their egg and could decimate the crop if left to their own devices.  Most of the time, they can be kept under control by “squishing”…if things get out of hand (and I don’t think this has happened) there are several other organic methods that will get rid of the hideous creatures.

Occasionally, there are issues with small underground varmints, like voles and shrews and mice.  These little creatures happen upon our maturing potato tubers and must rejoice in the newfound food source.  They will chew/burrow right through a potato with little regard for our livelihood.  This renders the potatoes unfit for sale.  Thankfully, the pest problems are generally limited in their scope (and we’re not real picky about our own potatoes), so we have plenty to sell.

The past week we encountered a problem we had escaped the past few seasons. A HARD FREEZE!  Temperatures fell into the upper twenties for several hours overnight. Potatoes are actually a tropical type plant and don’t handle cold at all well. After the very cold weather Monday night, any young potato plants that had emerged were black and shriveled.  The sight is most disturbing, but does not mean disaster.  The tuber will put forth new green leaves and the tubers will still develop below ground. It just sets the harvest time back slightly.

Mid-May, or more likely, early June, will see us digging new potatoes for sale and supper.  That’s when we don’t really mind those long rows to hoe! 

This Week on the Hill 4-1-12

Sheep relaxing after enjoying the green, green grass of Spring!

Winter made a come-back! Thankfully, it was brief.

Sheep grazing at sunrise

The Dicentra (Bleeding Heart) made it through the  cold.

The cold didn't seem to damage the grapevines either!

The broilers moved outside (yes, there ARE more than 3!)

We got a lot done this week.  We planted onions (over 4,000) and more potatoes (finally done with the spring planting.  We finished up some long overdue maintenance projects, and continued to battle the weeds.     But, most of all...we were thankful that it is SPRING!