Remnants of Andrea

Knowing we were in for a lot of rain today, most of the time yesterday was spent cutting and spreading grass mulch.   I managed to get the grass catcher on the John Deere by myself, but was glad George checked it.

The potatoes were already under hay mulch, as was vegetable bed #4.    I had started planting, but not enough to hold on to soil.

At the end of the day, all the flat surfaces had some kind of physical barrier to hard rain drops, even if pretty thin.    I stopped as the first drops fell, so didn't get a picture.

The picture at left is from June 4th, just after the second tilling (for weeds), and before any mulch was spread.   The view is to the south/south-east.

Beds # 1, 2, and 3 are shown, with #1 being closest to our house in the distance.   I took the picture next to bed #4, which is in the old pasture.

The green area between beds #1 and #2  is a wide and shallow swale (depression that drains down hill).   We leave this area in permanent grass, because of the heavy clay soils.  The green area in the foreground also stays in grass, because it has some large rocks just under the grass and a couple of young oak trees.

The second picture is of bed #1, just after tilling.   This shows more clearly that the bed is slightly raised, from added organic matter.

West of the beds, a small drainage area runs along the pasture fence, so we aren't likely to expand the beds in that direction.  Bed #3 could be lengthened going east, but that area will probably have a separate small bed for more blueberries.  I prefer to make any more room for vegetables out in the old pasture. 

I like having vegetable beds surrounded by plenty of green buffer area.   The buffer areas reduce stormwater runoff, lower the risk of creating erosion ditches in the clay soils, and help water quality.   Ideally, I like short mowed areas right around the beds, for better access, and longer grass beyond that, to slow down stormwater.

The buffer areas will certainly get a lot of water from Andrea.

Silence, hay season, and garden beds

Cucumber Seedlings

The University of Maine has already started haying its fields.   I still have to grease our hay baler, and George is going to work on the baler's clutch.    These things have to happen before we even take the baler out of the garage.

We've been waiting to turn over the vegetable plots.   Normally I try to do this around mid-May, then do it again around the end of May, then plant.  The gap between the first and second turning allows the winter rye, which has been turned under, to break down.   The second turning wipes out the sprouting weeds that thought they were about to take over the world.

Vegetable Bed #1

This year, we didn't do the "first" turning, because the ground never got dry enough.   So, yesterday, we went to do our one and only turning.   We use our one and only farm tractor, an old Agco Allis 5650.   This is the same tractor that we depend upon to get in the hay.   That would be during the hay season that has already started.

Vegetable Bed #2

George started up the tractor a few days ago, and moved it out of its winter storage space in the sheep barn.  He came in the house and happily announced that the tractor had "started right up". 

Yesterday, we moved the tractor over to the tiller and hooked it up.   I got up in the seat to start the engine.  Silence.   Not even a sputter or a click.

George determined that the problem was an electrical issue.  He checked the fuses and switches, and we pulled lots of things apart.  We couldn't find the problem, and that left the starter motor as a possible culprit.   This was late afternoon on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.  No way to get parts before Tuesday, and even then, might have to order them.

We both stayed calm, and kept nosing around the tractor.   We didn't get it started, but we were great.

The next morning, George climbed up on the tractor and started it.  Just like that.   George says that the brushes in the starter mower may be wearing out and just a bit of moisture, or maybe a shift in angle, got it started.   He is going to order a new starter motor and ignition switch.

We turned over the main vegetable beds today.   We always seem to be the last ones in the area to get our garden going, but we have big, flat, heavy clay beds that take a long time to dry out in the spring.   Last year I didn't get the garden in until the first week in June, but we still did fine.

Tomorrow if it doesn't rain and there is time...maybe I can start some new vegetable beds!  Go Agco Allis!

Another Vegetable Bed Picture

Sunday, April 29, 2012

In Maine, the traditional "mostly safe" date to start a garden is Memorial Day.   Of course, some folks start "cool" loving things earlier, like spinach, or put in things early that won't sprout for awhile, such as potatoes.   We've had a mild winter and an early spring.   I'll probably put some seedlings out for sale a bit early.

But, we'll probably follow the usual schedule and aim for Memorial Day, for getting the garden in.   That usually gives us a long enough growing season for what we need.

In the March 17th post, there is a picture of some of the vegetable beds, clear of snow.   I wanted to post a picture of one of the beds now, to show the difference in color. 

Vegetable bed #3, planted to winter rye, late April

The light green area is Bed #3, planted with winter rye (a green manure).   The darker green is lawn.   We plant in fairly small beds (this one is about 15 x 50) because of the heavy clay soils and drainage swales.   We need to "fit" the beds in between swales, and build the beds up with organic matter.  This provides better soil for the veggies, and allows for buffers around the beds to reduce the risk of erosion problems.

If we simply opened up 3 acres or so, we'd have erosion gullies forming all over the place, which would be bad for both the soil and water quality.

I started a new "little" bed last year, in addition to a couple of large beds.  George and I just picked up blueberry plants for the little bed!   I need to work in some cow manure and phosphorous, then put in the high bush blueberry plants.   

The little blueberry bed looks "brown" around the edges in the picture.  The brown is just the remains of grass cuttings I put there last fall, to mark the bed, in case I had trouble finding it in the spring.  Beds have a way of hiding.

High bush blueberries

Yet to be turned-over blueberry bed

The blueberry plants were mostly paid for with a birthday gift from my mother-in-law, Dorothy.

Thanks, Dorothy!!

Bare ground January day

 

I enjoy January thaws, as long as nothing floods too badly.   But, seeing bare ground like this the third week in January, when we've had little snow so far, seems very odd.

I walked around to take pictures and document conditions, which I don't normally get to do this time of year.   They will help me to plan for fixing things when the weather warms up.   I am grateful this board fencing behind the sheep is still standing.   Only a matter of time until it comes down, and I need to get something in the budget for replacement materials.

Also in the picture are the three ancient sheep.   It is not commercial to keep old sheep around and I forever feel guilty but, well, at this point they are here for good if I can help it.   At least they don't cost much to keep, since we put up our own hay.  It wouldn't feel as much like home without at least some sheep around.  These are descended from the first two shetland/finn cross ewes I ever owned.

The green patch in the picture below is the "new" garden plot that was started last year.   I turned in a lot of aged horse manure, planted to buckwheat and turned in, then planted to winter rye that will be turned in, along with lime, this spring.   Started with basic clay, so it pretty much needs almost everything.   I'll probably be imprudent and plant something here this year, and see how it goes. Lots of happy weeds are expected.

Another "new plot" that just barely got started last fall is beyond the fence, in the old pasture.   Last fall I skimmed it with the cultivator, and piled on aged horse manure and grass clippings.   It grew up in mowed pasture plants before winter, which will hold the soil.    This year, it will likely get turned over deeper, have more inputs added, and be planted to green manure for the season.   

I haven't figured out where to start the "next" plot yet but...probably it will be in the old pasture too. I'm trying to expand the area in vegetables a bit each year:  more food for family; more food for community.

Roses and Rye.

Lovely, bright morning after a hard rain last night and a hard frost earlier this week.    In spite of all that, there are still a few rose petals on the large bush in front of the house.   Keep in mind, this is Downeast Maine, and we aren't on the coast where things are milder.   I am so impressed with this bush.

There was good news this morning.   The winter rye that went into some of the vegetable beds a few days ago, late,  just sprouted.   It is very hard to see when it first comes up:  you really have to look because it is dark purple against the dark brown ground.   See that vertical stuff?   In a couple of days it will green up.   Plan B for if the rye didn't come up or if it doesn't get thick enough before it stops growing this year, is to seriously start cutting and collecting grass, and do a huge amount of mulching.   I'd rather not do that.    So...the sprouting is good.

Normally, the seed should have gone in well before this, but I took a whole lot of time dealing with squash vines with downy mildew -- bagging and removing them.    Downy mildew is not very serious - lots of organic gardens see it late in the season.   We got all the pumpkins and squash we needed before it wilted the vines.   But, it cuts production so I need to do what I can to discourage it.

I've got unintentional test cases running in some of the beds.   This is some "older" winter rye in another bed.  This area was not tilled at the end of the season.   I just pulled out the plants, raked a little, tossed in some rye, and rolled it.   I need it to grow more and fill in the gaps.

Just for comparison purposes -- this is a bed that had rye about a foot long until last weekend.   The soil was nicely covered.    But....something possessed me to mow it.    So...there is now some mulch down from the leavings and...I'm waiting for the rye to come back a bit.

 It just isn't fun if you don't play.

Keeping tidy while it rains

Potato plants in the garden

It has been a very wet spring.   We finally got a little hay in the barn, but the first small batch will need to go for mulch hay (lower price) because the ground was a bit too damp.   The second small batch was baled when the humidity was a bit too high, so it is being checked regularly for heating in the bales.    If it doesn't heat up, which might happen in the next two weeks but could happen in the next two months, it will be kept for sheep on the farm.    The animals here usually get the first hay, and this year we need to keep it just to keep an eye on it.  Whew, amazing the extra work and worry caused by a little humidity.

We got enough hay in to check out all the machinery,  and try out the new hay tedder.   A tedder spreads cut hay out broadly so it can dry more quickly and evenly.  I don't think we'd have gotten any hay in so far without the tedder.   I feel good that I operated all the machinery in the field, with help from my husband hooking up and adjusting things.   There was that incident with the tractor and the garage door but....I might write about that when my face turns a lighter shade of red!

Any hay baled in July will be "late first-cut hay", which is less nutritious than hay of the same quality baled earlier in the year.   We'd have liked to have baled earlier, but the weather didn't agree with that goal this year, as is probably true for many hay producers in Maine. 

String bean plants

I just wandered out into the garden to take pictures and cheer myself up.   The overcast skies and damp air make the soil and mulch dark and soft.  In spite of the lack of sun, and the usual invasion of cucumber beetles, the plants are hanging in there.

I tried to help the young squash plants repel the beetles by sprinkling soot from the wood stove on the leaves.   Ash doesn't kill the beetles as an insecticide would, but the beetles seem to try to avoid the ash. 

There was a deer in the garden last night.    His narrow feet left big, deep tracks in the soft ground.   It looks like he checked things out, but didn't eat much of anything.   Good deer!

I am off to wash sheets and pull weeds....tidy the beds all around.

Squash plants