Bit of hay

Looking toward small cut area (just beyond small tree)

It would be great to cut some hay in May, but our field's heavy clay soils rarely are dry enough for heavy equipment in May.

George and I would like to get most of our first-cut haying done in June...or maybe by the end of the first week in July.   This was a very wet June, so no hay.

On Friday, there was a 40% chance of rain in the forecast for Saturday night.  Normally we would never cut hay with that kind of forecast.   But, there was nothing better in the 10-day forecast and...this is getting nuts.

So, we cut a small area.    We like to do a small initial cut, because it gives us a chance to check out the equipment. 

Chances were we wouldn't get this first bit of hay in given the forecast, and if we did it would be only good for mulch.

George and I got very lucky, it never rained, the humidity today was low, and we go in a little feed hay today, Sunday.   That is a short curing period, and we needed to ted they hay twice to help the drying along.

Not much brought in, but if it stays good, it will be part of the hay for the sheep next winter.   Well, maybe.   When I cut the ground was softer then I like due to recent rain, so I have to hope the hay doesn't go musty.   Those are the risks.   I think it will be ok.

Rain and yellow jackets

 Potatoes and beans in bed #2

Sixth wettest June on record in Maine, according to a recent article in the Bangor Daily News.   Probably a lot of gardeners read the article emphasizing the effect of all the rain on gardens and thought "Oh, whew, it isn't only me!"

The broccoli and onions here are loving the gray weather.   The tomatoes, not so much. 

I've never used row covers before, having always managed without them.   Yesterday, George made hoops and now the cucumbers and zucchini are covered.    I also planted some radishes to try to lure some of the bugs away from the other squash.

There are too many bugs on the squash seedlings this year.  

Nest

 Speaking of inspects, these yellow jackets are making a home on one of the flower hooks on the front porch, right near the front door.   George noted that they are interesting to watch.

This nest is going to get a lot bigger.   We can avoid it, but maybe visitors here won't.    It may have to go, while it is still small.  

Then again, we could put orange tape around the front porch, and use the side entrance until fall.  Less hassle than row covers, probably.

Last summer we had one of these nests over the door to the garage where we keep the farm tractor.    It was a big nest, and was just above where we drove the tractor in and out.    The tractor is very noisy, and there is lots of activity around that door.  But, the insects never bothered us.

Easier to take on cucumber beetles than yellow jackets.   Decisions, decisions. 

Hoeing and mulching

Broccoli

I had to stop weeding last year due to an injury, and there is a massive amount of weed seed in the garden.   The sensible thing to do would have been to turn it all under and plant a couple of green manures this year, but we need the veggies.   So, I'm spending a lot of time hoeing and mulching.

I still don't know if the lambs quarters (a weed) are going to win.   So far, they are sitting up in the gallery and laughing at me.   They have high, squeaky voices, and are getting on my nerves.

A friend noted that the lambs quarters are edible.   They should try to remember that.

Part of bed #1

Bed #1 - broccoli, onions, rutabaga, beets, cucumber, lettuce, etc.

Part of bed #2

Bed #2 - potatoes, beans, some squash, more onions, etc.

Finds

 (1)  Pollen deposited at the edge of a dried up puddle.

(2)  Antler found buried in the ground in a corner of the pasture. 

(3) Golf ball found way out in the middle of the pasture. 

Hmmmm.....neither George nor I play golf!

Garden update

Beds # 1 and #2 with recently added mulch

We had a couple of days without rain before yesterday.   The veggie beds were too wet to plant on the first day, and marginal on the second.  With more rain in the forecast, I planted yesterday anyway.

Only could work about 2.5 hours.   During that time, I put in some more onion seedlings, all the winter and summer squash seedlings, rutabaga seeds, and a bit of onion and spinach seed.   Then, I cut and added more grass clippings for mulch.

Roses on the front lawn

I had to quit because my shoulder hurt too much.  Shoot.   Would have been nice to get in the rest of the onion seedlings.   But, I'm more worried about finishing up the old sheep (shearing, etc.) now that my shoulder is sore.   Maybe will be better tomorrow.

I shear the sheep by hand, a little at a time, since there are only two old sheep here now, a ewe and a wether.   It isn't difficult, unless have a sore shoulder.   I work on them early in the morning, while it is cool.   Most of the wool is off their backs and sides now, so they are not too hot.

The remaining ewe is chronically lame, and short of breath, so I only do a very little with her at one time.   She has not gone off her feed.

I had planned to put this ewe down last fall, but then the other ewe got killed by coyotes.   So, that left only two sheep, one ewe and one wether.  Need to figure out how to handle the last wether this fall.

I don't want to put down the ewe and leave him alone, as sheep do not do well alone.  But, I don't think this ewe will make it through another winter. 

For all her maladies, the ewe is patient and easy to handle.   Her name is Sparrow, and she was one of a set of triplet ewes from a tall and patient ewe named Chloe.  Chloe loved to eat dandelions.

The roses bloomed yesterday.

After Andrea rain

Nice to have the storm clouds pass.

Checked the vegetable beds.  The broccoli and onion seedlings seem fine, although I'm still glad I held back on getting in the rest of the onions, in favor of putting down more mulch. 

The second picture is the area with the potato seed.  Last year, I dug the potato trench across the slope, using a deep trench, and got flooded. This year, used a shallow trench with mulch, and ran it down a very slight slope.   There is no standing water over the potatoes this time. 

Almost all  the mulch we use is produced here, and sometimes the timing can get dicey.   There are times of the year when we have a lot of hay, and times we don't.   In spring, I like to do about 3 mowings in the lawn and equipment areas, and get past dandelion seed season, before collecting any grass clipping for the vegetable beds.

Just before this storm, I was trying to mow around the last of the dandelion seed heads, moving rather quickly.   I warned George that my mowing pattern might look a bit odd.

Just have to pretend that those remaining patches are fancy landscaping.

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.

Peeking out from under the covers

The weather has swung around again to gorgeous, and the bit of wind is keeping the black flies hunkered down. 

Williams Roofing has finished putting a new roof on the hay barn, as well as on the "front" of the house.

When we turn the garden beds again in a few days, I can start planting.

Today, I bought the seed potatoes for the family garden from Park's Hardware in Orono.   They had several varieties, and all that I looked at were nice and clean.   I got mostly Kennebec's, with a few red Norland's, and a little bag of an heirloom variety called "Cobbler".

I've been reading on-line about ways to grow potatoes using hay mulch.   I may try a combination approach this year:  use a shallow trench rather than my usual deep one, and add hay mulch.

George and I have been trading insults with a virus for about four weeks.   I feel like if I try to dig my usual deep potato trenches, I'll fall into one.

"Hay Makes A Great Mulch".   Interesting article.  I used to do something like this in a little garden years ago, with a lot less hay.    Always nice to get a little pumped up on another person's enthusiasm before not doing something the usual way.

Spring into Summer: Changes

It has been a very busy spring.   George and I became a "licensed foster home".

Two kids who were with us for almost two months just went home, and we miss them.    We miss their energy, their bright minds, and their way of looking at things; we miss having someone ask us to check under the beds for aliens and monsters.   They missed their parents and were happy to go home, and that is good.

It has been an unusually dry spring, and some bush hogging got done yesterday.   I don't think I've been able to get the tractor out back
this early in five years.   The crab apple blossoms were out.

George and I are planning to turn over all the garden beds this afternoon with the cultivator.    We'll turn them over a second time in about two weeks, then plant.   I'd like not to disturb the soil this much, but given the weed explosion last year, after I pulled my back, it is probably the best course now.   I may put the third bed into a green manure, but don't have to decide that yet.

We are also thinking about adding a new, little vegetable bed in the front lawn area.   The plan had been to do that for the kids who just left, for their pumpkin seedlings.   Might be nice to still do that, and add some lettuce too.   

Snow Day

Just a little while ago, I could look out over the knick-knacks on the kitchen window sill, and contemplate soon-to-be-green ground.

Not today.  

George cleared the driveway with the John Deere and snowblower, even with a flat tire.   I dug out the vehicles, porch, and paths. 

I'd forgotten and left the top part of the sheep pen door open to the storm, so I got to toss a lot of wet bedding out the barn window again.

Onion, broccoli, marigold, rosemary and lavender seeds are getting going in the basement under lights.   It is only a matter of time.