Organic Farming is Hard Stuff

A lot of people have ask me why I choose organic farming when I starting this berry farm. After yesterday, I was wondering too. I planted the remaining 8 acres in blackberries this spring. I had good intentions of mulching right away to keep the soil moist and deter the weeds. Well time got away from me and the weeds were taking over. I pulled out my troy built tiller and starting down the paths yesterday at 9:00am. At times I felt like I was riding a bull for 8 seconds as my right hand would fly up in the air as the tiller bucked though the weeds. I finished that field 6 hours later and still have a lot of hand weeding to do and then the mulching will begin. Organic farming is very labor intensive and it would have been much easier to just pour herbicide all over everything there.
That is something everyone should consider as they are purchasing produce especially coming in from Mexico. Chemicals that are banned for use in the USA are allowed to be used in Mexico and that product is being shipping directly to us to consume. It is very hard to find vegetables and fruit these days that are grown the USA; which should be your first choice instead of foreign products if you cannot afford organic products. The restrictions that are enforced on organic farmers (which there needs to be) and the high amount of labor that is involved, creates the higher prices on organic produce.  So support your local organic farmer!!!

Updating the farm here in April

This is a picture of the Broccoli growing. I planted radishes in between the rows. Looking good so far.

Theses are my tomatos camping out in their tents. Believe it or not they are keeping very warm in there.

Seascape strawberries in the morning sun.........

Now I don't think my blackberries know its only April. This worries me some. This is only one plant. Wow that's a lot of berries.

The red raspberries have multiple on me..........

We are allowing the red clover to work as a cover crop this year in between the berry rows.

Let's meet Donald. I am slowing giving all the chickens names and I started with this rooster. No one likes him at all. He's the first to come out the hole each morning and he's getting mean on me. One day I told him if he tried to peck me I'd throw him over the fence and let him sleep outside. He made it though the night and hasn't pecked me again. I hope he learned his lesson.  

Garlic is looking wonderful. That's not a bear to the left that's my chocolate lab brownie...................

Lastly my grand babies growing faster than the weeds in my garden. Gracie is on the left and Cole on the right.

Good Grief I've Been Busy

Well there wasn't a party in the garden with the rabbits. Everything is still growing even with all the rain we had. I used row covers on the strawberries and that worked wonderfully at warming up the soil to help the ground dry out.

We have managed to plant all the Blackberries, Elderberries, Black Raspberries, Gooseberries, Strawberries and Boysenberries. That is a total of 3190 including the Blueberries so far. My body is still moving so I have to keep planting as the weather is great. This week more Red Rasp and Gold Raspberries, Grapes, and Rhubarb. I just decided that I'll like to fill the rest of the West field and have requested more Blackberries. Hopefully the grower still has those in stock.

I love working outside when the weather is so wonderful..........I have several Red buds that are down by the east berry patch. Today I just enjoyed all the natural wonders as the birds were chirping. Now the snake that decided to slip though the grass was another thing. I don't like snakes........

Take some time to GET OUTSIDE. It will do wonders for your attitude and mental awareness.

Blueberries

All 610 blueberries have been planted. My grower in Arkansas, where I get the berries, made a huge mistake and shipped two orders together. I thought I'd have a few day's to recover before I began planting again, but I have 500 blackberries and 1,200 strawberries setting in my barn waiting to be planted today...............If the weather holds out I suppose I'll start again today.

We also planted 150 each of broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. It was so windy yesterday that I couldn't get my row covers on. Hopefully the rabbits didn't decide to invite their friends over last night for a party out in the field. The brussels sprouts need to be planted today too. I love brussels sprouts! They are so easy to fix........

The chickens are still laying eggs, I'm up to 4 a day.

First Egg

This is my first egg!! The excitment was too much when I was locking up the chickens for the night. I've looked in the nesting boxes for weeks now wondering when those little girls would starting laying. I am so proud of them or I should say proud of ONE of them. Now they all need to get their act together and lay enough for a whole dozen!

The Seeds Have Arrived

My first shipment of seeds hve arrived and more will arrive next week.  It was so fun looking though all the magazines this winter trying to decide which vegetables to order and how much. I'm now looking at all of these packages saying "OMG now I have to actually plant everyone of you". I need about 5 of myself to get everything planted...with that not being possible, I guess I'll just have to work 5 times faster. 

Also, I ordered enough berries to fill the remaining 12 acres and they are set to arrive at the end of March. This will be quite a task if I get the berries planted and the 1 1/2 acres of vegetables about all at the same time. Seems I'll just turn about from planting and everything will need to be harvested. That's when you stop and remind yourself at least I'm not commuting to work each day. My work begins early by just taking a few steps out my back door. I can't wait to get started.....

Happy Planting!

Learning All I Can

Even though I’m not working too much in the fields, I’ve been busy reading, attending workshops, watching webinars, filling out organic paperwork, and designing field layouts for Spring production. It’s exhausting trying to figure all this out! But I’ve learned a lot and I'm hoping this old brain of mine retains the information……….. The key points I’m focusing on are: Soil fertility, crop nutrients with crop pests, weed and disease management.

All of this information is helpful to the smaller gardener as well as commercial growers. As I read a ton of information, I reflect on my years as a small gardener and the pests that attacked my vegetables and why the weeds over took my garden. Usually by July, I just give up. I pick through my jungle of weeds and be done with it. Most of my problems had more to do with my soil and the way I was treating it more than anything else.

I always thought that weed-free was good and bare soil was even better. A few weeds here and there wouldn't t hurt anything. But after my learning, I realize now leaving the soil bare depletes the soil of nutrients that living organisms need to feed on the sugars. Keeping the garden mulched at all times is very important.  I invite you to try a cover crop this Fall, keeping the soil covered in the winter, then lightly turned the soil under in the spring. Which brings me to my next point, do not till deeply if you’re tilling at all. You should never deep till the soil because you are not only disturbing the perennial weeds but disrupting the soils macro and microscopic workers.  

Ways to reduce weeds: Growing living mulches between your rows: intercrop or companion planting vegetables: use closer row spacing so you create a canopy where the sun isn’t germinating annual weed seeds. An example would be growing lettuce on the outside of a planned tomato row. The lettuce shades out early weeds and is harvested before it competes with the tomato. The same can be applied to spinach planted between the Brussels sprouts. Do your own research to find which plants work well together as you are putting your garden design to paper.
Did I say paper?………..Yes I’ve learned that a paper design is best. This way you can record where you planted something last year so you’re not replanting it again in the same spot.  So, wherever the tomatoes were last year, move them and plant peas in their spot, then plant cabbage in the peas spot the following year and lastly corn in year 4. Then you will have had a 4 year rotation that should help with diseases and pests! You are also adding nitrogen from the peas in each row every year they are rotated.
It sounds complicated but it’s not after you get the hang of it!

Recently, I sent off 28 pages of paperwork to the certifying agency for my annual review. It seems overwhelming this year because they changed all the form designs and had to refill them all out again. But it's finished and sent off. We are adding a larger vegetable patch this year along with expanding the fruit fields.

More great news! I was informed that we were awarded another high tunnel though the EQIP program. This is going to be a bear to build because it’s 30X96. I guess we’ll get that put up in between planting and harvest times.

Remember to buy your seeds and planting stock from reliable sources. Unhealthy planting stock and seeds brings with it diseases………….don’t opt for something just because it seems like a good deal at the time. So for now keeping reading and get your gardens design now.