Baby Chickens
Our chick order arrived a week ago Saturday. All 27 of the babies are doing well. This is a mixed batch of several different breeds all of which are laying hens. I built a high-security brooder coop last year for baby chicks but since it’s been pretty chilly the last week with frosts at night we’ve kept the crew in our living room. Later this week they will be moved to the brooder.
Baby Plants
Even though it’s been a rather chilly spring I’ve managed to get quite a few crops in out in the field. So far I’ve got: peas, lettuce, spinach, onions, radishes, turnips, mustard greens, collards, kale, beets, kohlrabi, broccoli and some carrots.
Here are the radishes, mustard greens and salad turnips. In past years I’ve had problems with flea beetles. These little black bugs eat the foliage of certain crops and then lay eggs in certain other crops. I’m trying to keep them off the plants with row covers which are a thin white fabric that lets in light and water but traps out the beetles. So far it seems to be working.
Here’s a shot of the peas. I’ve already run through them with my ultra-hip tractor.
The New Tractor
I’ve really been enjoying the tractor we bought this spring. It’s a Farmall Super A. This tractor debuted in the 1950’s and was specifically designed for market gardeners. The tractor is off-set which means the drivers’ seat is not in the center but off to the side. Being off to the side allows the driver to see exactly what is happening with the belly-mounted cultivator. This feature is called ‘culta-vision’.
The cultivator has pointed shoes attached to gangs. The gangs run on hydraulics and can be raised and lowered with a lever. Right now I have shields on which protect the very tiny plants from being sprayed or buried by flying soil. The cultivator does one row at a time and pulls all the weeds out except for a very narrow strip. It’s been working really well and I think it’s going to save me tons of time in the weed management department.
The New Roof
After doing quite a lot of structural repairs on one of the barns we had a new roof put on it. We are very excited to have this new roof! This barn is the oldest building on our property. No one is certain exactly when it was built but it was here when my great grandparents bought the farm in 1927. The roofer guys guessed it was about 100 years old. Anyway….it works great!
Other Garden News
The hoop house is full of plants. Since it stays warm in there I’ve already got the tomatoes in. This year I decided to plant the eggplant in there too. I also squeezed in a few okra plants, about 80 broccoli plants and as an experiment some pole beans and luffa plants. The hoop house is a really fun place to garden! It’s always fun to see what one can do in there.
Also this year I’ve been working on building the farm’s perennial inventory. I split a bunch of rhubarb plants, put in some more asparagus crowns, planted a new bed of strawberries and put in some more perennial herbs. We won’t see many rewards (maybe a few…cross your fingers!) from all this work in this year’s CSA boxes but hopefully in 2012.
CSA Update
We are on track to start deliveries in a few weeks. Some reminders:
Stillwater and Hudson folks’ first delivery will take place on Monday, June 13
St. Paul and Aveda folks’ first delivery will be on Wednesday, June 15
I’ll be sending out a reminder e-mail which will include specific delivery times to everyone as we get closer
One half of your share amount is due by June 1 the other half by Oct. 1, checks can be made out to Eener’s Farm and sent to Eener’s Farm N12449 220th St. Boyceville WI 54725
I try to be timely about cashing checks and sending out receipts, but sometimes I get behind…thanks for your patience.
