Chickens, chickens everywhere
It's been a long time between blogs indicating a busy summer with more than enough activities taking up my time. It is the season of 4H- (not the agricultural group)-it is hot, hazy, humid, and hell. After 5-6 weeks of drought, we are having crazy rain, but when it stops the humidity is unbearable. And this is from the garden's perspective. Reliable crops such as potatoes bit the dust, although I am finding buried potatoes. There were no potato flowers. The garlic is very early and small. Broccoli, brussel sprouts, and weird looking things labeled radicchio and bok choi reared their heads in some strange incarnation. Squash, however, has gone crazy as did cucumbers and eggplant and it looks like soy beans are ready to emerge. Tomatoes are turning reddish, as are the beets. Even the cantaloupes planted 2 weeks ago are sprouting. I believe we underwatered and watered when it was still hot out and this caused some of the early demises. The day we changed the cycle, it rained for the first time in weeks, so it is hard to tell what worked. It is clear that in attempting to track a pattern, that there is no pattern at all, and that a garden needs frequent tending. If my first year was beginner's luck, this year is just hard work and trying to read the signs before bad stuff happens. Note to myself: Do not overplant and absolutely divide plants early. It is better to select in the nursery than in the garden what shall live and what shall die, and this way I can give the strong ones a chance. I think someone said it way better than I just did.
Here are some photos of my farmers in training feeding chickens and picking lettuce with Liz at Farmer Dave's, and here are some of our crops.
