Between spring having arrived and the time change, we now have the opportunity to get out on the farm in the afternoon's and early evening's. And now that the rain has finally stopped (even though it is just a temporary lull), Donald had the chance to get down to the production fields to assess their condition. The assessment - alotawater!
The production fields are essentially under water - except for the knolls, which are wet enough to sink in.
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| Plot 1D |
The cabbage was planted in the north half of this plot (middle of picture between stake and fence). Between the rain right after it was planted, freezing temperatures, and all of the recent rain, we do not think that we will have cabbage this year. That is Headache Creek running through the middle of the plot, and yes, it is full of water.
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| Plot 1B |
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| Plot 2C |
Fortunately, nothing has been planted in plots 1B and 2C (or, for that matter, the south half of plot 1D). While you may not be able to see it, both plots are under water, unfortunately, we are not growing rice.
All plots will need to be tilled again. The pasture is starting to grow back quite well. We will also need to put down more fish meal in those areas where it was put down before, as it has most likely run off now.
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| Pond |
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| Overflow Creek |
As you can see, our pond has gone over the edge (of the pond, that is). This is fairly common in normal years, and it gets real slushy around the pond and the numerous creeks running through the property. The bottom picture is Overflow Creek, it is from the pond and runs to a larger creek to the east (left in the picture) of our test garden, which is most likely flooded at the moment (too sloppy to get over there today).
Beautiful country after a rain, but challenging country to be farming in.
This afternoon Donald got outside and was able to put in about three hours of work on the farm. Most of it was getting the chicken coop and henhouse ready. Temporary repairs have been made to the henhouse, their run has has been mowed, and he put more hog rings (these are hog nose rings we use to secure the fence to a wire that runs along the bottom to keep dogs out) along the bottom of the fence. We are having problems with domestic animals that our neighbors down the road neglect and let run wild. We are hoping the extra rings and some other preventive measures we are taking will keep them out of the chicken coop.
Donald also cleaned out the compost bin and started filling with some grass cuttings from last year that were left in the mower, table scrapes that one of our friends so graciously keeps us supplied with, and new grass cuttings and leaves from the chicken coop. The compost bin was donated by one of the ladies in our church adult Sunday School Class (the Seekers).
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| Compost Bin |
You can see that there is a pile of compost to the right of the bin that was left in the bin over the winter. Donald took it out and it looks pretty good. We will most likely use it for our BBQ plantings (Debbie's responsibility).
We will be concentrating on enlarging our compost operations this year. Debbie will be attending a seminar on composting this month as a part of her Beginning Farmers and Ranchers class (Donald attended one last year). The nicest part of this operation is that there is no expense involved. We will be changing what we compost however. We will restrict composting to green items (table and garden scraps, grass clipping, leaves, etc.) to provide more compost in a shorter period of time.
We are not sure what is in store for tomorrow, probably clean up and maintenance around the barn and house. Will not be doing anything in the production fields for awhile, at least until we can get started tilling again.
Blessings to all,
Baker Heritage Farms
"And he said, 'So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;'" Mark 4:26
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