6/24-6/28
Tasks:
Pulled up Peas
Blanched and Froze Peas, Broccoli
Cleared and cultivated potatoes
Gave tour to incoming freshman Emily
Mowed between rows
Weeded-whipped as needed
Sprayed BT on cabbage and on brassicas after rain
Gave 15 alfalfa bales to Karen at Rainbow Riders
cut flowers from herbs
dried: bee balm, sage, oregano
cultivated herb garden
mulched between rows of tomatoes finished mulching all tomatoes
weeded around long beds
trellised a second row for peppers
trained cucumbers
Gave tour to potential student Beatrix
Bought masonry twin
Tied together some of the tomato cages to support them against wind
Harvested one row of potatoes
Planted eggplant
At Farm:
cover cropped between melon/gourd/pumpkin beds
Cultivated and mulched strawberries
Notes:
Potatoes: The best conditions for harvesting potatoes is probably a few days after a rain when the ground is soft enough to use your hand or a hand shovel. It works well to dig a wide circle around each plant so you don’t cut any potatoes and then to lift the soil and run your hands through it to find all the potatoes. Some of the bigger ones we found were a bit deeper in the soil. It’s important to take your time and go through the process thoroughly so none are missed. We left a small section of potatoes from where we harvested to see if giving the plants more time to die would affect the potatoes. We will see if they rot or get bigger or if nothing happens.
Mulching: To mulch correctly the material must be applied very, very thick. 4-6 inches of layered organic compost is recommended in Rodale’s Organic Encyclopedia. We learned with our tomatoes and now with our strawberries that we have not been applying mulch thick enough because weeds still come through which makes our work pointless.
Masonry Twine: We are now using masonry twine at the recommendation of John Curtis from Barefoot Gardens because Jute twine does not hold elasticity, although it is compostable.