Tasks:
Watered heavily
Acorn vine borer surgery
Harvested and froze turnips, zucchinis, bush beans, Swiss chard, cauliflower, and broccoli
Cleaned up after peas
Tilled the ground were new blocks were going
Planted Spaghetti, Butternut, acorn, zucchini, and pumpkin
Menard’s trip
Finished caulking and began painting greenhouse
Switched out rafters
Trained gourds and cucumbers
Water and mulched trees
Built protection for hops (the weedwackers attach them!)
Filled 550 gallon tank
Extended trumpet vine trellis
Deflowered basil
Rubber-banded top leaves of cauliflower (to keep the heads white)
Sowed turnips, parsnips, bush beans, and edamame beans
Seeded blocks of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, and turnips (double seeded them for better germination)
Trellised peppers
Notes:
Cutting Broccoli- when cutting broccoli cut stems at a steep angle. This will allow the water coving from the stem to run off, rather than collecting on the cut and causing rot.
Japanese beetles- We tried killing/repelling Japanese beetles by spraying soapy water on the leaves. This did not work for a minute. The only method that seems to work is to hand pick them. We have made it a daily ritual to walk around with jars of petrol, mineral spirits, or just plain soapy water, picking them off of the leaves and dropping them in. The beetles are more active in the afternoon, but also more active. In the morning there are less of them but they are still fairly dormant.
Compost arrangement- We have begun raking an inch of compost into the soil before we plant. We think this will help the immediate health of our plants and the overall quality of the soil.
This practice obviously alls for a formidable quantity of compost- but we have a plan: Last year a very large portion of our plant material (broccoli plants, tomato vines, etc.) went to the community dump because we did not think we could handle it in our fixed compost bins. NO LONGER! This year after the first frost we will turn all of the compost material from the first and second bins into the third bin, making sure to place the newest material on the bottom. Doing so will leave bins one and two completely open for plant materials. All of the material except the very thick stalks can be placed in the compost if the same green-brown pattern is follows. By the spring we should have large quantities of nice compost, with very little waste material.
Squash bug eggs- This week on all of the squash plans we found hard red eggs, all laid in a very exact square pattern. We went around and crushed the leaves or just ripped the eggs of and placed them in the beetle killing solution (see “Japanese beetles” above). We need to keep an eye on all of the squash leaves throughout the year so this practice can be continued. Row covering from time of planting to time of flowering will also help.
Root crops water- Root crops need to be watered during times of droughts or they will split. If they start to split harvest them.
Club root- Plant broccoli and cauliflower seedlings deeper in the ground (and possible deeper in the seed block). This will prevent the twisting of the base of the plant. Often when the plants are not planted deep enough the stem curls around and rests on the ground. A healthy plant should be straight and strong. When the stem rests on the ground it increased the chance of club root. Club root can also be prevented by transferring the seedling to a larger block or pot before it goes into the ground to give it a head start.
Planting temperature- Don’t plant in the hottest week of the year, you will have a hell of a time watering and a hell of a time keeping anything alive. Also, when the temperature is very high do not place the row cover directly on the plants, use hoops. We made both of these mistakes and lost our entire planting of late broccoli, Brussel sprouts, and cabbage.
Squash planting- We have decided not to use hills for this planting of squash. In our experience the hills are not only hard to water, as the water simply runs off, but also hard to cultivate. Because our soil is so dry in the times that the plants are actually fruiting, we do not think that we will have much problem with rot, which is what the hills are supposedly meant to protect from.
Freezing zucchinis- Slice zucchinis into half inch strips and then blanch for two minutes. (Flash freeze.)
Plan for six acres- 1 acres woods and out buildings, 2 acres perennial crops (fruit and nut trees, berries, asparagus, rhubarb). Three acres are left for a 3 part yearly rotation of annual vegetables, compost material (some sort of straw for mulching and compost), and a cover crop (intended only to be tilled in to amend the soil).