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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Week 28 October 15-19

Harvest

In the harvest bins this week: Tomatoes, Winter Radishes, Carrots, Beets, Endive, Collards, Kale, Peppers, Eggplant, Okra (for the last time.... PLEASE!),  Frisee, Kohlrabi, Potatoes, and Escarole. 

These yellow ones are my new favorite!


Beets and Carrots in Full Swing











Production and Distribution


Fall CSA Week 9

-1# Apples (Beech Creek Farm)
-1# Fall New Potatoes
-1 Orange Bulldog Pumpkin (or 2 small ones...)
-1 bunch Arugula (Crystal Organic Farm)
-1 bunch Hakurei Turnips (Crystal Organic Farm)
-1 bunch baby Carrots OR 1# Hoophouse Tomatoes
-1 head Escarole
-1/2# ROASTED! Anaheim Peppers
-1# Zephyr Squash OR Zucchini

We roasted the peppers for the CSA

Sorting and Cleaning Pumpkins
Squash, Zucchini, Eggplant at Market

Market Harvest List 



Maintenance

We got a lot of good maintenance done this week in the hoop houses. While we were at it we saw this awesome digger wasp building a nest in the ground.



In the hoop houses we weeded, prepped beds, pullout old crops, ran irrigation, fertigated (ran fertilizer through the irrigation) and trellised cucumbers.
Tools 

More Tools
Fish Gut Fertigation
On Monday we finally knocked out this list, replaced lamps and made a plan to get the barn in order. Unfortunately we ran out of time to actually implement the plan. Hopefully we get a chance this coming week 











Earth Worm!





Planting

Garlic from a few weeks ago sprouting
Cory and I planted more Garlic at Jeff Cook Field. I direct seeded Beets and Spinach in Gus' Field with the Planet Jr and then Arugula and Turnips in the Hoop Houses with the multi-row seeder. We also transplanted more Onions, Fennel and Parsley.


Garlic Cloves Sprouting




Direct seeding Arugula 

Direct seeding Turnips



Planet Jr Seeder

Farm Life

First thing Monday morning we found this little bat hiding in the corner of the barn. We left him alone and went off to do some work. When we got back he had crawled out into the barn and we could see his wing was badly injured. It was torn and his bones were sticking through his skin. Cory picked him up with gloves on. It seemed as though he was suffering. He would not be able to fly and probably would not recover. Cory did the best thing we could think of and put him out of his misery. :(


Bat hiding in the corner

Poor little guy

Wall-e?

Weeds in the potato field


National Boss' Day was this week


There are fall decorations up all over the plantation.




This guy wasn't wearing orange and hunting season has started!






Visitors

Lane is home AND my parents came to visit this week. They stayed in a cabin on the plantation for a few night. Thursday night we went on a tour and harvested our dinner. 
Showing Mom Pasture Field
Zucchini Flowers- A Special Treat


Freshly harvested guest dinner


  • Grilled Zucchini and Eggplant
  • Tomato Basil Salad
  • Garden Salad with carrots, tomatoes, endive, lettuce, winter radishes, bell peppers, 
  • Zucchini Flowers stuffed with Goat Cheese
  • Beet Salas
  • Potato Puffs

















Puddy Time



Puddy shows Holly around the farm

Fat and Happy


Sunday, October 14, 2012

Week 27 October 8-12

Harvest


Surprise Potatoes! The fields where we grew potatoes in the spring have surprised us with a second round. Any potatoes we missed at harvest time have now sprouted into new plants and grown us new potatoes for the fall. They are small, colorful and delicious. 




The fall tomato plantings are also coming on strong. 
Also harvested this week: Carrots, Squash, Zucchini, Frisee, Eggplant, Peppers, Turnips, Basil, Beets, Winter Radishes, Okinawa Spinach, Kale, Collards and Kohlrabi Greens. 


Market Harvest

Production and Distribution

Fall CSA Week 8

Two Markets!


This week we had a special Friday night market along with our regular Saturday morning at Peachtree Road.  On Friday night we had special permission to serve prepared food. Cory chose three items to feature. Kettle Corn which we made from the popcorn we grew, Torched Okra which he marinated and roasted in the pepper roaster, and Boiled Peanuts. There were several local breweries and live music. We were also the only produce vendors who showed up so the few people who had a mind to buy veggies on a Friday night bought them from us. 



Claire's second market, already a pro

Boiled Burge Peanuts.

Maintenance

This week we turned in a lot of our first fall plantings including the Winter Radishes, Lettuce and Asian Salad, Purple Top Turnips and Rutabagas in Jeff Cook Field. First we mow them down low with the Bush Hog and then disk them into the soil. The plant matter breaks down and gets reincorporated into the soil as green manure. By continually adding organic matter this way we build the integrity of the soil humus. 
Parasitic Larvae eating a Hornworm from the inside out.
Gross!

Winter Radishes bolted and gone to seed
Shopping List

Ivan sprays fertilizer on the leaves of the young brassicas. 

































This week has been very dry. The weather has been incredibly pleasant actually requiring a sweater in the morning and sun screen in the afternoon. However, we have had to step up our irrigating game because there hasn't been any rain and it doesn't look like there will be for a while. We spent a good deal of time this week setting up, running and trying to remember to turn off irrigation at the appropriate times.

Planting

This week we planted winter cover crops in a few fields. We use a cone spreader to broadcast seeds over a large area. It is the red cone on the back of the tractor. Once the seed is spread Daniel goes back over the field very lightly with the disks to fold them in. 
Daniel loads the cone spreader

Cone Spreader























Farm Life

Farm life for me is coming to a close. I only have 2 and a half weeks left at Burge Organic Farm and it's starting to sink in. Last week when I started seeds in the greenhouse I was acutely aware that I would not see them grow to maturity, harvest their fruit or get to taste it. It is a strange feeling. I have come to love this farm, the work I've done here and the fruits of my labor. I think I'll spend a lot of the next few weeks saying goodbye to it piece by piece. In the meantime, if anyone has a few acres, a farm house and a little start up money I'm your farmer. 



Puddy Time


Aww! Eww!! Awwww! Gross!!!!!


For better or for worse, Sprocket loves cleaning Puddy's ears.

Puddy inspects the carrots