September Is Here!
There was a lot of neglect this week on the farm. I planted out my weekly sunflower succession on Tuesday – and I almost killed myself. I had no business being out in 100 degrees doing farm work. I kid you not: After every row of plants I put in I stopped, stood in the shade and drank water. I suppose it didn’t help that I was wearing long sleeves and knee high boots. But that’s up for debate. I usually feel cooler in long sleeves. Anyway, I sweat a lot, so I was aware that I was more likely to dehydrate faster than the average person. You shouldn’t wait till you’re about to drop from thirst before drinking. And I still got a bad headache from the heat.
Bed prep: I cleared the bed of plant matter the day before so it would be one less thing I would have to do. But on Tuesday I still had to apply fertilizer, rake it in, water the bed and move black plastic from another bed to this one (I re-use it and it saves me having to burn holes in new plastic every time). It doesn’t sound like much but trust me, in the blazing sun, it was a lot. I can usually plant a 128 plug tray out in 1 hour but this whole exercise took me 2 hours. After the bed is prepped, I lay out the plugs next to the holes. Then I go back in with my spade and dig a hole and push them in: 5 rows, 21 holes in each. The soil is very, very rocky so it’s not always a fast task. I dig a hole and set them in there then I go back around and press the dirt around the plug. It can be a bit of a bother because you have to work between the plastic. But at least, I never have to weed ;)
There were other things I wanted to do on the farm that day but after that, modesty dictated that that was the end.
I have to soak the bed before putting the plastic on top. The holes do not allow very much water to go through afterwards and I haven’t gotten drip irrigation yet.
How was it possible that I didn’t weed at all this year? – You may ask. Well, the beds were mulched and the pathways were weed-whacked. When you’re farming your priorities and how you manage your time become different from gardening. It’s all about efficiency. Sure, as I’m taking a stroll and just enjoying the beauty of everything I may pull out a weed or two from around my decorative plants, but they’re minimal. And for me, they don’t do any harm. They’re not big enough to compete with my plants and I know that the bed has enough nutrients. You have to learn what’s necessary and what’s not. I’m so happy for the lessons I’ve learned from Lisa Mason Ziegler on YouTube.
Anyway, if you’ve been seeing all my posts on Facebook or Instagram, you may think my garden looks a bit rough right now. All my neighbors’ plots are a bit overgrown so I thought I could get away with it for a week or 2. But what bothered me the most was seeing my ground look so dry. In spite of this, honestly, sunflowers can handle it. But I wish I could have watered more. They definitely would have benefitted from it. But sometimes you have to figure what you can modestly do in order to survive. There’s a wise proverb that says: “A live dog is better off than a dead lion.”
Because of the shade my filler flowers –strawflowers and statice - really struggled. They weren’t able to re-grow quickly. Other things in the shade included my cosmos and veges – and they definitely struggled. I had a lot of bug pressure. I was attempting to grow entirely without pesticides – organic or otherwise. And the insufficient light and water really stressed the plants out and probably contributed to the bug attack. It’s taught me a lot. I hope that next year I can access a sunnier location to grow. All I need is between 1/16th – 1/8th of an acre. Truly, 1/16th would be twice the size I’m growing on now; I would be content with that. So if you’re in Westminster and you have anywhere you could point me to find someone willing to lease a portion of their land, please reach out to me on FB or IG. I would be most appreciative.
Last but not least, guys! Start your cool-weather plants: this includes anything in the brassica family like Kale, Broccoli, Cabbage etc. You can start carrots and lettuce. Now is the time people! Johnnyseeds.com is a great resource for growing instructions on any of these things if you’re not sure. And, ahem, I am a flower farmer: so there are cool-hardy flowers you can plant now for harvesting next spring. Check out my blogs from August.
As always, I’d love to see what you’re up to. Tag me over on FB or IG @lovelyrainflowerfarmmd. Hope you guys are well.
Toodles!
Kerri
