Weekend at the Farm August 5 - 7, 2022

 

Drove up Friday morning and worked from here.  Bert was already here.  

• We are dog sitting Mijo for Jess and Nathan while they go to her grandmother's funeral in California.
• Several of my sunflowers have popped up that I sowed 10 days ago or so.
• Watered along the Boardwalk where the sprinkler system is broken.
• Saturday.  I worked in the Vegetable Garden all morning from seven until noon.
• Weeded.
• I pulled up all the amaranth and threw all the seed heads behind the garden.  With decent rain next spring I should get lots of volunteers. 
• I cut back floppy celosia and tossed the seed heads into various beds in the Rose Garden.  I did that last year too, and I have celosia blooming in the Rose Garden this year.
•  I worked the bed to loosen the soil and sowed my field pea cover crop in the 32 x 4 bed in the Vegetable Garden.  Dragged the hose over there to water because the sprinkler system doesn't hit it.
• I worked the beds and sowed field peas in several other places through the garden.  I still have some left, but I don't exactly remember where I sowed all my sunflowers, so I put a pause on that chore.
• Spent some time in the large asparagus bed weeding.  Asparagus doesn't like crowding, so I try to be vigilant about keeping my asparagus beds really clean.
• I spent some time behind the garden where castor and Four O'Clocks are usually flourishing at this time of year.  I pulled up the old canes from last year.  I left the new castor even though the stalks are leafless and dry.  I cut down all the withered Four O'Clocks (I don't like them much).  I chopped away at the male grapevine growing along the fence.  
• Hauled all my debris to an erosion spot and dumped it.
• Helped Bert clean up the mess from a big dead limb in the Medicine Garden that he cut down.
• We got a little rain shower about 5:00 which was desperately needed.  It was enough to fill the rain buckets.
• I read online about the Nostoc algae that has invaded my decomposed granite paths over the years.  The literature suggests  applying a chlorothalonil or mancozeb based fungicide.  Or, an organic alternative is baking soda.  I used 2 half-boxes of baking soda that I had on hand and sprinkled it over several areas in the Vegetable Garden.  I will give that a try first, and if that isn't effective I will get a fungicide.
• Sunday.  Got outside about 8:00.
• I pulled up the rest of the Four O'Clocks behind the Vegetable Garden.  I guess because it's so dry, I am able to pull almost all of them up with the bulb (or tuber, whatever it's called).  I cut off the bulb and threw them in the fire pit.  Those things are hardy.  If I dump them in an erosion spot they will grow.
• Spent some time in the Water Garden.  I pruned my climbing rose (the name escapes me right this minute) and trained some canes across the goat wire fence.  I cut away dead verbena debris - there is a lot of it in this horrid summer drought.  Deadheaded Icecap rose.  Fertilized the 2 roses.
• Down to the Orchard.  I cut away dead canes in the 2 brambles nearest the entrance and one of the narrow beds .  Pulled up some patches of crabgrass.  Watered.  Raked.  
• I used my small electric hand saw and cut the male grape vine to the ground.  Poisoned the cut with Remedy and Diesel.
•  Watered my newly sowed (sown?) peas. 
• I made some sugar water for the bees and fed them.  They are definitely in distress, I wish I had fed them in July several times.  But I was in distress too.  The heat is, well, hot.
• Dumped the blackberry canes next to a trail.  
• Did some spot watering in the Rose Garden. 
• Arranged all my hoses in the Water Garden and the Rose Garden. 
• Sowed lots of Polar Bear zinnias in the Star Garden and the Rose Garden wherever the sprinklers will hit the soil. 
• Headed home about 5:00.  Bert stayed because we are having some major repairs done on the well. 
• It was a job well done weekend.