What Happens When You Rush Things

Gardening is an inexact science.  You win some and you lose some, and you definitely learn along the way.  For planting the spring garden, I use the average last frost date for our zip code.  Our average last frost date is March 22nd.  If you plant on March 22nd, you have only a 10% chance of getting a frost and injuring or killing your plants.  You can also use the Early last frost date.  That date is March 3rd.  If you plant on that date, you have a 30% chance of injuring/killing your plants.

Sometimes, I subscribe to the "you gotta risk it to get the biscuit" mentality.  I could gamble and plant early, right?  What could happen, really?  So, I pushed things this year, planting the snap beans, cucumbers, squash and cucumbers around March 10th.  Well...  Just so happens, it got down to 34 degrees.  I thought, incorrectly, that things would be okay.  We have lots of trees, the plants were mulched, they would make it.  I was busy doing other things and I didn't even go out and cover them.

All the plants were damaged!  Let's take a look.  Here are the snap beans.  The leaves are burned from the frost.  Fortunately, fresh new growth is being put on.  They'll be stunted, but most of the beans are going to make it.

But look at the cucumbers!  I have 3 varieties planted on a cattle panel trellis.  The cucumbers are hit a lot harder than the snap beans.  Honestly, I think I'll have to replant ALL of these except one on the very end.  I don't know how it avoided the damage.  I will wait for 3 more days to see if any new growth appears.  Then if nothing happens, I'll pull the trigger and replant.

This third photo shows the severely damaged squash, including hills of zucchini, straightneck yellow squash and crookneck yellow squash.  This right here was my main reason for rushing things.  I figured if I got a really early start, I could avoid the squash vine borers.  This pest usually kills all of my squash.  I theorized that by getting a jump on things, I could make a big harvest of squash before the onslaught of the SVBs.  The squash was absolutely beautiful, with big, healthy green leaves.  They would have been blooming in a week.  Then the temperatures dropped and all of the big leaves turned brown and died.

But I'm hopeful.  I see fresh new green growth.  There's an old adage that says, "That which does not kill you, makes you stronger."  If there's any truth to that, perhaps we'll have a strong squash crop.  We'll wait and see.

Finally, in the garden in the side yard, here are my butternut squash and spaghetti squash.  Burned by the frost? Sure.  But these plants will live to fight another day!

There are significant benefits to getting things planted early.  You get plants that produce prior to fighting the high heat and bug and pest pressure.  But there is significant downside risk that may cause you to have to replant everything.  Fortunately, I don't think that is possible.  However, I'm pretty sure I'll be replanting all the cucumbers.  I will try to rush things and plant early again, I'm quite sure, but next time, I'll cover all of the plants.

The Last Hurrah for the Broccoli

The big broccoli heads have long been harvested.  About every other day, I walk down the broccoli row and snip off the florets.  We've had broccoli in our fridge non-stop for at least a couple of months because of this.  All good things must come to an end.  But it's not really the end, is it?  When the florets aren't harvested, they flower.  Beautiful yellow flowers fill the garden.  Broccoli seed pods are forming and when these ripen and turn brown, I'll save a multitude of seeds since these are non-hybrid.  It'll soon be time to remove the broccoli plants and plant another crop, I'm thinking peppers, to fill that spot.  The broccoli flowers, apart from being pretty, attract our honeybees which are located just west of the garden.  During the day, bees dart this way and that around the broccoli flowers.

I like to watch the bees hard at work pollinating, flying greedily from one flower to the next.  You can hear the buzz as they work.  What an industrious creature is the bee!

Busy as a bee!  You can see why that phrase is repeated.

Stay tuned for more reports on the bees.  We've got lots to tell you.  Bees moved back into our hollow column on the side porch.  We also have a couple of swarm traps set in the yard.  Finally, we'll be attempting on our second try to make splits.  More to come on all this later.

One Call, That's All

We are down to the last 20 square bales of hay up in the loft.  That's about a 10 day inventory.  We rolled out the last round bale of hay in early February.  The spring grass that's coming up in the pasture is being gobbled down just as quickly as it comes up.  I planted seven rows of turnips, so we're supplementing the cows and goat's hay and feed with turnips and turnip greens.  Probably this weekend, I'll put up the temporary electric fencing in the yard and let the cows graze down the winter grass and white Dutch clover growing in the yard.  It's a stretch to get us to spring when the grass comes in.

So for 'insurance' I called a friend that we always purchase our round bales from and on Saturday morning, he delivered 10 round bales to us.  We rolled them off of the trailer and lined them up ready to be rolled out to the cows and goats.  We may not even need these bales until late fall this year if the grass comes in, but it's best to have them just in case.

You can't just leave good hay exposed to the rain, sun and weather and expect to have good bales for your animals if you don't protect them.  Our old tarp made from a recycled outdoor billboard lasted 20 years before it deteriorated.  Time for a new one.  I went to the outdoor advertising office to inquire about buying one.  I found our that they don't sell them.  Somehow or another (thank you, Lord!) at the end of the conversation, the gentlemen kindly had me drive around back, and I loaded a HUMONGOUS tarp (recycled vinyl outdoor billboard) into the back of my car to take home.  As it turns out, I used to go to church with a nice lady that worked there at the billboard company.  

I got the sign (tarp) home and Saturday night I unrolled it and covered all ten bales with the new tarp.  The tarp should keep the hay well-protected and dry until we need to uncover and roll them out.  I need to do a better job of weighing down the tarp with something to keep it from blowing off of the hay in high winds. 

There's only one downside about the tarp:  It's the sign advertising the services of a personal injury lawyer.  "Hurt?  Call the hurtline."  "Call So and So and Get it Done"  "One call.  That's all."  Everyone's gotta make a living, I get it, but these guys are a prime reason why no one can afford car insurance.  I wish they'd all go away.  Since I don't want to see the ambulance chaser's face everyday telling me "no fee paid unless settlement is made," I think I'm going to flip the sign upside down tomorrow.

Besides the bright yellow sign is a little too gaudy.  The back side is white, I think, and will blend in a little better instead of standing out.  Have you ever wondered why billboard attorneys use signs with yellow, red, and black on them?  Studies have conclusively proven that billboards with yellow, red, and black backgrounds are the most eye-catching signs.  They grab your attention at high speeds because they contrast with most surroundings.  Red communicates urgency and excitement and passion, studies show.

Yeah, I'm flipping the sign over with the quickness.  We (and the cows) like a more peaceful, pastoral atmosphere.

Radishes - A New Way

Radishes are by far the easiest thing to grow in our garden.  They grow fast - and they'll get away from you.  Before you know it they are HUGE.  These are so big and ugly!

We eat them in salads, but mostly, we make a spicy radish dip.  We take about six of them and mince them up in a food processer along with 6 cloves of garlic.  Then we'll throw in a block of cream cheese.  Finally, we'll add salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika and some habanero pepper flakes.  That's it!  It makes a perfect dip for dipping cut up carrots into or we'll spread it on crackers or french bread.  It doesn't last long.  It has become a family favorite.

But when you have an over-abundance of them, you've got to look for new ideas.  We'll try lacto-fermented radishes, much like we do with carrots, cucumber, or cabbage.  First we sliced up the radishes in little chunks like you might do when making pickles.  Then you make a brine by adding 2 teaspoons sea salt to 2 cups water.  Then we added 1/4 of whey that's leftover from yoghurt making.  That acts as a preservative.  We add some garlic cloves to the bottom and then pack the jars tightly with the cut up radishes and pour the brine over them making sure the radishes are submerged by placing some glass canning weights on top.

We leave the jars at room temperature for 5-7 days and then place them in the fridge.  

We'll likely make more radish dip, but thought we'd add this to our radish repertoire. 

An Experiment in Taking Cuttings

Last year I took cuttings off of our Chaste Tree (Vitex).  It is a beautiful tree that blooms with pretty purple flowers that the honeybees love.  In fact they've been giving out trees as door prizes at our beekeeper's club.  I took seven cuttings and over time, four of the seven grew roots and leaves and are now over three feet tall!  I'll be transplanting in the ground near our beehives.  

Armed with a little confidence, I decided to try again with some other trees.  I watched a tutorial from The School of Traditional Skills that was really informative.  It was a free hour and a half-long class.  Below is a screen shot from the training pertaining to what we're attempting to do again:

First, Experiment #1:  I wanted to try a mulberry tree.  The host mulberry is one that is a young tree about 12 feet tall that I actually got to grow from a cup-full of mulberries that I scattered in the woods behind our house.  One of them grew and although it is not on our property, it leans over onto our property and last year fruited enough to eat a few off the tree.  Delicious!

I want to try to get some more growing.  Following what I learned on the class, I took cuttings and cut just below the node, dipped in water, dipped in rooting hormone and put in some moist potting soil.  I'll keep the soil wet and we'll see what happens.

Experiment #2: Elderberry.  We want to try to grow some elderberry trees from cuttings.  I went through the same process on the back of my tailgate.  Tick tock...  We'll see what happens.

Experiment #3: Blueberries.  We've lost almost half of our blueberry bushes due to, I think, drought.  I want to get some replacements going.  We'll watch these as well and see if we're successful.

I think I'm a little late in doing this experiment, so if we fail, we'll try again next year, but earlier, but all that can happen is that it might fail.  But the upside is we'll get some new trees off of cuttings similar to the Chaste Trees or Vitex.

Kidding Season - Another Kid

I've got some good news and some bad news tonight.  Let's start with the bad.  On Sunday, Bunny gave birth to twins.  The largest one was born dead.  The youngest was very small and weak.  For the past four days we've worked hard to pick her up, put her on Bunny's teats, and encourage her to suckle.  I was going through this process five or six times a day.  She'd drink and show some strength.  She was never able to get up on her own, make her way to the dinner table and drink milk.  Last night I noticed she was getting weaker.  I worked with her and gave her encouragement, but my efforts proved to be ineffectual.  By late this afternoon she died, and I dug a hole with a shovel and buried her.  I've buried several goats this year.  Tonight when I got back from the Beekeeper's meeting, I could hear Bunny crying hauntingly as she looked for her baby.  C'est La Vie (and death).

Bunny's unnamed doeling - RIP

Let's switch to the good news.  Agnes is another momma goat.  She's the only goat on the farm with horns, and she uses that to her advantage, bullying all the other goats.  She's mean.  But she is a good momma, always delivering healthy babies, strong and vigorous.  Coming on the heels of Bunny's situation, we were hoping for a better outcome with Agnes.

It's Agnes' time to shine

Tuesday afternoon I went to the barn to gather eggs.  As I rounded the corner, I was greeted by a surprise.  Agnes had given birth to a big black baby goat.  She had cleaned her baby up, and it was up and walking.  Since Agnes had not had a gender reveal party, I checked the little goat's equipment and it's a little buckling.  We'll name him Kit!

Without any assistance from me, Kit immediately started nursing and got his dose of colostrum, giving him the best shot of health moving forward.  That little dude drained one teat in no time flat.

I always like to get proof the babies got the colostrum.  "The proof is in the pudding," they say.  That saying is literally true.  I checked Kit's "pudding," and it is bright orange.  Yep, he got the good stuff digested.

Kit is jet black and full of spunk and energy.  He'll be a welcome addition to Our Maker's Acres Family Farm.

We've always said that if you are discouraged or depressed, the best thing for you is to sit down and watch baby goats hop around playfully in the pasture.  It's sure to put a smile on your face!

An Infestation!

Last night I talked about listening to a James Herriot audiobook called, "Every Living Thing."  If you haven't read Herriot's books, I highly recommend them - All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Wise and Wonderful, All Things Bright and Beautiful.  In these books, Herriot, a country vet in England recounts true stories (with names changed) of his patients and the humans that owned them.  Very funny stories that are also tender, beautifully written anecdotes about Mr. Herriot's experiences as a vet.  The descriptions of the countryside and the simpler times in the late 1930's through early 1950's are heartwarming.

In "Every Living Thing" chapter 48, Herriot recounts visiting the Colwell's home to check on a dog with a fractured femur that had not set properly.  While in the home, he is attacked by fleas and carries them home with him.  He undresses at the door and tells his wife, Helen, that he is going to take a bath to try to get rid of them.  He immerses himself in the bathwater and sees the little black critters on the water's surface, drains the tub and repeats the process.  Poor James Herriot is  tormented by them for days. 

Image Credit

It reminded me of a poem I once read:

I think that I shall never see
A beast as loathsome as a flea.

A flea whose hungry mouth consumes
All the blood that it exhumes.

A flea that makes me scratch all day
And irritates in every way.

A flea that gets into my hair
And makes me scratch 'til I am bare.

Poems are made by fools like me.
But God should not have made the flea.

-Terry Hoffman

I have a flea story of my own.  In my job that I've been doing for close to five years now, I drive around and inspect vehicles that have been damaged.  I take photos and then write estimates for repair and deliver the estimates to the adjuster for payment to the insured or the claimant.  When I was being initially trained, I was warned about dogs.  My trainer told me that he was chased on top of a fuel tank after being bitten.  He was bleeding and had to call for help!  I've heeded the warning for dogs, but I was not warned about fleas!

I daily see a myriad of vehicles of all types - from Porsches to Pickups, from $1,800 Toyotas to $88,000 Escalades.  Around a year ago, I was assigned to see an old Toyota Tacoma.  Driving up, I could see that the vehicle was in poor condition, even before the collision.  There was not a single panel on the vehicle that did not have prior damage - dents, scratches, rust, missing trim.  I could see this was going to be a total loss.

In order to properly value the vehicle, I must get the odometer reading.  I opened the door and was struck with a strong smell.  I gingerly eased into the driver's seat, pushing over a paper plate of half eaten chicken that had been there for a few days, put the key in the ignition and quickly got the mileage.  The interior of the vehicle was full of debris and so very dirty, I rushed to finish up and got in my car and used antibacterial gel on my hands to try to clean up.

I drove away, happy to move on to my next stop.  I was driving down the highway at 55 mph when something caught my eye on my khaki pants.  It was a black speck on my lap.  Must be some dirt.  I went to flick it off, but it jumped!  Oh no!  Five minutes later I felt a sensation on my ankle.  I pulled off to the shoulder of the road, got out, pulled my pant leg up, lowering my sock and... There is was.  A flea!  I shook my legs and did a little dance on the side of the road that surely amused other passing motorists, but I didn't care.  Driving home I found several more in the cab, jumping around on me and the seat of my car, happy to be in a new surrounding.

I got home and undressed like James Herriot.  I cleaned up and the next morning, got into my car to begin my day and found that I had little passengers that now infested and inhabited my car.  That afternoon I used a leaf blower to blow out the interior of my vehicle and over time, I haven't seen anymore.

The moral of the story: Watch out for dogs, but watch out for fleas, too!