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Mulch, Mulch, Mulch and Soggy Potatoes

The last few weeks have brought us rain every week. We had hoped to start planting this week, but it was just to wet to prep the beds for the winter squash, pollinators and summer cover crops. Instead we worked on planting olive trees and a Yaupon holly tree. We also trimmed the grass in the blackberry beds and put down mulch in part of the blackberry beds. We also started putting mulch around the mulberry trees and a few of the elderberry bushes in the food forest area.

We planted comfrey around the trees and bushes in the food forest area as we put the woodchip mulch down. It will take several work days to put all the mulch down and plant comfrey, but we are off to good start.

The garlic is putting out scapes. Those are great for cooking. The taste is similar to a green onion.

The bees are staying busy. We hope to have our first harvest of honey in June.

The blackberries in this area are ready for summer
Potatoes are coming up in some areas, but not in others. Having a wet spring can be difficult with potatoes
The blueberries are growing nicely
Bees are staying busy
The garlic is putting out scapes. The scapes were cut and will end up in dinner
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Planting Hazel Trees and Moving Pine Logs

We planted our first hazel trees. This is a test planting to see how they do. We should have our first nuts from the hazel trees in 2-3 years, if all goes well.

We also pulled up drip feed lines so we can trim and to make it easier to cut the grass. Drip irrigation is great, but having lines everywhere does make for some management challenges when it comes to cutting grass and keeping everything looking nice and well managed.

We also had a few logs to move from a dead pine tree that we cut. Its been too wet to move the logs until now. It is nice to get them out of the way so I can mow that area.

The spring flowers are blooming and the bees are busy.

We’ve learned that young seedlings are often enough reason for a deer to want inside the anti-deer fence area, so we put cages around them.

It was a nice way to spend a Friday afternoon.

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Blueberries Go In! Bees Go In!

Since we started the farm, one of the things I’m looked forward to is planting blueberries. We had a couple of delays putting them in, but now they are finally installed.

The picture doesn’t show the blueberry plants amidst the pine stray, but they are there!
Experiment of using the hugelkultur mound for blueberries

My wife Connie, came up with a wonderful idea. She suggested that we plant blueberries in the Hugelkultur mound. This gives the blueberries a wonderfully sunny place that is very well drained. The hugelkultur mound is approximately 85 feet long x 30 feet wide. It is now home to 20 blueberry plans (all rabbiteye), raspberries and goji berries. This area has easy access to drip irrigation and is inside the anti-deer fence. We planted a mixture of blueberries, including Columbus, IRA, Yadkin and Tifblue varieties. The raspberries are Fall Gold from Rabbit Ridge Nursery in Coates, NC. The raspberries are acclimated to this area, so we hope they will do well. We still need to put up the trellis for the raspberries and the goji berries.

Bees on the Farm, means Honey will be Available Later in the Year

Beekeeper installing the bee hives

We are excited to have bees on the property. We have partnered with a local beekeeper so we can offer honey from our farm later in the year. I’ll post a blog entry when the honey is available. The bees will also help pollinate our berries and crops.

We also plan to bees on your place in the mountains again this summer (www.troublesomegap.com) so we should have sourwood honey available as well.

The flowers are coming up on the farm, so spring isn’t that far away.

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Mowing Grass and Enjoying a Slower Pace on the Farm

It was relaxing putting lime on the back field and getting it mowed. It is ready for winter. Nice to be able to take a break from a very busy summer growing season.

Checkout the winter garden

Tractor is ready to spread the first batch of lime
Sugar snap peas are growing
Cover crops are working hard
Winter garden is growing
More winter garden goodness
Brussels sprouts are growing
Fig trees are dropping leaves
Cover crops growing too
Daikon radish are really growing
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After the Hurricane Passed Through

Thankfully the damage was minimal. We did lose a few trees, but nothing major. Here are some pictures from after the hurricane passed through. The winter garden is coming right along and it chilly outside, just like it should be in October.

Winter garden survived the storm
Winter garden survived the storm
Winter garden survived the storm
Winter garden survived the storm
Cover crops are growing
Sweet potatoes almost ready, sugar snap peas are growing
Big spider
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Questions from the Farm – #2 in an Ongoing Series

We get lots of questions from community farm participants. Here are questions that came up this week.

1) How do you know whether you should plant 1 seed or multiple seeds in the same spot?

If the seed are purchased then the back of the seed packet will usually show planting information that includes desired spacing between plants and the number of seeds to plant in the same spot

Another way to determine how many seeds to plant in each spot is to look at the germination rate listed on package.

If the germination rate is 80% or below I would plant 4 seeds and then thin as needed. Above 80, consider planting 2-3 seeds and thin as needed. A 95% or greater gemination rate means you could try planting one see per site.

2) Is it better to wash produce before or after freezing?

Definitely better to wash before freezing

3) What crops have the best number of calories?

If you are interested in the number of calories per ounce of crop check out:

https://www.calories.info/food/vegetables (click at the top to select serving size)

It is important to note that calories / lb of crop is only a small part of the picture. Some crops are easier to grow, take more or less space or have higher yields.

Another way look a it is with a typical serving size. You can download a chart here from the FDA:


Vegetables – https://www.fda.gov/media/70792/download
Fruit – https://www.fda.gov/media/76508/download

Also check out: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/nutrition-information-raw-vegetables

The breakdown of carbohydrates vs. protein is also important. Protein is a very important part of your diet. Check out:

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/19-high-protein-vegetables

4) How long does eggplant last in the fridge?

Eggplant lasts about 5 days in the refrigerator crisper.

5) How many weeks does a fig last on a fig tree?

Figs last just a few days after picking when ripe. Figs don’t store well, so it is best to eat or process them soon after picking. Once the fig is ripe on the tree, it won’t last long. Birds and insects are drawn to ripe fruit left on the tree.