So, I made it to The Farm this weekend

Operations at The Farm are much more limited this year because of the copious amounts of rain we had in March and April, as well as in the first half of May. No potatoes, no onions. Barely got the peas in, and they did not do well because rain kept me from putting up a trellis. Finally, we are getting consistent sunshine, though. The tomatoes are doing well. Other crops also are coming along nicely. For instance:

The beans are doing well. This is the first crop, which I harvested on Saturday:

It should keep producing for a few weeks. I put in a third crop Saturday, and the second crop is coming along well. Meanwhile, the chard continues to produce:

Kale is going gangbusters, although I think the heat will kill this off soon:

 
 One of the side effects of the poor weather early in the spring was that I was not able to prepare beds for squash and zucchini, among other plants. Couldn't till the ground. Anyway, two weeks ago I planted two squash and two zucchini plants in the old bed, without tilling. Saturday, I had to make things right. There these plants were, in the middle of a bunch of grass:

I had to dig out an area of dirt around the plants then fill in with topsoil:

Looks good, actually:

Anyway, we might be on a more normal course at this point. We have okra, carrots, more beans, and tomatoes in. We also have more room for other crops, so we'll see what we put in the ground in coming weeks. Stay tuned.

Back to The Farm, strictly harvest edition

Went to The Farm a couple days ago, just to do some harvesting. No weeding, no nothing else. Just harvesting. Got bell peppers, which have done well. The hot peppers, not so much:

Got some more of the last-crop beans, which continue to produce well:

Paltry hot-pepper crop. Too much rain in July, too cool in August:

This is practically our entire tomato crop this year. Partly weather, but mostly no weeding. They just got choked out:

As it has all year, the Swiss chard continues to produce in spades:

The okra also continues to produce at rates that pretty much exceed anyone's ability to consume okra:

Fall crops are in, so we'll see how they do. The fall corn is coming along OK, and we have lots of other stuff in as well. We'll see how it goes.

I really need to post more often, Farm edition

About 10 days ago, I was at The Farm to check on things and harvest stuff. The corn that Farmer Tom finally let me plant looks good:

e have some broccoli in the ground now that should be ready about Halloween:

The second-crop peas I planted are coming in:

We also have brussels sprouts in the ground:

Swiss chard continues to produce, against all odds:

The final crop of beans also is putting out produce:

I harvested some cucumbers, tomatoes and okra:

Also turnips:

Got some carrots:

A little Swiss chard:

Some beans:

Some peppers:

All in all, not a horrible day. We have a number of crops that performed extremely poorly, but we've had some successes, too. I prefer to dwell on the positive and correct the deficiencies next season.

I have, in fact, been to The Farm recently

I went on Sunday, just to harvest. It was a quick-hit visit, so I had no time to weed, etc. Still, the harvest was good. I got okra, tomatoes and cucumbers:

Got a bunch of beans:

The okra looks good and continues to produce prodigiously:

The corn that Farmer Tom didn't want me to plant looks good:

Really good:

On the other hand, some of the squash-related crops just burned out:

Not a happy time. Anyway, tons of okra:

Also peppers and cukes:

Wax beans, of course:

And purple beans, because they look cool when you can them with green beans and wax beans:

Oh, shit, more green beans:

Probably going to The Farm again tomorrow, and if not, certainly Sunday. We'll see what we see.

Last farming catch-up post

I didn't make it to The Farm last weekend because of work and stuff, but I still have an update from the previous weekend. I also expect to get to The Farm this weekend at some point, so you have that to look forward to, but right now, I have some stuff that is two weeks behind.

The corn I planted is doing nicely. We are trying to protect it from the deer, but I think we are looking good for a late September/early October harvest:

Wasn't much to do around the beds last time I was at The Farm except to harvest stuff. So I did. got a bunch of onions:

A decent amount of green beans:

Some garlic:

A few bell peppers:

Some carrots, as well. These are just the carrots I get because I am thinning the bed. The real thing will come later, but for now we have these:

And, of course, okra. Can't wait to make some gumbo:

More harvest stuff coming.

More farming catch-up

Getting there, I guess. Went to The Farm Saturday, and I was pleased with what I saw. The corn is coming in nicely:

The leaf lettuce has bolted due to the heat:

So I pulled it all out and will put something else in this bed:

Harvested a bunch of kale:

And Swiss chard:

And green beans:

And some okra:

Not sure what to do with the okra right now -- freeze or can? -- because it is too hot for gumbo at the moment. We'll see.

More farming

I went to The Farm again earlier this week, just to check on things. Things are popping. The peppers, which I just put in, are doing well:

The peas are going gangbusters:

The spinach volunteers from last fall are getting massive, and the spinach we planted this spring is coming in nicely:

Lettuce and radishes also are coming in well:

The first crop of beans are up:

Lettuce and cauliflower also going well:

As is the broccoli:

The brussel sprouts are doomed, but they are thriving at the moment:

We have a bed with swiss chard, some kind of lettuce and kale volunteers that is doing well:

The garlic is coming in, along with some parsnip volunteers:

The potatoes are busting:

As are the onions:

As you can see, we have lots of crops in the ground this year. I look forward to harvest, and I also have more to report in a week or so on new crops.