Scenes from the Farm July 2015

Here are some scenes from the farm this July 2015.  Starting with this first harvest without Kamal where I had beets for the CSA shareholders.  He would have asked, "Will we get beets, too?"  Surprisingly, I had enough beets for even the farmer.

Preparing chard for the first CSA distribution

Growing summer crops inside the high tunnel to extend the season.

Cucumbers (if they are still producing) and tomatoes bound for the Brooks' dining hall in September.

Other views from the field.

Cucumbers, squashes and melons

Onions, sweet potatoes in the foreground with tomatoes, cabbage family crops, lettuce, herbs and flowers in the background. 

Carrying On

On the farm, Kamal and I had designated tasks.  He liked concrete, fix-it-kind-of-things such as putting up and powering the electric fence, setting-up and testing the irrigation and any type of repair or working with machines. Weeding or planting and some times harvesting, he did not enjoy so much as they were more vague - especially if the directions came from me.

I guess that I learned some things from Kamal inadvertently - as I certainly did not try because I had no interest in those tasks.

My mother would be laughing now as I hated the infrequent times that I helped her with mowing her lawn.

Most of the big plantings have been done with grateful help from friends, family and the Brooks' community.  Getting the farm ready for planting takes a good deal of time, this task was eased by the tremendous help of 25 seniors for four hours!  With that they gave me a 100 hours that I did not have.

Here are some photos of what the farm looks like at the beginning of June 2015.

Getting the summer squash, melons, cucumbers and winter squash planted and later tacking down that landscape fabric to weed less.

In the background, all the heat-loving summer crops are planted such as peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos and eggplant.  While in the foreground, the kale, broccoli, collards are protected from the cabbage moth and the chard and beets are just transplanted.

New Beginnings

Thanks to the students at Brooks School, I did not lose all my hard work whilst I was grieving.  They and kind staff watered and tended to my starts.  Things look healthy and ready to plant.

Ready to go into the field

Also, today, I faced two of my fears and two tasks that I was hoping to leave for Kamal to do.  He was going to take care of the bees.  Well, with help from the Merrimac Valley Beekeepers and my brother-in-law, I installed a package of bees.

Here are my two hives.

Secondly, Kamal was going to drive the tractor and teach me along the way.  Now, it is full-on immersion with the tractor and implements finally arriving.  The cover crop was so tall that mowing was the first thing to do.  Later, the rye and vetch would be harrowed in.

This is me on the tractor mowing.

Because of the help of great teachers, I feel pretty comfortable on this tractor and look forward to doing more work tomorrow.

Working Hard to Get Your Veggies

Should have worn my snowshoes to get there. 

Part of farming and, in my case, growing vegetables is to maintain my infrastructure. Snow on the sides of the high tunnel can cause a collapse.  Lucky for me, I am farming at the Brooks School; wherein, I have some much-appreciated support.  Many thanks to Bill.

Here's what I had ahead of me until I was rescued!

Some gardeners call snow - nature's fertilizer.  As I was shoveling, I thought this might be enough for season.

The snow slid off the roof and down this south side.

Here's another action shot.