Two lines of electric fence rope, one for deer, one for groundhogs, running through the so-very-healthy grass, perfectly illustrates the nature of the war on weeds. Maybe I should use less militaristic terms, but that’s what comes naturally—guess it’s my cultural upbringing. And it does feel like a battle. On the ground, face to face, against a well-adapted indigenous…opponent. Spraying herbicides would be like an impersonal aerial war, bombing from on high. In this tiny farming, it’s hand pulling and snipping, and using the pulled weeds as mulch to hopefully smother reinforcements that are ready to spring up. Here, letting the grass swamp the fence lines would be bad for the system, draining the battery and reducing the strength of the all-important ZAP!
Spring
Zukes in the field
Zucchini, transplanted into the field a couple of weeks ago, don’t seem to be doing much so far. Don’t be fooled! Once they get settled—I imagine a lot of root action, spreading wide and down—they will explode. Pop! They’ve been under row cover to protect them from the cucumber beetles that attack all the cucurbits. I’m giving them some air on yet another mainly cloudy day. It’s generally not a good idea on the leaf disease front to keep our local garden veggies in warm damp conditions that can happen under row cover when there’s not a lot of sun. Looking at the photo, I can’t help but notice all the other garden would-be inhabitants, what we call weeds. I see some thistle, mallow, dandelion and of course, pigweed (aka amaranth). Like the zukes, they only seem like they’re not doing much…because I recently wheel hoed!
Carrots, once they get started…
These carrots started coming up a few days ago, uncovered! It’s not surprising given the cloudy, warm and fairly wet weather, perfect for getting carrot seed going, but it’s not usual. Carrots germination generally takes some work. Once up, though, and past the stage where little critters try to chomp them out of existence, they’ve always been an easy-growing, low-maintenance, fun to be around!
Clouds within clouds
Not to exaggerate this mainly cloudy stretch, it’s just that when I look up lately, something like this is what I usually see. To be fair, in the last 10 or so mainly cloudy days, there’ve been decent sunny breaks, a few hours at a time here and there. Plus, pleasing bits of rain, enough to keep the seedings wet. And temperature’s been good: not too hot, not too cold, and mild overnight. So, no real garden complaints. This photo kinda captures the whole cloudy-rainy situation. Clouds!
Cucurbits!
Cucurbit, from Cucurbitaceae, is a useful word! How else would you refer to the large squash-and-melon family that includes winter squash like acorn and butternut, summer squash like zucchini, pumpkins, gourds, melons (cantaloupe, watermelon, and so on), cucumbers, even the fruit that dries out to become loofah sponges. All the same plant family, all with similar-looking leaves and sprawling vined growth. I’ve on and off wanted to learn the scientific Latin-word plant classification system. I’ve even semi-memorized the basics more than once, then soon forgotten, because there’s no actual use for it in my day to day. But some terms, like cucurbits, do come in handy…
Spinach in the field
Yay, spinach! Seeing direct seeded crops germinate is one of the most satisfying things in the field. Here, it’s spinach, Reflect variety, seeded a few days ago, coming up nicely. In general, seeds do germinate, that’s a good starting point. But there are lots of variables, and the unpredictable weather extremes that have become the new normal don’t help. Is the seed new this year, or has it been around for a year or more? What conditions does the particular veg like: ground always wet until germination, soil temperature not too low or too high, seed not too deep or too shallow, and so on. It sounds more complicated than it is, only because, as a tiny farmer, you have little control over any of it. You lay seed down at a reasonable depth, water it in, watch, hope for the best, and prepare to reseed if things don’t go your way!
Looking tiny by comparison, you can also see redroot pigweed seedlings popping up. They’re easy to handle if weeded early. Otherwise, a no-joke garden invader!
Sundown on another cloudy day
Mainly cloudy seems to be the theme of this stretch of weather. It’s been about a week of mostly overcast and grey, with some rain here and there. The forecast calls for at least a week more of the same. At this point, not the worst. It’s been nice and warm, day and night, with not so much rain that the field stays soggy. Lots of growers with various things already in the field are no doubt wishing for a lot more sun, but here…it’s fine as is for now. :)