Nimai's first volunteer day on the farm! Nathan returned as well. It was great to have the extra hands to help weed and mulch what we have planted. Dave has mowed down all the cover crop and we have about 4.5 rows completely planted. Mulching around the bell peppers we just put in the ground. The cover was pretty light on this end and the weeds are different and more evil than what we've been dealing with at the top half of the plot. Unfortunately, this half has endure the brunt of those familiar jokes "Wow, you guys are really great at farming weeds!!" Ag2 flash backs....
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Saturday 3/23 mission was to set up netting on the trellis and plant Malabar spinach at it Straw for mulching! Put in place using he push and flip method. I should have been wearing that helmet. I learn over 1 million things from Gabe every time I hang out around him. Today's highlights include 1) it's pretty cool to watch someone machete down a banana arm as quick smooth as cutting ice cream and 2) chia seeds are easy to grow (for Gabe) and mixed with water will gel and when chugged will keep you saturated and 3) if you only have 6 months to farm at a spot and 2 and a half have passed and you haven't tilled and you are weeding and planting as you go, you might want to ask yourself, should I consider farming weeds instead of crops? Alright alright we'll till already! Two tilled rows with 3 lines and five sections each. A number of varieties of the following: radishes and turnips, lettuces or mixed greens, daikon, beets, and carrots 2nd harvest of kale and chard, and first for cilantro! First batch on Tuesday went to Down to Earth coworkers for donations. Dave collected $10, but also excited requests to be put on top priority for our upcoming CSA! Priceless! And yes, the same three trays of our harvest must be photographed from multiple angles, perspectives, and scenes. Crops harvested and in action! Jeff's velvety suede sheets of chard became my brown rice stir fry, our neighbor papaya trees provided for my papaya acai almond millk cacao nibs smoothies, and our red russian kale and cilantro became the motivation and star ingredients for my soup gifts. “Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything."
“We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, 'Blessed are they that mourn,' and I accept it. I've got nothing that I hadn't bargained for. Of curse it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not imagination.” ― C.S. Lewis Wednesday, 2/12, hacked down our sun hemp, buckwheat, sorgum cover crop with Laamea's hedge trimmer. Sorry bees, your home is making my no-till mulch! Leaving about a foot wide buffer around the plot. Saturday, 2/15, we hammered down some metal posts to make a trellis for our spinach and beans, and made our ten rows and started to mulch the isles. In lieu of long enough string, we pulled what we had across and back 100 ft three times and trampled the mulch to designate two rows at a time, before untying and moving onto the next two rows. Since 2 wheelbarrows and 2 shovels can't service more than 2/11 farmers at a time, we thought we were ingenious hauling mulch 1000 ft away over in bins and sprinkling in between rows to designate isles. BORDERLINE EMBARRASSINGLY INEFFICIENT ON ALL OF THE ABOVE ACTIVITIES These little guys are ready to go into the ground!
Each plot has a till and a no-till side. No-till needs some organic matter put on a week or so before planting for weed control and starting the microbial growth in the soil. The guinea grass in the forest around our plots is a good mulching medium for this first phase-type of soil with no microbes or critters. Heavier, denser things like logs are beneficial as mulch on more developed soil that has all the elements and microbial activity to break them down.
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... To Grow and Cook Your Own Food!Libre Farm, LLC is Dave and I's effort to be the food revolution we want to see in the world! Categories
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