Harvest Starts

The first fruits of harvest!

We have begun to pick the first of our produce. Peaches, blueberries, blackberries, squash, cucumbers, and our Valencias were picked this week. I staked up the tomatoes, the eggplants and the pole beans. The plants are looking good except for the virus infected squash. There are still a few that are not infected and we may keep getting some fruit off them. The melons are sizing up and the tomatoes are putting out fruit. The peppers are beginning to flower and the eggplants are growing nicely. I think that this is the best bunch of vegetables I have ever grown. I really believe that enriching the soil with a green manure and horse manure has helped tremendously.

I also have been collecting seeds from a legume that grows wild on the farm. The seeds have been ripening lately and I have been picking them when I have the chance. I have pulled up the plants and have seen microbial nitrogen fixing nodules on the roots. I figured that this plant has adapted to the conditions on our farm with the bacteria indigenous to the soil. It should be a good match for our specific farm conditions.