It is hard to believe that it is already half way through the season. Tomatoes in the greenhouse are getting larger and should soon start picking. Our cauliflower trial did great and it looks like we will have a new veggie for farm produce. Freemont was the variety and looks like a winner for us. I only planted enough for a trial, but it looks like it will do fine. The rutabagas should pick this week. This was an effort from a trial last year. We will see what everyone thinks about them.
The strawberry trial is doing better than I expected and it looks like there is an abundance of flowers forming. I hope they will carry out to fruit. I might consider planting them next year if they yield alright. I will be trying melons again this year. We will see what happens. Last year they were planted in a field that had terrible fertility and hardly anything yielded produce. So the trial was uncertain. This year should be better.
Potatoes are just starting to sprout from the ground and we will be doing our next planting today. This year is flying by and it is time to plant corn, beans, cucumbers, okra, peppers, squash and zucchini.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Friday, January 3, 2014
Happy New Year! Week 6 2014
Things have gotten a little chilly here at Steed Farms. We went camping on New Years (Anna, Nate, Noah and myself) at the farm. This is the second year we've done it and it might be the last time we all sleep in one tent. We barely fit without bumping into each other all night.. Jenn and Katie are smart and stay home. We do have fun roasting hot dogs and trying to find animal eyes with the spot light. We tracked down some spiders whose eyes were glowing bluish white. I did hear a bunch of coyotes near midnight a little north and east of the farm but didn't see them.
I was able to disc in our summer cover crops and put in a winter cover crop finally last Saturday. It was just in time for all the rain we had this week. Thank the good Lord for all the rain! It looks like it will do fine now and is already a couple inches tall.
The crops were a little off with the mostly hot weather and then sporadic cool days. Some of the plants were stressing and getting some fungal spots. Everything is growing fairly well except for the strawberries. I tried them again this year and they are getting anthracnose spots on the older leaves. When this happens the leaves fall off. So I have small little plants with new leaves. I haven't sprayed them with anything and should be but I haven't had a chance to. I've been too busy removing yellow flowering wild radish from the field. I thought last year it would make a good cover crop, and I think it was. I didn't have the foresight to realize that it would go to seed and make my life miserable. Everything we grow from seed looks just like it: arugula, diakons, raab, turnips, rutabaga. I can't hoe the row because I can't tell the difference. So I need to hand weed when they get older. Lesson learned.
Here are some pictures from the farm...
I was able to disc in our summer cover crops and put in a winter cover crop finally last Saturday. It was just in time for all the rain we had this week. Thank the good Lord for all the rain! It looks like it will do fine now and is already a couple inches tall.
The crops were a little off with the mostly hot weather and then sporadic cool days. Some of the plants were stressing and getting some fungal spots. Everything is growing fairly well except for the strawberries. I tried them again this year and they are getting anthracnose spots on the older leaves. When this happens the leaves fall off. So I have small little plants with new leaves. I haven't sprayed them with anything and should be but I haven't had a chance to. I've been too busy removing yellow flowering wild radish from the field. I thought last year it would make a good cover crop, and I think it was. I didn't have the foresight to realize that it would go to seed and make my life miserable. Everything we grow from seed looks just like it: arugula, diakons, raab, turnips, rutabaga. I can't hoe the row because I can't tell the difference. So I need to hand weed when they get older. Lesson learned.
Here are some pictures from the farm...
carrots after weeding wild radish
before weeding wild radish
Week 2 produce
sugarcane and lemon to refresh from weeding
pigeon pea cover crops
Nate sneaking up with a camera
Friday, November 29, 2013
Start of Season 2013
Another season is underway at Steed Farms. I know you probably thought that this was just another dead blog. Well, at least not yet. My Irish cousin Gavin would be really upset if I didn't post. Here's to you Gavin for keeping the pressure on me!
Summer went well at the farm. The covercrops did splendidly well with all the rain we had. This should have been a great year for some experimental rice I tried in a low spot we have just to see what would happen. Amazingly, the low spot never filled with water even after the rains. The weeds competed with the rice but it still produced. However when I picked it almost every single rice grain was stung by stinkbugs and had turned black or dark brown. So rice doesn't seem like a future candidate at the farm unless we go conventional and start spraying heavy.
We rotated out to the field nearest the road this year and it seems like it will produce pretty well. I am trying to rotate fields on a four year rotation. That should give the ground some time to recover before we plant back. Right now we have the space to be able to do that. In this new field there are a bunch of perennial weeds (purple nutsedge and bermuda grass) that will cause tons of problems for our yields. I've already had to plant around some of the worst sections of the field.
The tomatoes are started in the greenhouse and we will be planting the peppers and eggplants shortly. We are starting some more herbs in three gallon pots. My sons just helped fill the pots for African blue basil (a perennial), Vietnamese cilantro, and Mexican tarragon. I am looking to propagate more rosemary next.
Every year is so unique for production. This year we have almost zero yellow squash producing, minimal cucumbers, and the zucchini are light as well. The "greens" types are doing well. I tried patty pan squash this year and it looks decent. The yields are a little low but might be a crop for the future. We will see.
It was great to see everyone at the pick up this last Saturday; old and new faces alike. We appreciate all the local support for our farming and we hope everyone will enjoy the fresh, naturally grown produce. I'll try to get some pictures for the next post.
Summer went well at the farm. The covercrops did splendidly well with all the rain we had. This should have been a great year for some experimental rice I tried in a low spot we have just to see what would happen. Amazingly, the low spot never filled with water even after the rains. The weeds competed with the rice but it still produced. However when I picked it almost every single rice grain was stung by stinkbugs and had turned black or dark brown. So rice doesn't seem like a future candidate at the farm unless we go conventional and start spraying heavy.
We rotated out to the field nearest the road this year and it seems like it will produce pretty well. I am trying to rotate fields on a four year rotation. That should give the ground some time to recover before we plant back. Right now we have the space to be able to do that. In this new field there are a bunch of perennial weeds (purple nutsedge and bermuda grass) that will cause tons of problems for our yields. I've already had to plant around some of the worst sections of the field.
The tomatoes are started in the greenhouse and we will be planting the peppers and eggplants shortly. We are starting some more herbs in three gallon pots. My sons just helped fill the pots for African blue basil (a perennial), Vietnamese cilantro, and Mexican tarragon. I am looking to propagate more rosemary next.
Every year is so unique for production. This year we have almost zero yellow squash producing, minimal cucumbers, and the zucchini are light as well. The "greens" types are doing well. I tried patty pan squash this year and it looks decent. The yields are a little low but might be a crop for the future. We will see.
It was great to see everyone at the pick up this last Saturday; old and new faces alike. We appreciate all the local support for our farming and we hope everyone will enjoy the fresh, naturally grown produce. I'll try to get some pictures for the next post.
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