Tomatoes and cucumbers!

Here are some pictures of cucumbers being trellised in one of the high tunnels. The cucumber plants are loaded with small cucumbers! Should be ready in a couple weeks. We also just started working on staking the tomatoes today. They were starting to run on the ground and were really getting out of control, but they look much better now. Working in the high tunnels in the cool evening is much more pleasant than the heat of the day.

Planting, weeding, and more planting

Lots of plants and seeds have been going in the ground lately: broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, beets, swiss chard, lettuce, carrots, spinach, radishes, arugula, turnips, scallions, peas and more. We've also been working to stay ahead of the weeds in the first rows of greens that were planted in late April. Here are some pictures of greenleaf lettuce, scallions, onions, and swiss chard seedlings planted on the muck.

With the rain we've had lately, the garlic is growing really fast. It's also making the weeds grow fast too, so we've been working on hoeing and cultivating the rows with the tractor. I'm looking forward to pulling those first big bulbs. Only 2 more months to go!

Our Egg Layers on Pasture enjoying the beautiful weather

Our egg laying flock is housed in a new movable coop we designed and built over the winter to be able to move our flock every few days to fresh green pasture. It is amazing how fast they can tear up the thick clover as they eat it and forage for bugs. The chickens are also very safe from predators at night because we take down the ramp to the door so there is no way in.

High Tunnel tomatoes and cucumbers all planted!

Yesterday we got all the high tunnel tomatoes and cucumbers planted. About 253 tomatoes and 100 cucumber plants. Before planting, I spread a few yards of composted goat manure and amended the soil with aragonite(a sea mineral high in calcium), greensand(contains 30+ minerals) and a bagged organic fertilizer. Then drip irrigation was laid. Can't wait for the first tomato and cucumber salad!

New bee hive

Here are some pictures of my younger brother(14) installing our new bee colony a couple days ago. We had purchased the hive box and all the supplies about a month ago and were waiting for the bees to arrive. They should be very useful for pollinating all the tomatoes, peppers, melons, squash, etc. We also hope to get a small amount of honey by the end of the season too. Its important when working around bees to move very slowly and calmly and not agitate them.

Garlic Growing

The garlic continues to get taller, especially after it was amended with a high nitrogen organic bagged fertilizer and 400 lbs of kelp meal to the acre. Kelp contains many minerals and micronutrients from the sea and is very beneficial to plant growth.