Busy hand planting day! Old school style with no transplanter. In main house field we planted Zinnia's, lettuce, beans and the tobacco. Elizabeth, Sandy's niece volunteered to help today which is always fantastic, and Audrey helped too but being three she's a better photo opp than helper. When they planted beans Cory showed me a special flinging technique (like a baker he said) where you throw the beans into row trenches to spread them out, from the results I think this technique should be called "oops, I dropped a bunch".
More importantly we planted more of Erica's seeds from Peru. She planted it Native American style, a Three Sister's Garden in which you plant corn, beans and squash together and the three benefit from each other. Corn provides a natural pole for bean vines to climb. Beans fix
nitrogen on their roots, improving the overall fertility of the plot
by providing nitrogen to the following years corn. Bean vines also
help stabilize the corn plants, making them less vulnerable to
blowing over in the wind. Shallow-rooted squash vines become a
living mulch, shading emerging weeds and preventing soil moisture
from evaporating, thereby improving the overall crops chances of
survival in dry years. We didn't include squash but they help discourage
predators from approaching the corn and beans. The large amount of
crop residue from this planting combination can be incorporated back
into the soil at the end of the season, to build up the organic
matter and improve its structure. I felt like I should do some ritualistic dance afterwards, but I was hungry so I went to lunch instead.
In Jeff Cook Field we planted cucumbers, corn, squash, and pac choi. With hand transplanting you need to dunk the plants in fertilizer before planting. After many ant bites and chatting we moved on to dig up onions which were done growing, now it's there cure time (drying phase). We also harvested some green garlic and Burge elephant garlic; it's good for pickin when the leaves start dying. The elephant garlic looks like a dinosaur bone which doesn't sound appetizing and even though people appreciated my comparison I don't think that one's going in the newsletter.
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| Keep that dillo under control |
Home life: A couple nights ago I was on the phone outside and heard some scurrying which I try to ignore around here for my own sanity. Then I saw something dart into the bushes...by the front porch...where I was. This guy popped out and looked at me and that's when I knew it was time to go inside. I looked at him through the window and he was going to town digging underneath the house. Jason named him Tony but I could also see a Ralph, it's still up for debate. Armadillo Off is going on my Amazon wishlist.
More importantly we planted more of Erica's seeds from Peru. She planted it Native American style, a Three Sister's Garden in which you plant corn, beans and squash together and the three benefit from each other. Corn provides a natural pole for bean vines to climb. Beans fix
nitrogen on their roots, improving the overall fertility of the plot
by providing nitrogen to the following years corn. Bean vines also
help stabilize the corn plants, making them less vulnerable to
blowing over in the wind. Shallow-rooted squash vines become a
living mulch, shading emerging weeds and preventing soil moisture
from evaporating, thereby improving the overall crops chances of
survival in dry years. We didn't include squash but they help discourage
predators from approaching the corn and beans. The large amount of
crop residue from this planting combination can be incorporated back
into the soil at the end of the season, to build up the organic
matter and improve its structure. I felt like I should do some ritualistic dance afterwards, but I was hungry so I went to lunch instead. 
In Jeff Cook Field we planted cucumbers, corn, squash, and pac choi. With hand transplanting you need to dunk the plants in fertilizer before planting. After many ant bites and chatting we moved on to dig up onions which were done growing, now it's there cure time (drying phase). We also harvested some green garlic and Burge elephant garlic; it's good for pickin when the leaves start dying. The elephant garlic looks like a dinosaur bone which doesn't sound appetizing and even though people appreciated my comparison I don't think that one's going in the newsletter.
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