Saturday, June 29, 2013

Final 2012 tomatoes

In anticipation of a busy garlic harvest season, I am making a big pan of chard lasagna on Sunday to freeze for quick late night meals.  So today the last of the 2012 tomatoes went into the slow cooker to make the sauce...

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Wheel hoe

The Valley Oak Wheel Hoe may be the single greatest hand tool that we use on the farm these days.  The blade/hoop attachment slices easily and cleanly through the invasives that we are continually fighting like thistle, burdock and curly dock.  This is a fun tool to use:  no bending or kneeling and it's gratifying to slice through a thick thistle plant and root! 
 
This photo shows the end of a garlic bed that wasn't fully planted with garlic.  I first cleared it with the wheel hoe blade attachment and then attached the 3 tine cultivator which allowed me to clear the "trash" from the bed and then loosened the soil.  I then put in some beet seeds.
Wheel Hoe - made in the USA.  Ours was purchased through the
great folks at Green Heron Tools 
 
 
 Chard in the foreground, kale in the back.  Buckwheat cover to the right.  The buckwheat is really taking it's time this spring to get going.  Some of the weeds are getting ahead of the buckwheat so the smother benefits might be minimal. 

Today, right out the front door on the county road at our church-house was a young turkey. 

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Barn Roof v2

No work done on Wed but today the "front" of the barn roof was finished.  Crew starts the opposite side tomorrow.


Thurs, Jun 6th

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Getting a new barn roof

Bill has done a lot of work on the old barn.  The garlic harvest is going in the barn this year (not the shop unlike the previous year since we doubled the planting quantity) so we are under pressure to get the foundation repaired, the building jacked up, a new roof and repairs to the barn board siding.

This week brings the new roof.



Sun, June 2nd

 

Monday, June 3rd
 
Tuesday, June 4th (roofers got rained out at midday)