Summertime at Blues
09/15/09 11:38 AM
It's almost the end of September here at Blues Hill
Farm. In some ways it's sad to see the days getting
shorter. Anna and I were cutting okra yesterday after
supper and it was dark by the time we got done at a
little after seven. In another way it is a relief to
know the summers sweating is coming to an end. This
year the heat wasn't as bad as in the past but 85
degrees in the middle of a field is still plenty hot.
Either way it is nice to live in a place where the
seasons change and with each one comes something
different to do on the farm.
This year was kind of mixed as far as farm production. Some things did very well while others didn't do as well as I would have liked. Farmers can always complain about the weather in some way or another. This year I got to complain about too much rain. It seemed like every time I was ready to weed it would rain again. Some of my beans and squash just got swallowed up. I even had to get out the weedeater to clean up the okra patch. It is doing fine now though. Good old tough okra. Each year I try and learn from my mistakes and this year has taught me I need to come up with some better ways of keeping the weeds down. I was lucky enough to get some help from our neighbor, Jake, at the tail end of the season and he has been a great help. I hope to be able to depend on him next year as well. He is a heck of a farm hand.
This year we also plowed up about 75 percent of our front yard so we could grow more there. I got some great squash and tomatoes from it and I will plant it in cover crops this fall and be ready to use it next may. My back field seems to stay wet until late in May so I think this will really help. I also discovered a great new kind of potato this year. It is called the Wood Prairie Blush. It comes from our friends at Wood Prairie Farm in Maine. I had been buying seed potatoes from them for years and this year they told me about these and I gave them a try. It is a cross between a Yukon Gold and a red potato. I loved them and so did my CSA members and friends. They produced very well and were by far the best tasting potato I've ever had.
I hope to take on more restaurants next year and just keep growing. We will be holding our annual Shiitake Mushroom workshop this fall in October and I will post more information about it this week. Thanks for visiting our site and don't be a stranger! Farmer Johnny
This year was kind of mixed as far as farm production. Some things did very well while others didn't do as well as I would have liked. Farmers can always complain about the weather in some way or another. This year I got to complain about too much rain. It seemed like every time I was ready to weed it would rain again. Some of my beans and squash just got swallowed up. I even had to get out the weedeater to clean up the okra patch. It is doing fine now though. Good old tough okra. Each year I try and learn from my mistakes and this year has taught me I need to come up with some better ways of keeping the weeds down. I was lucky enough to get some help from our neighbor, Jake, at the tail end of the season and he has been a great help. I hope to be able to depend on him next year as well. He is a heck of a farm hand.
This year we also plowed up about 75 percent of our front yard so we could grow more there. I got some great squash and tomatoes from it and I will plant it in cover crops this fall and be ready to use it next may. My back field seems to stay wet until late in May so I think this will really help. I also discovered a great new kind of potato this year. It is called the Wood Prairie Blush. It comes from our friends at Wood Prairie Farm in Maine. I had been buying seed potatoes from them for years and this year they told me about these and I gave them a try. It is a cross between a Yukon Gold and a red potato. I loved them and so did my CSA members and friends. They produced very well and were by far the best tasting potato I've ever had.
I hope to take on more restaurants next year and just keep growing. We will be holding our annual Shiitake Mushroom workshop this fall in October and I will post more information about it this week. Thanks for visiting our site and don't be a stranger! Farmer Johnny