June 2015 Garden_-7 plants green

The Gardens in June {2015}

Gleanings from July

{Kitchen Garden 1st Week of June}

June 2015 Kitchen Garden

{Kitchen Garden mid-June}

June 2015 Gardens

{Kitchen Garden 1st Day of July}

Storm Clouds

{Rain}

Have I mentioned that it rained last month? Let me clarify that statement.

The last week of May, I posted how frightfully dry our spring had been and our great concern that it was going to be a drought year. We had been discussing irrigation plans for the pasture & gardens, wondering if our pasture would cut it for 4 grown cows & 3 calves. I took a photo of the sprinkler set up and running in the greenhouse, watering the yellow & half dead sweet potatoes and the small dry bean seedlings.

And then it rained.

And it didn’t stop for a month. We got about 8 ½” of rain last month when the average is about 4″. It might as well have been winter for all the time we got to spend outdoors.

And just like that, it stopped on the 1st of July. We’ve been scrambling to catch up every day since.

I wanted to cry, the gardens were so flooded and overgrown with weeds. (Until I saw how flooded the lower barn is. Wow. Just wow. It’s a cess pool and if we all die, you’ll know why.) I’m diligently plugging away at the weeds, getting as much help as I can beg for, and we’ve made a significant dent. I need to weed part of the Pantry Garden & the strawberries have disappeared in a jungle, but then I’ll be at a manageable maintenance level.

{Mulch-Less}

The real trouble is, I’m in desperate need for hay mulch and we can’t get in to get it from anywhere. I’m in distress and beginning to contemplate driving 1 ½ to one of the places on Craigslist that has mulch available. Update: We bought a trailer load this morning for a twenty spot. YEA!!!

Let me show you exactly why I love, love, LOVE hay mulch so:

Hay Mulch Gardening

Exhibit A: Heavily mulched; once lightly & the second time heavily

Garden with Weeds

Exhibit B: Lightly mulched, once at planting

Garden with Weeds

Exhibit C: No mulch; we ran out and then it started to rain

I like to point these things out lest you think I’m just the Crazy Hay Mulch Lady. Why would I want to weed that if I don’t have to?

Lettuce Patch
Lettuce Patch

Washed Lettuce

{Lettuces}

I have never had such a phenomenal lettuce bed as I had this year… I grew spinach for the first time ever! It was a real gardening triumph! Not only that, but it tasted sweet & delicious- no bitterness to be found. And I think the secret is consistent daily watering. That’s the only thing we did different and I’ll certainly be doing that in the future.

Kale Seed

Harvested kale seed… I haven’t had to buy kale seed in years! I love it!

Gardens in June on Farmstead

{Pantry Garden 1st Week of June}

June 2015 Pantry Garden

{Pantry Garden mid-June}

July 2015 Pantry Garden

{Pantry Garden 1st week of July}

{Sheep}

The little flock of 10 sheep determined their fate last month. It was constant putting them back into their portable electric net fencing. Constant. They did so well last year managing the pasture clipping (which is ultimately why we purchased them) that we figure it had to be the lambs encouraging them to jump the fence.

Whatever the cause, their impact on the gardens has been significant. They’ve taken out at least a quarter of the total crops. They completely cropped the corn- which thankfully managed to come back and flourish. Beets, kale, chard,  cabbage, and broccoli are all gone.  And so are the lambs. We thought we’d start there and see if that made a difference & it hasn’t. They aren’t staying in the netting, but they are staying in the pasture so we’re not in a big rush, but we’re selling our 4 Cheviot ewes & Romney ram. (Anyone interested? Not that I’ve really made a good case for them… they’re great sheep it’s just that we clearly don’t have the infrastructure to handle sheep.)

{Bugs}

flea beetle damage

The bigs weren’t too bad in June. They probably drowned. Either that or I didn’t notice them while I was in the house pining out the window.

We did kick off the year traditionally with a lovely flea beetle infestation. They like to go after potatoes in particular, but aren’t choosy. They’ll also munch on peppers, radishes, eggplant, and occasionally tomatoes & brassicas. Not to worry, I’ve a trick up my sleeve and they disappear.

Colorado Potato Beetle Larvae

I wish there was as quick and easy a fix for these little nasties. I’ve seen one, two Colorado Potato Beetles going for my tatties before. I swiftly executed them and never had a problem. Last year was no exception. This year though, this year has been awful! Our plants are loaded & I’m determined to rid us of the problem before it grows exponentially next year. I’ve been handpicking & drowning them every day (if there is a dry spot in it.) Still they come. I’ve picked so many that I’ve put on my big girl panties & am even doing it glove-less now. Larvae crap under my fingernails and all. I tried feeding them to the broiler chicks before I drown the beetles, but they’re not interested. ‘Tis a shame. Free protein. I imagine they know best. Now that I think of it, I remember reading that potato leave are toxic to chickens.

We’re at the nail-biting part of the year. (Proverbially because the finger nails are caked with soil & bug “mud” and guts.) Most of the work is done and it’s just a game full of anxiety, patience, and hope until we see whether it will be a fruitful & productive year.

Show me your gardens! How are they coming along? What did you get to harvest today?

Quinn

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16 Comments

  1. It's so simple & cheap- fresh coffee grounds! Just get the cheapest you can find and sprinkle them pre-brewing. I tried using brewed ones instead of sending them to the compost & they didn't work. Sprinkle them all over the affected leaves and on the ground at the base of the plant. Makes a huge difference! I usually only need to do it once.

  2. We did last year & it was definitely a nightmare. But that was our first after many years of using hay mulch so I knew that it was our fault. Using older hay where the seeds have lost their viability, having extra on hand so you can smother the tender grass shoots as soon as they pop up, or using straw instead of hay all can prevent that.

  3. I mulched my garden with hay and grew some of the finest grass on my whole farm! I had to dig it all up and it was a pain. What did you use and do you have this problem?

  4. The perfect price- indeed! Using grass has been a bone of contention between the old man & me ever since he went out and bought a new mower without a bagger. In fact I was just busting his chops over it yesterday. I'm not sure that we'd have enough to mulch all the gardens, but every little bit helps and it seems like such a waste to have such a valuable resource lying around the yard.

  5. I've used the cut grass mulch as well – it's the perfect price. The only hassle is getting the kids to come back to the garden from across the farm to empty the bags.

  6. We've been using our cut grass as "hay mulch" and it's working great! You might wanna try it. We refuse to pay for hay…so since we've been using our cut grass… dries out and works great. Hope that helps!

  7. And I find them hard to kill (at least when they're fatter) must have some tough skin. Flick in a cup & drawing works well. Demon bugs are an appropriate name! The good news is that I'm not sure they do too much damage to the harvest. My friend had an awful, turn your stomach, creepy crawly infestation last year and they still pulled in a nice potato harvest.

  8. Bugs… ugh. This is our second full year of hay mulching and although it has been wonderful in every other way, we have certainly noticed an uptick in the bug problems. I’m not sure if we should stick it out and hope it will gradually improve, or raise the white flag and fire up the ol’ tiller. Squash vine borers are my worst enemy right now. I have spent so much time going over every. stem. of. every. plant, almost every day, and STILL I missed a couple of eggs and my most beautiful winter squash plants are going down.
    Sigh. But other things are doing well regardless, and so we are thankful! We picked 21 cucumbers and 13 lbs of summer squash over the past week. There are loads of potatoes coming, and some nice brassicas. This is the first year ever I’ve been able to grow a lovely head of cabbage. Now I’m getting ready to plan and prepare for the fall plantings!
    I wish I could share a picture of our gardens but I’m not that tech-savvy:-) I enjoyed your garden update and pictures though!

    1. Ugh, squash vine borer is a rough one. We had them years ago when we first started gardening and the best thing I did was cut my loses & burn the plants. I never saw another one there again. Now I have caught 2 so far here (1 last year, 1 this year) and I don’t know if my timing was right, but I killed them & never saw another. Theoretically, hay mulch should work to reduce your pest load over time because they don’t have access to the soil as easily for overwintering. And the mulch should increase your soil microbial life & beneficial insects to help you fight the battle. But if it’s not working for you (and it won’t for every situation) then you should find something else. The good thing about hay mulch (as opposed to say wood chips) is that it breaks down fairly quickly and you just have to wait it out a few months instead of years. There’s no work to remove it 🙂 Congrats on your gardening successes! Especially the cabbage- that’s exciting 😀

  9. We are doing hay mulch for the first time this year. I am happy with the results so far. I also like how clean it makes the garden look:) I just killed a couple of those larvae in the garden the other day and didn't know what they were. My husband said they were demon bugs!

  10. Quinn At ReformationAcres I have a couple of Hollyhocks and their leaves always get eaten into lace. Then I noticed little flies like sweat bees on them. Their caterpillars are lacing the leaves. They are like tiny little inch worms. They don't even leave finger goo! 🙂

  11. Nevermind my comment on your next post! Now, I just have to convince the menfolk that my plan will work. I even know of some hay I can have that’s just been sitting in a field for a couple of years. It’ll be perfect.

  12. Ugh. I hate cucumber beetles! I feel like I can never get a leg up on them. They always win. I've never herd/seen the caterpillars (googled them just now). What are you finding them on? Your garden is GORGEOUS! Love that you have seating in it too. Well done!