The asparagus and rhubarb is planted ! Expect rain tonight and tomorrow, finished planting them in the dark, with the company of Marmalade ! Was mozzie food again. Had put all the beasties to bed, the lambs, dogs, chickens, ducks and geese, was chatting to my dad as the cell reception is much better out on the farm than in the house. Heaped manure and ground around each of the 25 new starts, so need to fill in the rest of the ditches after the rain - 4 days time ??
Herbie put the 2-bottom plow on the tractor for me this morning, and I did the vegetable garden as well. Was feeling so energetic, that when I finished, took the plow out back and de-mounted it, then drove around the chicken yard and attached the roto-tiller, all by myself, and tilled the lines I'd plowed. Herbie suggested that I do that this morning, I hadn't realised how well it would work, especially as I'm not strong enough to handle the push roto-tiller. Been living here on the farm for nearly 4 years and only discovered the tractor roto-tiller today. One of the problems with plowing is that you move the earth sideways, creating a ditch on one side, and a hill on the other. So I've learnt, through trial and error, that you should only plow in one direction. This uses more fuel as the return leg is wasted, but lessens the uneveness of the ground. I never knew this before, but then I'd never considered that one day I would farm, either ! Went over each line a couple of times to even the ground back out, it seemed to work, not perfect, still a slight slant. The guineas' were running around eating whatever had come up and I rode over an egg further up the garden - a new nest of theirs ? There are 10 eggs in the previous nest after I sold 2 dozen to a guy on CL for his mum who is allergic to chicken eggs. Every day I have to chase the ducks out of the grain garden. Fortunately they listen when I shout.
Had about 5 more rows to do up at the top of the garden, in the area I'm thinking about planting Herbies sweet corn, as well as popcorn and flax seed, when the roto-tiller came unattached at the end attached to the tiller, not the tractor. Seems something broke as there was no button to press like on the tractor side of the what-you-ma-call-it ! Got my hands all greased up trying to re-attach it, the cover doesn't come off so I was fumbling around until I gave up. Moved to picking up stones from the newly plowed and tilled lines, thinking that the sand would counter the grease. Anni barks and chases the stones I was throwing onto different piles. I've bent, picked up and thrown so many stones I hurt. Will still need to drive around with the buggy and pick them up from the piles and move them to the main rock pile.
Didn't get the new heirloom tomato plants in the ground, hopefully some time tomorrow. I moved one of the cow panels from the sheep pen out to the garden to form a trellis, just haven't decided how to have it. Discovered something gnawed on one of the new pawpaw trees, so popped the white stem protector over them. Herbie drove over one of the new elderberry bushes, I drove over the older one, as well as over the tarragon in the main section of the vegetable garden. In hind-sight, that was a stupid place to plant it. As there is a bunch in the permanent part plus in one of the patio planters, I'm really tempted to just plow it under.
Cut the tips of 2 fingers in my car seat today, and now there is dirt engrained in them as well. On my way up for a nice long hot shower, maybe they'll come clean. Was taking photos' of the leather seats and wood panelling as 2 people asked for them - maybe I'll sell the car. Hold thumbs.
Fish and Wanda spend the day with the other sheep now, I feed them their milk bottles through the fence, but still have them sleep in the garage at night as it's easier to feed them their first early morning milk there. Rather than be naked in the front garden between 6 and 7 each morning ;)
Hopefully the grain garden will start coming up soon, probably after the rain. I've had the sprinkler out on the Black Sesame seeds, as they are too delicate to push through the earths' crust, but once out, they are seemingly very hardy. Wonder what they are going to look like ? Seems we have grass growing everywhere, their roots are like big fat white worms.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
CategoriesArchives
March 2023
|