Gardening on the Farm

We are having an unusually warm spell......87° yesterday!  Today is supposed to be cooler.  We do have a nice breeze....which, unfortunately tends to dry out the soil.  You know a gardener is never completely satisfied with the weather; it is just our nature.

I did a pre-breakfast tour of the yard and back yard garden and took a few photos........I do love digital cameras!

We have promise of a decent  fruit crop this year.....so far:
 This is the new strawberry row,

From Fruit 2013

I have a two pear trees, one apple and one half peach tree inside the backyard vegetable garden.  The other peach tree died.  I forgot to take pictures of the Albemarle Pippin apple tree this morning.

Seckel Pear (at last)



and the cherry tree that looks to have more fruit than last year,


We just pick what we want that we can reach; sometimes using the step ladder if we are greedy and let the birds have the rest:

and the little plum tree,


I never get more than enough to cook down one batch for plum jam.  I think it would be better if I planted another variety of plum close by.....may do that.

and this is the half peach tree.  I am slowly thinning the peaches to be 6 inches apart.  I love taking a break from using the trimmer or hand-pulling weeds by standing in the shade of the peach tree and thinning a few branches.  The poor tree won't last much longer. This is before thinning this limb; forgot to take an after pic.


Weeding

I will talk about my ongoing weeding next.  This is enough for today. 

Another cold front

  I began this Monday, April 22.

 I am sitting here listening to thunder and a light rain falling. So far we have received over 1/4 inch.  That is delight to our farmer ears since they spread the fertilizer on the hay fields two days ago! 



We have been in the 60's for a few days but by noon will be back to the 40's and another freeze for tonight
 and tomorrow night.  Mother Nature is doing her best to ruin my fruit crop.  I checked yesterday and the peaches and plums were good.  The peaches still have the husk around the fruits so I am still hoping that will help protect them.  The little plums are bare but the tree is heavily leafed out and shrubby so that should help.

I worked out for several hours after milking yesterday morning.  I think I have finished weeding the Light Pole and New bed.  It doesn't look like much but at least  the dead nettle and cheatgrass is gone.  The poor storm damaged peach tree needs the chain saw's attention.  I couldn't bear to cut it down completely so will struggle along with it until it dies a natural death.

 

Well the cold front lasted two days  with night temps falling to freezing .  I haven't checked the fruit trees yet but will do it today.  This is supposed to be our last nighttime freezing temperatures for a while.  I did see scattered frost out this morning.  We are still running cooler than the norm for this time of year.

The cherry tree is in full bloom; so is the Seckel pear.  One of the apple trees is showing a little color too.

The cherry tree pictures never come out to suit me but I took one anyway.

You can see the Seckel pear just to the right and in front of the cherry tree.
 


April 25, Thursday

This was a good, cool day with highs in the 50's.  I milked and then stayed out to do more yard work.
I finished weeding the Humming Bird Bed right outside the kitchen.  Trimmed around the trees in the front and west yards and began the horrible mass of cheat grass that is in the end of the Kitchen Window Bed.
That will be mostly a hand weeding  since the base of a clematis is buried in there somewhere.

I got in 2.5 hours before I quit and mowed the east yard area.  I was forced to use the new Cub Cadet since the other one is still in the shop......I still don't like using it!

April 26, Friday

Well today will not include yard work.....I awoke to a sound of rain falling and it is 49°,  That was at 2:45 AM and it is now 8:10 AM and the rain is still coming down.  It is another light rain but it all counts; so far almost 1/2  inch.  This is so different from our hot and dry spring last year.

As of yesterday, the fruit looks good.  All but the plums still have the tiny husks around the fruit which acts as protection against the cold.