May 2008 Archives

We recently upgraded what is probably the most important item to think about as you start your farm/garden - water.  The upgrade consisted of moving from our well-based system to a pond-based system.  The well worked fine for a while, but as we expanded planting plots it quickly became taxed.  Last year's record drought here in the South was also a major factor.  We didn't plant as much last summer as a result of the drought and there were times I thought I was going to run our well dry..... the same well that supplies water for our home. 

This year we decided to bite the bullet and plan for current and future needs by sourcing water from the pond.  Since the pond is spring fed, it did not lose any volume last summer during the worst of the drought.  It will be a great water source for all our watering needs.  We were able to run 1 inch poly pipe from the pond to the current irrigation system and use the same timer/controller.  This reduced the total cost of the project.  Sean from Rain Image irrigation installed the pump for us and hung it from a 24 inch marine ball I sourced on the internet.  The long white tube in the boat (photo above) contains the 1 HP pump.  It is surrounded by another tube to keep it cool and reduce a whirlpool effect.  The pump was placed in the deepest section of the pond and sandwiched by chain between the ball and bottom of the pond anchored by a cement block.

So far, the pump and system are working great.  I was able to water/drip about 13 rows of tomatoes, 200 feet in length with plenty of volume.  Another advantage of this system is that I don't have to program a recovery period for the water to build back up like I had to with the well. The plants are looking good and I look forward to enjoying some summer vegetables very soon.

Not really a chicken with three heads.  But three chicken heads popping up out of the feeder they play around inside.  I caught a fourth hen on the roost, looking down into the pileup like she wanted to jump in and add to the fun. 

Two Rhode Island Reds, one Cuckoo Maran and one Buff Orpington (which you see on the bottom here) will make their daily egg deposit in the feeder, preferably when it's full and soft and cushy.  They must need the privacy.  I know how they feel.

The ladies are up to about 15-20 eggs per day, except when it rains and they decide to be mad about the weather.  The Buff eggs are almost a mauve color, brown with a tinge of pink.  So pretty next to the medium brown of the Red's eggs.  Then the jumbo sized chocolate brown egg from the Cuckoo.  I love that egg.

The new little ladies are growing up quickly and if I'm counting correctly, we are about 6 or 7 weeks away from seeing the first of their eggs. I have either three or four Cuckoo roosters in this pen of new pullets (one bird is having an identity crisis and I can't tell which way it's going to go!)  I'm very interested in sequestering the mature Cuckoo hens with one of these roosters later this summer, to see if they'll go broody and hatch our first on-farm chicklets.  Free chickens.  That would be an improvement!

I thought I'd give you an update on what's happening here at Burns Best Farm.    Here are my thoughts so far:

• Tomatoes - We have planted almost 30 varieties this year.  On the 19th and 26th of April we had planting parties and got ninety percent of them planted.  I still have several plants in the greenhouse that need to be transplanted - mostly the striped varieties.  We have just about every color planted - purple, pink, red, yellow, reddish brown, greens, orange and even a couple white varieties this year. The plants are looking pretty good with very few lost since planting.  I did some early pruning of the lower stems again this week which should help them grow even better.  The plants are 1-2 feet tall and I'm beginning to see some blooming.  I went a little overboard on certain colors like green and certain varieties like Japanese Black Trifle. 
• Squash - so far we have about 100 squash plants in the ground that were started in the greenhouse.  They are putting on good foliage.  A couple of new varieties this year include an Italian round zuchini and Zephyr.  We'll plant more in a few weeks by direct seeding.
• Peppers - Lots of peppers this year with five varieties - Islander, Sweet Italia, Jalapeno, Ancho, Green Bell
• Lettuce - several varieties of reds and greens, arugula, chard, Napa cabbage
• Beets - two types of reds and a golden
• Other Crops - Three types of radish, green onions, broccoli raab
• Peas - Spring green peas (three varieties), plus snow peas
• Yet to be planted - okra and french filet beans, cucumbers (Diva and Marketmore), cantaloupe/muskmelons, Sugar Baby watermelons
• Weeds - yep we are growing lots of weeds!  Actually things look pretty weed free at the moment but I know if I blink that will change.

Overall, we have more variety planted at this time than ever before.  We tend to rely a lot on our berries which are looking pretty good this year despite last year's record freeze out.  We've been blessed with some well-timed rains which means little irrigation has been required.  We are looking forward to seeing our customers again at our various markets and outlets.  Also, we may try a couple new markets during the week closer to home.  This might include a weekly farm stand with posted hours.  We'll keep you updated as decisions are made.