It's Raining . . . Rain, Hallelujah

After just .60 inches of rain between July 25th and August 21st, we had 2.75 inches between the 22nd and this morning; and it's raining again. Because we did get nearly three inches from spot thunderstorms the week of July 19th, and have a naturally high water table, we weren't as bad off as some other areas. Still, the rain was welcome. We shouldn't have to water anything for the rest of the year. I just need it to stop now because I'm on vacation this week and all of my best laid plans have gone to hell in a hand basket. So, unable to weed, cut the grass or side-dress corn, I have no excuse not to post.

Lessons Learned:

The three Sisters approach has one major flaw: the pole beans put so much strain on the corn stalks that they can bend and even snap them. This is especially true during heavy wind and rain – like we've had the last three days. I lost a lot of Bloody Butcher and Hickory King stalks. I will not be dong it again next year. I may stick with “Two Sisters”, winter squash and corn. While the squash had a habit of trying to climb up the corn stalks and then needing to be pulled down, more often than not it was because they were being pulled upwards by the bean plants.

Side-dressing corn works. In the past, I’ve been cursed with partially-filled ears. Those plants which I side-dressed once with additional manure are giving ears which are nearly all full. Next year, I will side dress all of the corn twice . . . just like the experts say you should

Double tilling probably makes a huge difference as far as weeds, Traditionally, I would fertilize and till in early to mid-May, then plant in late May through early June, Since I was so behind, a couple of patches that I tilled right before planting in early June are far less weedy. I guess most weeds come up before June, so if you can till under the tender shoots, you get far fewer weeds the rest of the season. My plan (stop laughing) is to till under in October after harvesting everything, and then twice again in the spring . . . just like the experts say you should.

Floating row covers work but don’t work. They kept the worms off of my brassica, but also seems to suffocate the plants, Even though it was the lightest material you can use, and I planted in a location that gets mostly morning sun, and very little afternoon sun. After just a couple of days of being uncovered, the plants look much healthier. Of course I’ll now have to deal with the worms. I bought a small bottle of BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis) concentrate from the Home Depot. It’s a bacteria that is supposed to only target the pests that actually feed on the treated plant, making them loss their appetite and killing them within a few days. Hopefully it will work

My brassica seedings still come up leggy (and continue to grow that way). I’ve read that that is because doing them in a greenhouse prevents their exposure to the winds that strengthen them. I need to talk to some friends at Pezza farm to confirm, but we shall see. Next year I will try starting some out in the open. It will have to be in mid-late May, meaning that they will be more of a fall crop, but no big deal.

Planting radishes with my carrots and parsnips led to just a few radishes and virtually no carrots or parsnips. The radishes went out of control, with most going to seed without producing a good root. They drained the beds of moisture, while making it look like things were OK via their big green leaves. Next year, no radishes – at least not mixed in with the other roots.

Some plants apparently can get too much nitrogen. Apparently, especially pepper plants. Although the plants themselves look great, I have not had a single sweet pepper appear yet from four different varieties, and just a few flowers. My hot peppers were also very slow to produce, although we finally have some developing (neither variety of habanero, however.) Both my friend Bill and I, who have been using his cows’ offerings for years, seem to have run into this problem this year. He has about fifteen hot pepper plants that I gave him that are acting like mine, and my brother, who has some sweet pepper plants that I gave him does have fruits growing. The solutions to this is apparently adding phosphate to the soil now, or planting nitrogen-hungry corn in the area next year.

Is it too soon to start planning for next year?