I spent part of yesterday in the strawberry field. I was really motivated to get a lot of the snipping done but as luck would have it that was not to be. I had a call for a tomato delivery. I went into the greenhouse which I will admit I have neglected for the better part of a week. The tomatoes were simply not ripening. They would turn an orange tone and not go any further so there were alot of ruined tomatoes. I didn't have enough of any one color left to make full 25 pound boxes of for the restaraunts. So I just started filling up grocery bags and a box of tomatoes of assorted ripeness and began delivering them to family and friends.
After that I registered Jeff and I for the CSA meeting next month and bought some new gloves so that hopefully I would not begin itching again. I also had to go to the local farm supply store and buy some agro-mix in order to pot some bare root Red Bud trees that came in.
After the errands, I finally got into the field and planted myself between 2 hills and started snipping. I only got 2 1/2 rows done before I had to leave. It was easier for me to work on an entire hill rather than the inside rows of 2 hills at one time. I am a little on the short side so going side to side would have taken me a lot longer to get the job done. Today my knees feel bruised from having to go from sitting to squatting. The process that I used was to treat the strawberry plant as I would my flowers at home. I snipped all the dead off, any stems that had damaged leaves on them and of course the blooms that were open or about to pop open. My theory was that the plant was putting energy into these areas of the plant that could go elsewhere if they were snipped. Hopefully, this proves to be a good theory come spring time. I will have to admit that the rows that I had done looked really good compared to the others that I didn't get to.
While working in the field, Mark, my cousins husband, was at the old house getting some of the plumbing things out of one of the bathrooms. He has to have ankle restoration surgery and was only able to work for a short while. But of course he and his helper came out to the field to talk to me. So there was lost time. I had to stop early because Jeff and I had an appointment with the architect to go over some changes to the building plans for the farmer's market.
At the meeting, we had to flip the floor plan for the market because of the existing septic lines and tank. We also had to choose a different location for the market for the very same reasons. We orginally wanted to market on top of the hill overlooking the strawberry field but that would mean the construction trucks, etc would have to cross a line from the septic tank to the leach field. And if we did that the county would not ok our septic recertification. So the plan now is to put the market where the old house is standing and we are going to build some greenhouses on the hill over looking the field. The bees will go in the far right corner at the end of the greenhouses and at the corner of the field. I like this situation a lot better than the way we previously had it. We will now have all of the work/farm related things on one side and all the customer/market related things on the other side of the property. I will also be less worried about customers being stung by bees with the lay out now. I just have to figure out how I want the kitchen layed out and how much counter space I needed to work on. I did tell him that I wanted to do an open shelving system. This will save us money by not using cabinetry. It will also be easier to keep clean that way too. The only thing I know for sure is that I want the sink under the window so that I can look out over the field.
Matt and I cleaned out the greenhouse that we have on the farm at our home this afternoon and ended up filling up the bucket on the tractor with bad ones or potentionally bad ones. There were enough tomatoes left for what things I am planning on making for the holiday. We got all the tables cleaned off and we potted 10 Red Bud trees. Jeff rigged up a water hose system in there which entails a yard sprinkler head on the end of a water hose. He has done all the watering in there since it was built and I had no idea how to get that sprinkler head started. I ended up breaking off the end of it which shot across the greenhouse. In the process of this happening I get soaked!! The thermostat in the greenhouse read 42 degrees and I am standing there getting completely drenched by this make shift watering system and freezing. It would have been a funny sight from the outside looking in-on the inside it was not that funny. But the trees got watered and I eventually dried out.
Tomorrow I have to go to the farm early so that I can get all the snipping done that I can. We are expecting some bad weather beginning tomorrow afternoon. It won't kill the plants but it won't be beneficial to them either. So the more I can get snipped the better off they will be. Jeff called the company about the row covers that we were hoping to wait til February to put down but it doesn't look like we are going to have a mild winter. He is thinking that we have to get them down earlier. Hopefully, the rep will call tomorrow.
Jeff finally heard from the fire department about doing the control burn for training purposes. They told him that the house would have to be inspected to make sure that it was structurally sound. There would also have to be an asbestos inspection, an air quality inspection, and some other kind of inspection. By the time all the inspections were done the gentleman said that it would be the middle of February before they would be able to do the burn. We have got to have it done way before then. I am thinking that I can get on the tractor and Robin can get on the bobcat and we can tear it down in no time. So the control burn of the property is a no-go now. We will be tearing this house down by hand.
Tomorrow I am planning on going up to the farm early to try to get some more snipping done on the strawberry plants. We are expecting some bad weather beginning late tomorrow afternoon and lasting through part of the weekend. Jeff said the weather isn't going to be too bad on the plants but that it won't be good for them either. So I will just go up and snip until the weather runs me out of the field.
Once the rain, sleet, or snow hits I will come home and lock myself into the office to try to figure out how I want my kitchen set up in the market. I have plenty of paperwork to keep me busy til dinner time.
My blogging may be sparse for the next week or so due to the holidays but I will try to blog some at least every couple of days. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a Wonderful New year!!
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