|
Once again, summer has come and almost gone. What a busy summer it has been! The bean and corn crops did quite well, July was cooler than normal and there were quite a few rain showers to help things along. For anyone not familiar with our growing practices, we are "dry farmed", that is no irrigation. This really makes the crops work for their moisture and nutrient take up. This also shows us which crops do well and which ones struggle in various conditions. At this point, over half of the beans are picked and are drying in the greenhouse. I have about 2/3 of the Aunt Mary's Sweet Corn crop picked and drying down with about a dozen or so rows to finish this week. We also grew out a small crop of an old dent corn from Bryson City, North Carolina area named "Freeman Strain" White Capped Yellow Dent. It is an old "Southern Derived Dent", a few stalks have tillers and most stalks have 2 full sized ears. Kernels are a dark orange with a white or light colored cap, very much like "candy corn". Stalks on this variety are pretty tall, about 10-12' tall. White Capped Yellow Dents were once very common but are quite rare today. I also have a very late planted old dent corn from southern Ohio coming along and should be mature enough to harvest in early October.
On a slightly different front...we planted 300 grape vines this summer! What a learning curve too! I want to thank everyone that came out and helped to get these all planted. Most are doing well and hopefully this coming winter isn't to harsh. I have started to construct the trellis with a lot more posts yet to be bought and set. This is something we have wanted to do for years and we finally jumped in. Remember...we are 1 month away from the seed swap at Bill Best's in Berea Kentucky. This is scheduled for October 4th, starting at 9:00 a.m. and going until everyone leaves, usually between 1:00 and 2:00. hope to see everyone there! |