Hi,
Nothing much to show on the Gourd farm. Had 2 inches of rain in the past week. So all plants are happy. Especially the tobacco crop of the neighbor. They sat dormant after planting for three weeks. They have no irrigation system. The rain changes that. The plants are still small, but at least now they look like plants in a photo. Not green dots in brown dirt.
Stan
Amateur Photographer
Professional Farmer
Hi,
Farms: The original websites.
In this case, using Starlink. :P
Stan
Amateur Photographer
Professional Farmer
What's the little building?
Alan
Hi,
Chicken coop. The upstairs you see is the brooder, where we hatch eggs and raise them until they are large enough to join the flock. Underneath is the Winter coop with solid sides to keep them warm. We also have another coop with screen sides for the rest of the year.
Edit: I should add that it was originally built, by the original owner of this house, who built it himself, to be a playhouse for his small children. The chicken coop underneath was also of his doing. He also had two goat pens in that area out back. When he sold the place to us, it came with chickens as they were moving into a nearby town. We reused the one goat pen as the summer coop and then expanded our flock by buildimg two different sized brooder cages into what was the playhouse. That was over 20 years ago now.
Stan
Hi,
Sticking with Row number one here. This is where the first-in plants are now.
The vines have a long ways to go still.
And here we have our first gourd. This variant gets pretty big. It will be ready to pick up in November.
Stan
It's always fascinating to see nature in action 😎
Hi,
Not much to report. Lots of No Rain At All. Thunderstorms have been missing us North and South. Days on end of 100 deg F or greater. Most of the vegetable garden either burned up or had lousy production even though it gets irrigation every day. There was some high winds yesterday minus rain that knocked down the sweet corn. It wasn't making ears to speak of, so this just means I can quit watering it.
The gourds are holding their own. Tough gourds are actually desired as opposed to tough green beans. However, we put a hold on further planting. So we only have half of what we planned in and that is how it shall be. Supposedly, we are entering a wetter period. We shall see.
The hay in the fields is pretty much non existent. It will perk up if we do enter a wetter period. So far, the first cutting (of a possible four) has passed. We might see recovery for what ought to have been the second cutting. We shall see.
The other fields around are all in sad shape. Corn burned up. Soybeans just plain died. Cotton looks like last year's stubble, except they are new plants. Tobacco is surviving but seriously short. Fortunately for that last, the old rules for selling the crop no longer apply. It all goes to nicotine extraction these days.
Now, out in the hayfield, I did see these turkeys the other day. The short grass allowed me to snap a shot where you can see the little ones.
Stan
