Planting Week

Well I have this week off from my "Real Job" and I am using that time to plant as many crops as possible. So far I've put in 10 rows of carrots for the winter, and 3 rows of field corn. Five more need to go in today, but the ground wasn't quite prepared so I spent a few hours working it so the corn will go in using the earthway seeder. I'll put up some photos of that little gem later. I really like it, it makes planting go really fast.

We did 4 hills of sugar pumpkins and are trying a new idea. Here are a few photos. Click on them to see a bigger image.

The cages are just scrap fencing that I lined with straw and filled with soil. It had to be done in about three layers to get them as deep as we wanted them. The idea is to keep the plants up off the ground so the vines will fill out better, and the pumpkins wont take up as much space. Although we are past our last frost date here, I think that this system (if it works) would be a great way to get an earlier start on any squash. The straw will help keep the plants warm, and the cages could be covered with row cover fabric or plastic to make mini green houses.

We did two hill using the cages and two using the traditional hill planting system. We'll see if one does better then the other and let you know.

Today will be spent building the watering systems for the garden and fields. Luckley we live in a very wet area and watering is pretty simple.

-dale