The last week or so its been all heat, and no rain. We take the UTV out with the water tank and make sure everything that we established is doing well with the drought. Here in the South its normal to get daily rains, or at least a few a week. So when it does not rain at all for over seven days at a time we have to step in and make sure the plants we are cultivating get their watering needs met.
Looking back at all that has been accomplished in the last few months makes me quite happy. Starting my day in the early morning, and working until the early afternoon has been the strategy to dealing with summers here in the South. I tend to go to bed early and rise as early as possible, beating the sunrise is always the plan but it does not always happen.
Some of the hottest days I plan on working in the tractor or skid steer since they have air conditioning. But some tasks like baling hay requires me to get out a lot so I still get all hot and sweaty. But moving dirt or clearing trees its nice having a climate controlled cab to work in.
Now we are over the peak of the summer heat, I hope it will be more comfortable outside. I hope the winds return, as its been quite still on the hottest and most humid days which is frustrating. The winds we encountered here in the winter and spring were quite intense, but it seems during the summer they all but drop off.
While we are hard at work, many of the plants on the farm as as well. The Malabar Spinach is probably doing the best, and we have already harvested some tasty greens from it for a meal.
Eventhough the beds are mostly bare, now we have the space to grow hundreds of plants all protected from deer with a tall fence surrounding them. This was not the case just a few months ago. We are in the process of starting new seeds for the autumn season grow.
We tend to plan our day based on the recent rains, as many places we are working can get quite muddy. So on wet days we tend to do our work inside the workshop. With much to build for the rest of the farm we spend full days in there building out more garden beds, shelving for the workshop or prepping for the chicken, bee and duck enclosure.
Using different types of raised bed designs, we can place plants best suited for each design. Vining plants prefer support so we place them on the vining raised beds.
Other beds are more general use, our asparagus, comfrey and sweet potatoes are in the beds behind the vining bed with the malabar spinach.
We learned that raised beds have a limit on how tall we can build them, one tipped over while filling it. No one was hurt but it made us realize how top heavy these beds can be when filled with dirt.
In the areas where the ground was sloped more we took a level down on the beds, other spots that was not as bad we left them at five high.
We also have short beds, mostly for taller plants like tomatoes.
The winners this year for seedlings has to be the wildflowers, they are nearly as tall as me now and could probably use a good cutting..lol Rototilling the ground before throwing down the seeds made a huge difference.
We may collect the flowers and make a few bouquets out of them for around the house.
In the mean time the pollinators love them.
I will need to move my batteries and solar panel back as the wild flowers have grown so much. I am really curious to see what comes back on its own next year, along with the seeds dropped this season what they will develop into next year.
Next year we hope to completely fill the green house with seedlings, with my misting system working and all. Luckily we will have awhile me to get that all set up as the winter time will make most things dormant in the green house. Recently I completed the wiring inside the green house for the built in fan, and misting pump. It is all sealed in water resistant boxes. So when it does come time to using the mister the electronics should be well protected. I feel like I move really slow on the green house project, but in the summer it just gets so hot in there, and if I cannot wrap up work in there within the first hour or sunlight working inside becomes brutal.
Luckily I have taken advantage of the cooler mornings when its in the 50's F and work in the green house a few hours getting the solar panel wiring in a more permanent state. I look forward to it being completed, and we are surely getting there for the green house. As they say, you may want to complete ten things on the farm that day, but you only will get seven done at best... lol so one day at a time and the progress we make as we look back is all quite impressive. As we are not even one year into running this place, its all coming along quite well I think.
Here the heat is strong where I live 🥵.
Good to know someone got away ok this horrible heat wave.
(I hope it ends soon)
Everything is coming up to order good harvest and nice scenery.
I hope you have a good harvest considering the drought you are experiencing somewhere in the world
Aquí la calor está fuerte donde vivo 🥵
Es buena saber que alguien se fue bien está horrible ola de calor
(Espero que termine pronto)
Todo está saliendo a pedir buena cosecha y bonito paisaje
Espero que tenga una buena cosecha consideración la sequía que está viviendo en alguna parte del mundo.
Thanks, luckily we can move water around using my UTV and water tanks so it wont be a big deal.
Hope the heat dies down where you live..
That is coming along beautifully. That's an amazing change since you started up in the spring, by next year you should have some great crops growing. Great work! Watch out for heat...
I think so too, the mistakes we make should not be repeated knowing what we did wrong. So I have high hopes for next year.
thanks bud I will, pacing myself out in the summer heat is key.
Greetings, excellent publication as always. In fact it came to my memory that kind of flowers that abounded in my old house, it was a mine of flowers, they came out of nowhere, all my neighbors had. I am still in love with the quality of those woods.
Un Abrezo.
Thanks bud, aww thats nice it reminded you of your old house. I hope to have nice flowers every year.. but for many its a once a year thing with the annuals.
:-)
Those wild flowers are outta control..
Yeah man I had no idea they would get so large, thought they would stay knee height.. hah was so wrong.
Well they are called wild flowers..
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I hope everything goes well even if it's dry times. They are very beautiful plants and the cultivation work is hard. Btw nice shots @solominer 🧡 Have a great start to the week.
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Your flowers are lovely! Do you worry about having to plant the same plants in the same beds each year? I’m thinking about the vining ones. Here pest and disease problem explode if I don’t rotate areas well…
Thanks! I can surely rotate them as I have many raised beds. Yeah the vines would have to be cut but thats fine if the plant is suffering best to cut off the diseased anyway. As for pests we just have to deal with them as they show up.
Hopefully my plants stay healthy.
Working in the fields is hard but rewarding when you see the desired results. Years ago I had a field with my family and we always and invest a lot of labor time for the crops and also for raising goats. Greetings and excellent day!
It sure is, that sun is relentless. But looking back its nice to appreciate all that was done.
That is cool you got to experience working in a field and worked with goats.
Goats are very noble animals and easy to breed. Greetings!
It hasn't rained here for a long time, man. I think it's been a month. Maybe more. Normally in my village it used to rain once a week in the summer. This is strange.
You got a great shot of the butterfly, man.
The spinach looks like it's growing pretty well too. I'm sure you'll make some great dishes, bon appetit.
Working in this heat makes you sweat, no matter how much you are in an air-conditioned environment, the heat burns you as soon as you go outside lol. As you said you have made amazing progress in the last few months, I hope you can keep it up. Hope you finish all your work by next year.
Wow a month, that would be too long here. When I used to live in the desert it would be many weeks so I know that feeling. Hope you get some rain soon.
Thanks bud, yeah I said to myself "that butterfly is gonna fly away as soon as I get close" luckily it hung out long enough for me to get a picture.
Sure does, cannot stay in the AC long enough sometimes to stop sweating before I need to get back to work. Hah I hope I will finish all these projects by next year, but I think I will have all new ones to conquer once these are done.
Your dedication to tending the land during this dry spell is truly inspiring! 🌞💧 It's clear you've put your heart and soul into nurturing each plant, adapting to the challenges of the Southern weather. The way you've strategized your days, from the early morning starts to embracing the cool of the workshop, shows your deep commitment to your farm's success. The growth of the wildflowers and the bustling pollinators are a testament to your careful planning and nurturing hand. As you reflect on the progress made in just under a year, it's evident that your hard work is paying off in impressive ways. Looking forward to seeing the continued transformation and flourishing of your green house project! 🌱🏡 #DedicatedFarming #SustainableLiving
It is a lot of work but I think it will all pay off. Eventually the rains will come back as that is more of the norm around here.
Thanks, I will do some update posts as more comes up.
Absolutely, hard work and perseverance often lead to great outcomes. I strongly believe your efforts will likely yield positive results. Am looking forward to your update posts as your progress unfolds!
Your place is really coming along.
I grew Malabar spinach but did not care much for it.
Your wildflowers are beautiful. I think it has gotten too hot for mine, I have a few zinnias and marigolds left the rest have withered away.
@ironshield posted about making Comfrey tea, I thought you might be interested in how he did it.
https://peakd.com/hive-155221/@ironshield/we-are-alive-august-28th
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Much appreciated.
Oh gotcha, was it the plant you did not care for or how it tastes/texture?
Our wild flowers have been loving the heat here, though they were looking a little wilted during the droughts. Luckily I was able to water them with my water tank on the UTV.
Cool I will take a look at that post..thanks
If I remember right I did not care for the texture and taste of the Malabar spinach.
Lovely place. A lovely place to live by
Thank you, it sure is.. quite the paradise.