Posts Tagged ‘temperatures’

Year Slowing Down

September 20th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

It is undeniable now, with temperatures in the mid 70s to mid 80s, summer weather is over.  No more upper 90s nor 100+ degree days.  I like this.  I feel like I can work easily in this weather.  Yesterday it was cloudy all day long, which made for a beautiful day and kept me energized.

In places where I already have the t-tape and no more cash crop action, I am putting in a winter cover crop.  Vetch and Rye are my choices.  Vetch because it fixes its own nitrogen and its flowers are nectaries for beneficial insects; Rye because its root mass is extensive and keeps nematodes in check.

The cover crop is going in slowly right now, but by mid/end October it should be completely in here.  In cooler spots, it should go in sooner - by the time the rains are showing up, or mid-September abouts if you’ve got the irrigation and it cools down.

Covering the field with these great crops is more than essential in my eyes.  It is as important as any cash crop would be, because it adds to the soil health; whereas a winter without cover would severely degrade the soil at Wildgrace Farm.

Andrew


Blinded by the Freeze

April 28th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

I didn’t address this, but we had a serious frost here last weekend. I know I touched base about it, but now I am starting to understand just how serious it was.  It didn’t really do much damage here at Wildgrace - 10 or so tomatoes, a few brassicas, etc - but the other farmers in the area got hit big time.

Some of my farmer friends lost all of their brassicas, all of their fruit…everything they had out.  Even down in the valley, in Davis, they had a freeze (which set a record for the latest freeze down there), and lost tomatoes and all the other warm season stuff.

I saw it coming, by looking at the forecast, but I really didn’t believe it was going to get as cold as it did.  I mean, a couple of days prior, it was 85 here, with 52 as the low!

So, that is farming.  We can’t control the weather.  We can’t control the gophers.  I have a tough enough time controlling myself and my own mental state, let alone the forces of our great mother.

Let’s all commiserate with our farmers.  Let’s show them more support than ever, knowing that this job is at once both gratifying and impossibly frustrating and confounding.

By the way, it was 85 again today.

Three farms are starting from scratch.

They are turning the dirt and hoping to be successful enough to turn a profit, and to become a valuable part of their communities as suppliers of organically grown food.

Peaceful Valley is giving them a head start by offering them special pricing as part of this Freshman Farmer program.

The Farm Blogs

Freshman:
New Farms Coming Soon!
Sophomores:
Daily Grace Farms
Crescent City, CA
Freestone Family Farm
Vernal, UT
Wise Moon Farm
Redding, CA
Graduates:
Coyote House Farm
Palermo, CA
DeepSeeded Community Farm
Arcata, CA
Driftwood Farm
Fort Bragg, CA
EarthDance Farm
St. Louis, MO
Ellwood Canyon Farms
Goleta, CA
Four Frog Farm
Penn Valley, CA
Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm
Poulsbo, WA
Home Plate Organic Farm
Orleans, CA
Honey in the Heart Farm
Nevada City, CA
Willow Springs Farm
Penn Valley, CA

Blog Topics

About the Farms

Coyote House Farm
Palermo, CA
Daily Grace Farms
Crescent City, CA
DeepSeeded Community Farm
Arcata, CA
Driftwood Farm
Fort Bragg, CA
EarthDance Farm
St. Louis, MO
Ellwood Canyon Farms
Goleta, CA
Four Frog Farm
Penn Valley, CA
Freestone Family Farm
Vernal, UT
Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm
Poulsbo, WA
Home Plate Organic Farm
Orleans, CA
Honey in the Heart Farm
Nevada City, CA
Willow Springs Farm
Penn Valley, CA
Wise Moon Farm
Redding, CA

Tags

Archives

Stories From Peaceful Valley

Wheel Hoes - Valley Oak & Glaser May 22, 2012
GrowOrganic
Duratool Taper Assembly May 21, 2012
Stephanie from Peaceful Valley
Earthway Precision Seeder Assembly May 21, 2012
GrowOrganic
Garden designer Rebecca Sweet suggests growing in wall pouches May 17, 2012
Charlotte from Peaceful Valley
Vertical gardening for healthier vegetables & fruit May 17, 2012
Charlotte from Peaceful Valley
Susan Morrison Co-Author of Garden UP May 17, 2012
GrowOrganic
Plant Support Options May 17, 2012
GrowOrganic
The best room and board for your backyard chickens May 10, 2012
Charlotte from Peaceful Valley

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Meta

Username:
Password:
Remember me?
Entries RSS
Comments RSS