Terrible Day

August 25th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

From The Farm - August I am so sick of aphids.  Why are they everywhere?  Lord, what did I do wrong?  My farm has a huge natural population of aphids that just exploded once the succulent vegetable plants came on the scene.  Once the veggies arrived, the aphids latched on way quicker than the ladybugs, lacewings and syphids could eat them.  Geeeeze.

Farming is tough, for me.  I guess that makes the triumphs that much better.

I have learned a lot of lessons this year.  One is that, sometimes, farming sucks.  I wanted to quit earlier today, which is only about the seventh time this year I have wanted to.  How many of you farmers out there want to quit every season?

And, you know, farming is really good sometimes.  It isn’t the panacea to man’s problems… trust me.  There are way too many existential issues to tackle out there.  To give advice to myself, don’t go into farming thinking it is going to simplify life… no way.  It will make life way more complicated and you may experience anxiety and emotions that could land you in jail.  BUT… it also does a magical job of bringing people together, giving one the feeling of accomplishment that most jobs lack, and puts you in touch with an aspect of reality that is god-reminding.  So, it’s a mixed bag and the first-year farmer is somewhat of a martyr.  Since I still don’t really know what I am doing, I make a lot of mistakes, but I am learning and I think next year will be so much better (idealism is essential in farming).

3 Responses to “Terrible Day”

Everett Says:
Aug 26th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

Ahhh the dreaded Aphid - ubiquitous scourge of the garden! Have you tried parasitic wasps? If you really do have a bad infestation it may be worth considering using some organic insecticidal soap or something. Maybe next year you could try floating row covers or some other preventative measure so you don’t have to continue relying on the insecticides - even if they are “organic”.

Anyway, good luck to you and DON’T GIVE UP!

KClark Says:
Aug 28th, 2008 at 4:38 am

Just want to delurk to say that I’ve been enjoying your blog, and that I’ve been quite fascinated by your first year of farming.  I come from a farming family, but left it long ago for an academic life.  However, recently, I’ve felt a real tug to return, and so I suppose blogs like your own help me to keep a bit of the farm with me while sitting, writing academic prose.  I especially like your comment that the farm work “puts you in touch with an aspect of reality that is god-reminding.”  Indeed.

Good luck with the rest of the harvest, and with handling those soul-destroying aphids.

Cheers.

Recent Links Tagged With "pests" - JabberTags Says:
Jan 5th, 2009 at 3:34 pm

[...] public links >> pests   Terrible Day Saved by patdean on Tue 23-12-2008   A recipe for homemade herbicide to ward off fruit tree pests [...]

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