And This Is Late November

I cannot believe we've been this lucky....we transplanted these from the field, where a gazillion zinnias were sprouting - but Will had to plow. They've had the chance to completely do their thing this time; thought I'd grab the images while I could...maybe fill the whole house with zinnias for Thanksgiving (thanks for the idea, Erbel!)

New Endeavors

Here We Go!!!!!!!!!!

...Work So Far On The Greenhouses

Over The Past Two Weeks!!

Many many thanks to the CSA Members who came out to help.

No end-pieces yet - no coverings yet

but I think this was the hardest part

and now it's raining...so we got this done just in the nick of time!

Early November Farm Update

Well...it is finally and definitely fall...leaves on the ground, little piles of dead branches etc. raked up. The zinnias we transplanted from the field to the fencerow gave a mighty spurt of flowers before our first frost, which was last night; we covered them with black plastic, and although they are a little worse for wear, they'll go a while longer. Will traveled down to Cameron, La. (for those who don't know, it's south of Lake Charles, kind of almost in the Gulf - and there's very little left down there since the hurricanes). He picked up a ton of...well...it is basically fish gut fertilizer - it's in a big plastic 'tote' on the back of the truck...because getting it OFF of the truck is a problem for now. But Will cannot go anywhere near a body of water without trying to catch fish - because that's just the way he is. Luckily, there was another dude hanging around by the edge of the water, and this guy had some bait with him - and he was willing to share. Will caught his limit of redfish in no time at all! very nice.

So that was Tuesday.

We spent most of yesterday (into the night) hauling potted plants hither and yon; first frost of the season has us scurrying. You bring what you can inside, putting plants in every possible spot by a window. Then you cram everything you can into the tiny greenhouse (which has to be cleaned out first) and then you STILL have stuff that won't fit in either place so you just drag it into the pool room and line em up. Hopefully you find time the next day to haul them back outside. It's all quite a job. I had no idea those avocado plants were taller than the ceiling in our front room - and that is VERY tall. I did most of it, because Will was out in the field putting black plastic on two long rows (greenhouse prep). Covering rows with plastic is not a one-man job, but it can be done. I felt kind of guilty not being out there with him, but there was just too much to do before dark. And it all got done.

Also, this week, we planted the garlic. The way that happened is like this: Will comes in from work and says...'you can come out and help plant the garlic, or you can desert me in my hour of need!' I suppose this doesn't leave room for much decision making on my part! Now those rows have to be mulched. But we can't do everything! At least not in one day. Now that I look back, I guess it was a pretty busy week.

And now it is Saturday, and Day One of the great High Tunnel Construction Effort.
We have your pieces and parts. We have the field preparation done (lots of dirt moving and row making). At some point (and I can't even remember which day it was), Will unloaded this GIANT piece of felt he got from Georgia Pacific. It was so heavy that the two of us could not even spread it out flat. But we did the best we could. The idea was to get on your hands and knees (that would be me) and, using one of those handy-dandy little razor knives, work your way backwards and cut a STRAIGHT line all the way down until you have a 42" strip about 80 feet long. Geez. I did that twice. That was all I had in me. Then it rained. and the felt is still there and i need to do at least two more. Maybe I'll get out there and give it a try. don't know how wet it will be...nasty job. The point is to have long strips to lay between the rows inthe greenhouses to cut down on weeds. A laudable concept - difficult to bring to fruition, but a lot of what we do is like that.

So we put out 'the call' to start greenhouse construction. Thankfully, somebody just showed up. This should take a couple of weeks, but it will move us in a new direction here on our little farm. Winter greens, planting peppers and tomatoes in January (more or less). Much more about all that later, I'm sure. I should quit writing and get out there and see what I can do to help.