As I write this post I’m in the middle of packing the Friday CSA shares. All the veggies have been picked and packaged with the exception of the Swiss Chard. I started out the door to “go fetch” and it started raining–not predicted and totally unexpected.
The temperature in Crab Orchard dipped to 36 degrees last night. Around here this is called “Blackberry Winter”, because the blackberries are in bloom. About 70 percent of the thornless blackberries were killed back to the roots during the last two 14 degree nights we had after they had begun to leaf out–back in April.
As an observer for the National Weather Service, I can peruse previous years’ records with relative ease. This time last year we had 3 nights in the 30’s as well. A friend once told me to never put your winter coat away until after Memorial Day here on the Cumberland Plateau–I believe him!
There’s a lot going on here this spring. Crops in the ground already include lettuce, spinach, chard, kale broccoli, cabbage, chinese cabbage, onions, strawberries, beets, carrots, green beans, sweet corn, potatoes, kohlrabi, bok choy……..I think that’s all.
Several projects are underway as well. Five hardy kiwi plants were babied in pots all last year to plant out this year….of course they require vertical support, so I began an arbor….
The kiwis are on the left side; on the right are rugosa roses and raspberries, echium vulgare, and borage. The ladder awaits the next surge of construction activity. The dead spot in the grass is just the beginning of eliminating the grass from the walkway under the arbor. The dead spot was created by the new pond liner
The previous one developed a leak and it wouldn’t hold any water, so a friend obtained a piece of roofing rubber. So far it’s holding water and I’ll be able to put the rocks back around the edges.
The coral honeysuckle continues to cover the front porch railing and posts. The hummingbirds love to feed on the blooms and I don’t fill feeders anymore–mission accomplished!
A white Fringe Tree planted 3 years ago has started blooming this year! They are gorgeous smallish native trees.
One evening a couple of days ago I was sitting on the porch at dusk, feeling every wheelbarrow of mulch that I had spread that day, and I noticed a weird circle in the forest edge along the field. I investigated the next day and it wasn’t a family of alien beings hanging out in the trees, just one of those “optical confusions”!
The rosa rugosa, planted last year along the right hand side of the arbor-to-be is doing fantastic. Honeybees like the blooms, they bloom all summer, and the rose hips are large and edible. It’s spreading sorta fast though, so I might have a different report next year 🙂
A friend gave me a plastic grocery sack of iris tubers about 8 years ago. I finally got them planted last year. They were extremely happy to be out of the bag at last!
And finally, the newest member of the farm, Blue, is posing underneath the American Wisteria which is just beginning to bloom. His mom is a Catahoula and his dad is a cur, so I call him a “Curtahoula”. He’s a sweetie, and just recently learned to “sit” when I give him a treat. Good dog!
Wild Things Farm 