From breakfast to even now, it feels as if all events have taken just as much time as they've needed when they've needed it. Not sure if that makes much sense. A real internal flow to things today.
We began by moving irrigation (just E & I today as D was with his sons) from one side of the newer crops to the other. Turned it on. All was good.
Down to W field to move pipes from the Celeriac to the Chard & Kale (yes, the same beds that were planted in April and are still going. amazing).
With no D, we thought we should paint with the broadest strokes possible.
Meaning, tractor work. E harrowed all the bare fields with the Perfecta.
Yes, they are rather dry and we did lose a little topsoil (dust) in the process, but have no fear, our cover crop seed will be here Thursday or Friday and this is necessary prep for seeding. If you would like to help with soil preservation, do a rain dance for us. We need it. And we've already done our own....
I prepped 5 beds for transplanting and seeding. 2 in B and 3 in F (mad rocky in the lower half of F).
We took a short break (before which I switched irrigation flow from B to W) and I picked up the disc harrow with the John Deere and made some rounds on the recently vacated winter squash field. We use the disc for two main reasons: 1) It chops up the remnants very well without clogging, giving them a proper chance to fully break down so they can be turned back into the soil. 2) The disc doesn't tear apart the structure of the topsoil as much as a rototiller does.
Lunch
2 projects for the afternoon:
Harvest/Weed Tomatoes in Y (670+ lbs worth!). Thanks to Gordon for being an extra set of hands when we needed it.
Harvest Peppers. E z nuff.
Actually, while E and Gordon harvested Peppers, I made the 3rd irrigation move of the day. I switched irrigation flow from W back up to C. I also prepped the drip tape that's still in the Leeks in E so they can be watered in the morning.
A few minutes cleaning garlic and the day was done.
I immediately hopped on the riding mower and cleaned up the area around field A (former winter squash).
I'm a happy neat freak again.
After mowing I got the chainsaw ready for a little bench work. Made depth cuts on the opposite side that I rough planed two days ago. Like butter now that the teeth are sharp. However, cutting off each section laterally is still much more work than necessary so I figured I would try a hand method. The adze.
Worked like a charm! Made my way down the log, rough planing just as fast as the chainsaw and with zero gas used. I'm happy to be getting a better idea of the handtools' capabilities and how to use them. And, yes, I'm happy with how the log is coming along, but I must say that I am truly enjoying the PROCESS of working with the material. Discovering all the time.
That ended the day for me save for some eating and phone conversation.
A couple pics from my rounds closing up. Beautiful evening. For real.
Dig.
2 comments:
where are the pictures of your rain dance?!?
Rain dance completed as requested... A&T
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