Friday, July 15, 2011
Thursday, July 07, 2011
A Natural Solution for the Marmorated Stink Bug
This winter when the bulletins about the MSB came out I realized they have been on my farm the past 2 seasons and ruining a lot of the red raspberries. And I assumed this year would be far far worse because there are no known predators of the pests (and also because I now had a name for the scourge and the various state extension services that have issued bulletins had scared the bejeebus outta me over this). So this week the raspberries started to ripen (about 14 days late) and I was prepared for the worse. And on day one of harvest there was quite a bit of damage but it was mainly bird and Japanese beetle damage with only about 10% to 15% being due to MSB-not too bad. By the end of the first full week of harvest the MSB damage had fallen to maybe .1%-about 1 in 1000 berries is effected (and they stink so badly it is very easy to find them and toss them out)
I also noticed a huge number of wheelbug youngsters in their 3rd and 4th instars (and possibly an adult). There were something like 4 per square foot. In past years, since I researched this insect, I would see maybe on every 10 square feet or fewer. I figured they were pretty territorial and that was why we had a lower population as well as being a top predator. But I also knew we had some rather underfed larva the past couple of years which would of course mean fewer making it to adult stage so fewer numbers that could breed to increase the population. So far this year i have seen nothing but fat and happy wheelbug larva
I do know that I definitely saw wheelbugs eating MSBs last year (I wondered what kind of stinkbug it was as it had more white spots on it that the other 3 or 4 species we have around here, now I know) and it would make sense as the MSB population increases that the wheelbug population would increase a couple of years behind them.
So I believe we have a native insect in the Eastern US that can control the MSB scourge.
I also noticed a huge number of wheelbug youngsters in their 3rd and 4th instars (and possibly an adult). There were something like 4 per square foot. In past years, since I researched this insect, I would see maybe on every 10 square feet or fewer. I figured they were pretty territorial and that was why we had a lower population as well as being a top predator. But I also knew we had some rather underfed larva the past couple of years which would of course mean fewer making it to adult stage so fewer numbers that could breed to increase the population. So far this year i have seen nothing but fat and happy wheelbug larva
I do know that I definitely saw wheelbugs eating MSBs last year (I wondered what kind of stinkbug it was as it had more white spots on it that the other 3 or 4 species we have around here, now I know) and it would make sense as the MSB population increases that the wheelbug population would increase a couple of years behind them.
So I believe we have a native insect in the Eastern US that can control the MSB scourge.
Monday, July 04, 2011
One Month Until the 127 Yard Sale
It is exactly 30 days until the big yard sale which will be held August 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th.
We will once again rent 10'x 10' spaces to the public for $20 a day non food/$40 a day for food vendors. Ask about our discount for all 4 days. Last year we had over 30k people come through our sale and our vendors were VERY pleased with their weekend both in sales and in fun.
New this year will be our original totes and T-shirts sporting the graphic below, designed by my brother, that you can buy exclusively at our store during the event
T-s are white 100% cotton and will be $10 ea
GMO Video
GMO Crops Farmer to Farmer
interesting video about how GMO and conventional farmers feel about growing GMO crops. Talks about the broken promises such as single pass farming, better yields, low risk of contamination, etc..
Interesting and disturbing as it is clear many farmers do not want to grow this stuff but have been railroaded into it by Monsanto and other biotech Ag corps.
interesting video about how GMO and conventional farmers feel about growing GMO crops. Talks about the broken promises such as single pass farming, better yields, low risk of contamination, etc..
Interesting and disturbing as it is clear many farmers do not want to grow this stuff but have been railroaded into it by Monsanto and other biotech Ag corps.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Monday, June 06, 2011
Planting
It's been a while since I last posted. Lets just say I have been busy now that the rains have stopped and the serious farming has begun.
Yesterday we put 100 tomato plants in the ground and now have just 300 more to go (I know that sounds like a lot but it should take less than 4 hours to get all those in the ground). After the maters than we finish up the melons (direct seeding through landscape fabric mulch, easy job) and the potatoes and we are done with the major planting chores. We are not done with all plantings as we succession plant throughout the season so more things will keep going in the ground as space opens up. But right now we are almost 100% planted and that is a good feeling.
Yesterday we put 100 tomato plants in the ground and now have just 300 more to go (I know that sounds like a lot but it should take less than 4 hours to get all those in the ground). After the maters than we finish up the melons (direct seeding through landscape fabric mulch, easy job) and the potatoes and we are done with the major planting chores. We are not done with all plantings as we succession plant throughout the season so more things will keep going in the ground as space opens up. But right now we are almost 100% planted and that is a good feeling.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Tomato Seedlings
The seedlings under lights.
Amish pasted tomato seedlings in small soil blocks. they are ready to go into 2" soil blocks where they will grow for 4 weeks and than be transplanted
A close up of the newly germinated maters (I believe they are 2 days old)
Tomato cotyledon leaves ready to lose the seed covering
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| Tomatoes under 24 hours old |
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Rain and Boredom
It's raining again for the 15th or so day in a row (except last Saturday, the one warm and sunny day in the past two weeks).
We have gotten well over 14" of rain during this time and that means it is too wet to do much of anything outside now. We cannot transplant, we cannot hand weed, we cannot hoe, we cannot plant seed, we cannot mow, we cannot foliar feed.
About the only thing we can do is a bit of harvesting. We do have asparagus, rhubarb, early herbs (tarragon, chives, garlic chives and parsley), lettuce and spring mix that can be harvested (and will be today and tomorrow for our Farm Share Initiative members).
The other thing we can do is make soiless mix for soil blocks, make soil blocks and start seeds in soil blocks. We can do everything but start seeds as we really don't have any seeds that need to be started in the next couple of days now that the tomato seeds have been started (that was yesterday). of course we will have to make 7 to 8 trays of large blocks for the tomato seedlings when they germinate in a couple of days and than put the best of the seedlings (i.e. the seeds that actually germinated and aren't too weird looking) in said soil blocks.
It has gotten to the point where we are getting bored. We should be working 7 to 10 hours a day right now getting things transplanted, hoed, harvested, sold, etc., and because of way too much rain we are in a holding pattern. This does allow us to get other things done like cleaning out the barn, putting an old Sears tractor back together (for mowing, which we cannot do), think about our marketing plans, clean parts of the house that have been ignored and waste time on Face Book. But we need to do farm work and that simply ain't happening
We have gotten well over 14" of rain during this time and that means it is too wet to do much of anything outside now. We cannot transplant, we cannot hand weed, we cannot hoe, we cannot plant seed, we cannot mow, we cannot foliar feed.
About the only thing we can do is a bit of harvesting. We do have asparagus, rhubarb, early herbs (tarragon, chives, garlic chives and parsley), lettuce and spring mix that can be harvested (and will be today and tomorrow for our Farm Share Initiative members).
The other thing we can do is make soiless mix for soil blocks, make soil blocks and start seeds in soil blocks. We can do everything but start seeds as we really don't have any seeds that need to be started in the next couple of days now that the tomato seeds have been started (that was yesterday). of course we will have to make 7 to 8 trays of large blocks for the tomato seedlings when they germinate in a couple of days and than put the best of the seedlings (i.e. the seeds that actually germinated and aren't too weird looking) in said soil blocks.
It has gotten to the point where we are getting bored. We should be working 7 to 10 hours a day right now getting things transplanted, hoed, harvested, sold, etc., and because of way too much rain we are in a holding pattern. This does allow us to get other things done like cleaning out the barn, putting an old Sears tractor back together (for mowing, which we cannot do), think about our marketing plans, clean parts of the house that have been ignored and waste time on Face Book. But we need to do farm work and that simply ain't happening
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Lawn Morels!!
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