I truly am kidding. I actually have been out of the office this week. Here is where I am working these days:
The girls
This group is who I will be working with…and
this location is where I will be working with them. Despite the gray skies, it is a lovely spot! Ahh, the green hills and valleys of the Shenandoah.
Or don’t as in our case.
Over the weekend, I noticed some unusual bee behavior. Of course, knowing very little at this point, I reached out to someone who does know bees. My bees had been pretty quiet since the installation of the package on Monday. But that day – the sky was full of bees over the hive – just circling. I though “Oh crap. They swarming. What do I do?” I called Mark (NRVBA president).
Again, many thanks to Mark for calling me back and being patient. It could be my bees were just checking things out. It could be a swarm from somewhere else. Take a peek inside and see what it looks like. So, later that day I did. Interestingly, the bees were clustered on the inside of the roof. I looked at the queen’s cage. Empty. That was good news. I removed it, checked the syrup jar (good), removed the empty package box and closed up the hive.
Well, Jordan took another peak at them Monday night…huge cluster still on the inner part of the roof. Huh? Mark….what is going on? (I am gonna make that poor man crazy with my multitude of questions). Well, I learned from Mark that the bees like the highest, most hollowed out area. If they are not beneath the actual top bars (which is supposed to be their “roof”) then they might be drawing comb on the inner part of the actual roof. Take a look and some pictures.
So – last night I took a look-see. Here is what I saw:
Bees on the underside of the hive roof
Another view of bees under the roof – not under the top bars 
I do think the bees were swarming on Friday. They left the beneath the top bar area and decided that the beneath the roof area was much better!
Drawing comb under the roof
The comb was beautiful. This photo doesn’t really capture how pristine white the honey comb was. I saw babies (yay! That means they liked their queen, and she got busy) and honey. It smelled good, too.
The bees were very tolerant of my fumbling around. I did the best I could to knock all of the bees into a cooler and off of the roof’s underside (you can see several remained on the comb). I squirted them all with sugar water to keep them calm and occupied (I did not use smoke). Next I had to cut off that comb…carefully so as to not squash bees or completely ruin the comb. It was soft. I don’t know if it was soft because of its newness or because it was in the mid 80s temperature-wise yesterday. Anyway, I tried my best to tie the comb with some string to a top bar. I removed one of the follower boards, giving the bees access to 2/3 of the hive body. Cleaned and refilled the syrup jar. Then, I dumped the bees back in with a little prayer that they decided to enjoy the actual top bars. I put all of the top bars back, noticing lots of gaps that I couldn’t close up. Warped boards and perhaps imprecise manufacture of the hive? Who knows. When we build our own, we have detailed plans that I now know we will follow to a T!
Well, with all of the gaps between the top bars, the rim where the top bars rest, the roof and such, it is entirely possible that the bees will return to the inner part of the roof. I will let you know how it goes. Still, if that is where they ultimately want to be, that is ok by me as long as they are happy and stick around!
We have some fruits coming on that I’d like to report on…
Here are some blueberries:
Blueberries
I hope that I beat the birds to those babies. The other two bushes are loaded, too.
We also have white peaches coming on strong:
Peaches
Of course, our namesake the pear tree has a bazillion fruits on it. Did I take a picture of it? No. Ridiculous. But take my word for it. Despite the lack of pruning, of being hit by lightening (before our time), of last year’s fire blight, and the general brunt of wind and weather it faces, that tree produces more fruits than we and the deer know what to do with. We hope that the farm is just as productive and long lived.
Ok.
Now for a few garden updates.
Soggy weekends are bittersweet. A farmer or gardner, really, should never complain about rain. Rain will make or break our plantings. I love rain. I am grateful for it. It does put me behind. And being organized this year – having a weekly planner with activities down to the day – being behind makes me antsy and sweat. Just a little. Maybe more than a little. But I won’t ever tell. Except I just did. Oh well. Moving on, there is a benefit to rain aside from its nourishing properties – it makes weeding easier. Those nasties just fly right out of the ground with less than usual effort. Working in a gentle rain can even be relaxing. Though you get wet, somehow you don’t notice it as much. It is revitalizing. Maybe it rekindles some youthful spirit. Of some time on yon when you actually went out in the rain to play. At any rate, we did not let the rain get us down. No sirree. We worked on.
Amazingly, I had a volunteer show up to help. Yes. I know. To help weed. Yes. Someone came over to help with the weeding. Shannon, a friend of the farm. She worked hard and was an amazing help. I was most grateful. See, there are good things that happen on rainy days!
Shannon weeding the onions
Cabbages before
Cabbages after
All of the plants (and weeds) are looking great under the row covers. The broccoli is coming along. The leaves are such a lovely green.
Calabrese broccoli
Some of the potato plants are even starting to flower. The only problem is that despite having row covers, the Colorado potato beetles still found their way to our new potato plants. while weeding and hilling the potato plants, I did the best I could to pick beetles, larvae and eggs all off. They either went into a bucket with neem oil solution (organic pesticide) or they were squashed. Harsh, I know, but it is a battle with those guys. They decimated our plants last year.
Potato beetle eggs on a lambsquarter leaf
Potato beetles swimming in neem
I also gave up the battle with the Wonder Dogs. Flo-Jo just giggles at the deer fencing. I swear that dog is a cockroach. She squishes small and squirms her way under the fencing. Somewhere. Poor Franklin gets left on the other side just whining. They had a full weekend and just wanted to be close. So, GAP (good agricultural practices) rule broken, pets were allowed in the garden…to nap.
Wonder dogs next to weeded and hilled potato plants
Pretty girls
I begin this post with one of my favorite photos I called Pretty Girls.
I have been off line as of late, simply because I have not felt like writing anything. See, we had a loss of a family member last week. Spotty, the PTHF official supreme snoopervisor. Ever the cattle dog, Spotty kept watch of the farm, its people, and of all the comings and goings-on. She had a full, well-loved life with my husband, and I felt fortunate that she accepted me into her tight clan. She was quiet, stern, but you felt her presence. We can still feel her presence. Buried on our favorite point – the crest of our finest ridge overlooking the valley west, Spotty maintains her guard. We can feel the morning’s sunrise on our backs when we are with her. In the evenings, we watch the sunset with her. She whispers with the winds in the tall grasses. She keeps watch of our pastures, house, drive and garden. She belongs at the farm. She was happiest on the farm.
It is an amazing thing how an animal can warm your heart and soul. They are all so different in their manners. My girl, Radley, was gentle, cuddly, contact-craving. Spotty was the sentinel, the librarian. She liked order and calm. They definitely become a part of you especially when you realize a good portion of your life has been with them. Radley was over 15 years. Spotty was over 16 years. In a way, they define you. That makes the loss of them that much harder. You have to figure out who you are now that that constant companion isn’t right behind you, beside you. There isn’t much you can do or say. It does seem true that as time passes, dealing with a loss gets more tolerable. It isn’t instant, though.
Still, you really do not have a choice. As much as we want time to stand still and give us a little break, it just keeps on rolling. We still have to go to work. We still have to interact with other people. There will be things that we must continue to do. Sometimes that is a load to bear. Other times it can be therapeutic. Fortunately for us, we find the farm and its associated chores to be therapeutic.
So, with that, I will affirm that we are sad. That we miss Spotty more than can be written. And with my reflection on loyal friends, I miss Radley anew. They were both one of a kind, true friends. Our best four-legged friends. We are comforted to have Spotty on watch. And someday, when we are at the farm full-time, Radley will become the farm dog she was meant to be.
To Jordan, who has handled his loss with grace and calm, you loved Spotty well; she knew it and returned the love right back to you. I hope that you won’t be angry that I posted this, I know that grief is a private thing. But such a wonderful girl and love that surrounded her should be a story told. A strong love is such a positive thing. I am lucky to be in the same boat as she.
I have been meaning to post that it’s hummer time. Folks in southwest Virginia – more likely the whole mid-Atlantic region – take note that hummingbirds are among us. I had been meaning to put up my feeders for a couple weeks, figuring it was migration time. This weekend, I finally hung one…then two more. As soon as I had the first feeder on its hook, I had a bird. Then 3. Already fighting. Crazy little birds. If they ever slow down, I’ll take some pictures.
Yesterday was the day! How exciting. I know you are lost at the moment. Let me fill you in. Yesterday I picked up my package of bees and installed them into our top bar hive. What a wild event that was. The bees are Italian bees that originate from southern Georgia (as in the state of Georgia) and each package contains about 3 lbs of bees….which looks and sounds like a bazillion. Inside the package is a syrup jar and a queen cage. The queen is kept separate from the group in her own little box with some attendants. Her box is solid on 3 sides and mesh on the top. That way, all of the other bees can meet and greet her through the mesh without actually, well, killing her. The queen is not original to this group, so keeping her separate is a matter of literal life over death for her. It is hoped that the bees she is packed with will get used to her and accept her as their own during shipping and installing of the package. Installing bees sounds easy…at least Mark (the president of the NRVBA and seller of the packages) sure made it seem so. Of course, I had some challenges with my turn at it that I will share with you. First, let me show you what a package of bees from Georgia looks like:
Bee package
You can’t see in this photo, but there was a single bee that was actually on the outside of the package. She was there when Mark handed me my box. Bees are interesting in that way. She didn’t try to leave or fly around my truck while driving to the farm. Nope. She is committed to her group. As long as they are there, she stuck around. Pretty cool. Anyway, let’s talk about the installment. Mark said quite simply, use your hive tool to pry off the top wooden cover, grasp the syrup jar and slowly lift and slightly slide to gently remove any bees collected on its bottom, while holding on to the tab that has the queen’s cage on the other end. Done. So simple. But I did exactly what he said to avoid. While removing the syrup jar (which was harder than expected to remove as it was recessed and needed prying out), I lost grip of my queen cage tab and dropped her. Dropped her into the mass of bees. Buzzing moving mass of bees. Luckily, Mark is amazingly patient and said to call with any questions…which I promptly did because he said if this happened, you have to reach in there to retrieve it. I cannot express in words or images exactly how intimidating that proposition is. That mass of bees is a living thing…like a beating heart. At the end of those living things are stingers. Gulp. So, on the phone I went. Mark was calm as ever. No problem. Do you have apple cider vinegar? Yes. Good. Coat your hands and forearms with the vinegar, slowly reach in and remove the cage. You won’t get stung. The bees do not like the vinegar. So…I did exactly as he said and it turned out just like he said it would. I reached in, bare handed, vinegar coated; I felt soft feet touching me the whole way, checking me out as such. I moved slowly, deliberately, and I removed the queen’s cage, grasping it by its tab. I did not get stung. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. Amazing. Many bees came out with the queen’s cage. I am hoping they were expressing much love of her. Here is her cage atop the hive coated with bees from the package:
Queen’s cage and bees upon it
Of course, I have skipped ahead a little bit. Prior even getting to this point. I gathered all of my supplies together (smoker, kindling, lighter, gloves, veil, hive tool).
Smoker
Gloves and veil – thanks Marge for the supplies!
I prepared the hive and tidied up the area around the hive proper (mowed the area so as to not stress the bees with equipment early on in their adjustment period, planted some perennials, and installed a bird bath as a close-by water source). Mark had given me some honeycomb he had that was damaged by mice (see earlier post). He told me to tie it with string (I used cotton) to some top bars and the bees would use it to start their own comb. Amazingly, he said that they would clean and repair the comb while getting a jump start on egg laying and food storage. Once the bees fixed it up, the strings can be cut and pulled out.
Comb tied to top bar with cotton string
Behind the two comb bars, you can just make out a solid piece of wood with a notch at the bottom. This wood is called a follower board. It helps confine the bees to a space until they get used to the hive, the queen and are more established. The notch is in the board because on the other side is an immediate food source: sugar water (1:1 mix) in a feeder jar. It is important to provide food in the beginning especially if natural food sources may be limited (nothing blooming or bad weather is at hand). Jordan built these things for me the day before (thank you, honey…we love you for it).
Feeder jar
The feeder jar rim is secured to a piece of wood that also is notched out so that the bees have a channel to beneath the jar but no where else. Ideally, if we have no gaps (bees need 3/8 ths of an inch to move around), the bees will not be in this section. That is helpful because we don’t want them to build comb all over the place, and by having the feeding system separate from where they are working, we are able to change out the feeder jar with (hopefully) minimal disruption to the bees. It is a quart mason jar, and I am sorry that I neglected to take a photo of the channel that Jordan put into it. When I change out the syrup next time, I will take one then. I promise. Holes were poked into the lid with a thumb tack then the jar was inverted. The system seems pretty stable and surprisingly, syrup mainly just beads up at the holes…very little leaked out when the jar was inverted.
Here is where the bees will go. Another follower board (this one is solid) was placed so the bees will be confined to the center for right now. As they settle in, the follower board will be moved further down the hive or removed.
Space where bees will be confined
NOW we are ready to install the bees. The queen’s cage was secured to the top by a push pin. To install the bees, you’re supposed to give a strong tap of the package to knock the bees to one side of the box, then you just dump them out and gently rock back and forth until the bulk of the package is dumped. You can see the bees dumped in their new home and some still on the queen’s cage in the next image coming up. You may also notice that the queen’s cage has the mesh side up. That is so the bees can still take in her loveliness (pheromones) and get to know her better. You might notice that the end towards you has a cork in it. The other end had a cork as well. I removed the other cork (pried it out with a tiny nail). The other end also has a piece of candy blocking the hole. That is the only thing that keeps the queen separate from her new colony. I used the nail to poke a little hole through the candy to the queen, so the bees have sight and more incentive to release her. The bees in the hive gradually will eat away at that candy over the next few days. If the queen isn’t out by the weekend, I will remove the remaining cork and set my lady free, hoping that all will love her immensely. When I check things in 3 days or so and the queen is no longer in her cage, I need to look for babies. If there are no babies, I have no queen (colony rejected her), and I need to get a new queen as try again. If I have babies, then we are in business (or is it bees-ness haha).
Bees installed
As with retrieval of the queen cage, I likely didn’t do the smoothest install. I still had many bees remaining in my package. I think that I was too timid with my “firm” tap (the buzz they did after that tap was kinda alarming). For any bees not removed, you keep the package near the hive. They should find their way home easily enough. Access to the hive, though, is blocked off during the overnight just to allow a little time for the installed bees to settle in to their new home. This morning, I removed one of the 3 corks blocking the entrance. I hope the ones still in the package will have moved into the hive when I peak at the package tonight.
hive and package nearby
What wonderful creatures. I so look forward to watching their comings and goings. I am hopeful that they will thrive in their new hive and enjoy the fruit trees, flowers and garden plants for years to come.
Yes, I could be considered to be a liberal, but this bleeding heart reference is to something altogether different. Mother-in-law Marge planted one of these lovely plants last year. It was a gift from a friend of hers. It came up strong this year and is just a lovely plant to see.
Bleeding heart
Today was a soggy day with heavy rains limiting all garden activities. So - a good day to work inside. We tackled some more demolition. The once master bedroom of the farm house will (hopefully over the summer) transition into our kitchen area with lovely views of the valley. Today’s project consisted of removing the ceiling. We’ve been curious to see what lies beneath (or, in this case, above it) the layers of paint and drywall. Aside from rodent nests and decades of dirt -
here it what it looked like when we bought the house:
Master bedroom before
Master bedroom before pic #2
Here is what it looks like now:
Wall divider removed (posted previously)
Ceiling gone and rafters exposed
I love the exposed rafters…these are a keeper. Jordan had removed a portion of the plaster when I took this photo. He revealed additional proof that we live in a barn. You can just see, to the left of the window and exposed lattice, vertical white boards. That is our exterior wall. We have no stud walls. The wood you see in front of the white vertical boards are not supporting anything. They were there to have something to secure the drywall to. We have a lot of work to do to create real walls with insulation. A barn. I didn’t expect to live in a barn….but I wouldn’t pass up the experience. I love it.
I just met with the president of the New River Valley Beekeeper’s Association who, it turns out, works just down the road from me. He is selling bee packages of which we purchased one. Our bees are due to arrive on Monday. In the meantime, I bopped down the road to retrieve some honeycomb he most generously offered up to me. I can install this comb in the top bar hive as a way to give the new bees a head start. They will clean it up and reuse it as a basis for starting their new, fabulous hive. Thanks, Mark, for that little boost. I will see him again Monday morning to pick up my bee package. Hopefully, by this time next week our hive will be buzzing! Very exciting.
Honeycomb – smells sooo good.
Perfect cell spaces
Two combs
Weather is a fickle thing. We are so easily lured in by the sunny, 70 and even 80 degree days. We get twitchy and jumpy and ready to plant. Then….da da da dum…we get one last gasp. This weekend was a bit of a chilly change. Cloudy. Heck, down right cold. The wicked strong easterly winds were different for us and really took to beating up the row covers. I guess the westerly winds we are used to, that channel through the valley, are funneled in such a way as to be less severe. The easterly winds were rough. But…they did accomplish one thing…they dried the soil.
What an interesting battle. I had dry soil, truly, for the first time this spring. If you look at the early pea pictures where the shoots where emerging (Peas to see ya! from 4/13/13), the peas had to bust through some crusty soil. That is because I got twitchy and jumpy and tilled the soil too soon (i.e., it was still a tad too wet). This weekend, though, the soil had a great texture.
So. It was a race, you see. Me against mother nature. She’s a fickle nature. I had two days to disperse minerals and till the rest of the garden before…da da da dum…the coming of the weeklong rains.
Listen, you won’t ever hear me complain about the rain. I love the rain. But I also hope for a stretch of dry soil so I can cultivate, weed (the only things growing wild right now) and plant. I am behind. Again. But…if I am behind in my plantings, others are too.
So. Even though some think that “rainy days and Mondays always get me down” and that “whenever monday comes, you can find me cryin all of the time” it just isn’t true…except that crying part – especially after tilling all weekend. Anyway. Ahem.
Thank goodness for the help of some friends on Sunday….
Now, for some fun photos. Just because. Here’s a look-see under a few of the row covers:
Red cabbages
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts (the crooked line of green)
The approaching storm:
Storm brewing
Here is what we have been enjoying this spring (sorry, I have forgotten many of the names and will have to get back to you on them):
And now, the garden after tillage:
OK folks. I am sad to say that my binder clip idea was a colossal fail. Arrived at the farm last night to row covers flapping and ribs out of the ground. The clips just are not strong enough to hold down the covers in our winds. So, more spring clamps have been ordered. Bricks will be gathered to help hold down the edges. And many calm thoughts will be needed for me to quit grumbling about the holes in the covers (caused by some of the loose ribs) and basic lack of success. Lesson learned.
That said, I will have a bit more work installing a few other row covers this weekend. From Tuesday’s re-supply, I have wire ribs to try out as supports. I’ll be curious to see how those stand up compared to the fiberglass rods. They were definitely more affordable. In case they do not work, some on-line searches have located companies that make fiberglass rods. I will have several quote requests floating out there in the ether later today. Maybe ordering direct from the supplier will knock off some of the cost of that type of support. I’ll be curious to find out.
On the to-do this weekend is much weeding. It is amazing how lush the buggers are already this season. Of course, I have to remember that this time last year, we had just broken sod. Still, I am getting twitchy because I cannot cultivate anything….it’s too wet. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t EVER complain about having rain. I am just not a patient person. I am ready to roll.
I will attempt to re-seed some items that I don’t think have taken hold (or I am unsure of the status….is it a seedling or a weed emerging?) or in areas that there are obvious clumps. My first attempts at the Earthway seeder may not have been as successful as I had hoped. It was challenging to use with the smaller seeds, though, because there was SO much static electricity…the little seeds were stuck to the seed chamber more than the seed plate. Let’s just call re-seeding an insurance policy. It will be tedious, but I will be sure of what I place in the ground.
Last item I hope to accomplish is covering the newly planted, young apple trees. The good folks at Stonecrop farm (source of our trees) strongly suggested covering our young trees with row covers in order to protect them from the soon-to-emerge 17-year cicadas (said to start coming out in early May…ahem…somehow that is now). The big problem with the cicadas is that the females will seek out thin twigs and tunnel in to lay their legs. So, to give the baby trees a shot, it is best to provide a barrier against said egg-laying female. Yep. I’d like to keep my trees. Thanks.
And because every post needs a photo (pictures are more interesting that anything I could type up)…here is a peak at a Yukon gold potato starting to make itself known.
Potato sprout
My full-time day job took me to Augusta county today. When I finished my job-related task, I took a slight detour north to Rockingham county to a produce supplier there for some farm materials (and a few things to experiment with). Located just outside of Harrisonburg, the produce supplier was situated in a beautiful valley. This region is strong in agriculture. The shop was completely surrounded by small dairy farms, mostly Mennonite. Immaculate, lush and productive looking farms. Impressive bank and Dutch style barns (if i wasn’t driving, i would’ve photographed). I also passed some enviable produce gardens. For a gray and drizzly day, this area was a thing of beauty.
View to the right
View to the right of the store.
View to the left
View to the left of the store.
I took a few back roads out of the verdant Shenandoah valley back towards the big city of Staunton when I had to stop for one more admiring glance.
I love Virginia.
Well, I arrived at the farm last night to find several row covers off their supports and even a couple of the supports out of the ground. That is strike two for my binder clips. I am not sure why some rows remained secure and others didn’t unless the ones that came undone just had too much material and not enough grip of the support rods. So, I re-covered the hoops and reclipped less of the fabric to the support rods. I’ll see how this works. If it doesn’t, I may have to double up the clips, try a larger size, or go back to some sort of clamp.
Strike two
The windshield repair guy was running late, so I kept working in the basement (potted up about 120 tomatoes – 2 varieties; only about 400 – 500 more to go). When I came up for lunch, here is what was going on in the sun room. Aaahh, Mondays. A dog’s day.
Relaxation, Franklin style
I had a HUGE crack in my windshield. Yes, that is a totally different topic, but while I waited for the repair technician to arrive, I worked in the basement to pot up some tomato plants.
As you may recall, potting up is when you transplant a seedling into a larger pot. I had tried using a 4 inch soil block maker, but the method took a lot of effort, used a good big of soil, and frankly, took too long. So, I ordered and received biodegradable 3 inch pots – Jiffy pots made of peat and Fertil pots made of wood fiber.
I prepared my potting soil as I did for the soil blocks, meaning I wet it to the consistency of wet cement.
I filled the bottom third of the pot with the damp soil.
Fertil pot
I placed the seedling (planted in a 1.5 inch soil block) in the pot and filled around it and up to the cotyledon leaves, covering about an inch or more of stem.
New roots will sprout from that buried stem and will make for a stronger plant.
Finally, I set the pots in a tray of water so they could absorb water from the bottom up.
I don’t know if you can tell from this iPhone photo, but the pots at the bottom of the photo are different. The one on the left I’d a Jiffy pot. If you look carefully, you can see a water line near the level of the tray rim. The pot of the right is a Fertil pot. It is completely saturated, having fully absorbed water from the base to the pot top. I can tell you at this moment, I think I prefer the Fertil pot. One has to be careful with peat pots as they can be drying. I definitely will keep watch.
Today we are having a relaxing, gentle rain pitter pat on the metal roof. What better time to work indoors?
Pull out the pry bars, hammers and the sawzall (reciprocating saw). While Jordan was working at the dairy, I started some demolition. We are removing a wall that is between our den and future kitchen. This farmhouse is going to be about the views and hanging out – so open interior spaces are a must. Here is the part I started:
Here is the part I left Jordan:
I was nervous about the electrical cord behind the pine paneling.
And here is the end result with one view into the future kitchen (now our clothes drying room and our business office).
The other view looking into the den slash bedroom.
The den will be the last room we tackle – it is in the best shape at this point.
Our plan is to have an island between the two spaces. French doors leading out to a massive, wrap-around porch off of the kitchen and den with lovely valley views. This project was small compared to the long, extensive list of things we still need to do, but it is progress.
I’ve an update on the row covers. Moments ago, I did have to re-secure one row out of 5. Not bad, I suppose. A worry I have about the binder clips is whether they will be strong enough to hold the flapping fabric when the breeze kicks in. I forgot to mention in the first post that last year we tried clothes pins. That, my friend, was a big fail as the simple clothes pin lacks strength against our breezes. With only one row affected, maybe that was due to the applier and not the applied. Stay tuned to see how it goes.
This post is to share a method while also seeking ideas for alternatives.
I chatted about row covers and the reasons for use (micro environment for growing, frost and wind protection while letting moisture through, insect protection). Now, lets chat about the method.
Row covers are light weight and can be floating (rest directly over plants on the ground). For us, that way seems OK for smaller plants (like our lettuces). For plants that will be taller, we use hoops or ribs. Some call them wickets. I have read where 9 gauge wire can be used. We are using fiberglass rods. They are fairly sturdy, but we had several splinter and break under the weight of our last snow. I wonder if wire could hold up?
The rods are more expensive than wire, and I (and others are) am trying to brainstorm ideas for alternatives. Something strong yet bendable, 1/4 inch in diameter, 8 feet long and weather resistant. Anyone have some thoughts?
The other issue is securing the fabric to the hoops. Write ups say to use sandbags, to bury the edge, to use rocks (What? I want the rocks OUT of the garden) or 2×4 lumber. I find some of those methods not very practical. Instead, we use clamps. We have been using a Bessy spring clamp purchased from a local hardware store. Here is what they look like:
These clamps are strong, but I have found that you must be careful with the placement – the winds can really whip the fabric, which is delicate, and the clamps can tear the fabric readily. The cost if the clamps was a dollar each. I ran out of those and came up with an alternative:
This clamp is a small binder clip. I got 144 of these guys from Staples for a couple of bucks. I am sure they will rust severely, but I like how they encircle the hoop. I am hoping that 1) they hold up to the wind and 2) they will be less likely to rip the fabric. I also like the price!
Anyone want to share tips and ideas? Please, feel free.
Now, I have to head out to the garden and see if yesterday’s work held up to the wind and rain…or, will I find a pile of small binder clips and loose row covers…inspiration for another post.
It was a bit cloudy yesterday, and it was spitting a little rain. Jordan and I worked to finish up some chores. He picked up where I left off with the cardboard and leaves. What’s that, you’re asking? Yes, well, I am not sure I ever explained it fully. The short answer is that we are short on organic matter. My attempt to grow cover crops last fall failed (too late in the season when I finally managed to get the seeds out). If we want organic matter, we have to haul it in as the compost pile we have started is no where near complete. So, cardboard was my thought. It will breakdown and provide great organic matter with the added bonus of weed and moisture control. I posted a bit ago about hauling leaves (with a lot of help from our friends) and how we started laying out cardboard and leaves on the paths. Jordan was able to finish the section I was working on. That means we have half of the garden finished! Granted it is the smaller half…and the other areas are already weedy (sigh). Small steps.
I worked on finishing the row covers.
Securing row covers
Row covers are a spun fabric (polymer) that go over plants and create a micro-environment for the plants. Row covers come in different weights. The weight of the fabric determines how much light is transmitted and the degree of frost protection. The fabrics are nice in that they protect plants against wind and insects yet allow water through. I am using the lightest weight fabric (Agro19) on these rows. The brassicas can handle cooler temps. The big reason I am covering them is to protect the transplants from the winds we get up here on the ridge. A little protection from bugs doesn’t hurt either. The latter reason is why the potatoes are covered, too. Here is what on quarter of the garden looks like now:
Again. Small steps.
“You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients.” ― Julia Child
n. frugality; the quality of being economical with money or food.
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