Going, Going, Gone.... The Farm Report 11-02-2018

Going, Going, Gone....
The Farm Report 11-02-2018

Going, Going, Gone.... The growing season, that is. Fall has taken over; the leaves are falling, and we're ready to be off to the next season's fun here at Oakdale Farm.  This is the lane that leads us into the woods and my favorite 'fantasy land.'

The gardens have been plowed. The cover crops have been turned under to compost in place for the winter. Soon, I will re-plant more rye and oats on this plowed ground to make even more 'green manure' for the earth - and food for our table next summer! Hopefully, it will be a sea of green before the ground freezes hard for the duration.

This is the 'East Forty'. The green row by the poly tunnel is my new strawberry patch. 

Plowed ground was common when I was a kid. Every farmer plowed his fields in the fall. It is not the best practice. We know that now. Of course, the Romans knew this centuries ago when they 'invented' cover cropping! We live and learn though. This is what my corn fields look like in the fall now. That green is cereal rye that has been planted as a winter cover crop. It was planted by airplanes before the corn was harvested so it could get a head start sprouting. As soon as the corn is out - and the light gets in - the little rye plants are already germinated and ready to spring into action soaking up and holding nitrogen for next year's crops. 

The Two Henriettas and the Replacement Brigade prefer plowed ground though. The hunting is so much more fun, and the worms are so much easier to get.

So now that the gardening season has pretty much closed, I can begin to go back into my woods. This is one of my all time favorite places to be - but not in the summer. It is like a steam bath jungle in there then.  

Zoey thinks running up the lane to the timber is great. It is about a quarter of a mile each way, but she loves running it. That's my 1947 Farmall 'M's nose you're seeing.   

It was almost like Zoey was saying, "Yahoo!" when we entered the clearing where I drag logs to cut up and split. Joyce always called this 'Picnic Point.' There is too much poison ivy on the ground to actually have a picnic there, but it's the thought that counts.

The only problem is, Zoey can smell the coyotes a mile away. And she smells 'em now. 

Which means she is more than ready to get the heck out of there as quick as she can! That little tiny black dot down by the bushy trees is Zoey leading me home - on the run at full speed. Sometimes we make this trip 6 or 8 times a day. No wonder she needs 'Doggy-Profen' at the end of the days. She's almost 15 after all. 

But wait, that's not all! One more garden chore. It's time to make compost. At Oakdale Farm, we do it a little bit different out here than they might do in townie gardens. Emmie is up to the challenge.

Recipe: First, get a junk Big Round Bale. Next, flip it on end, jelly roll side up. 

Add Water 

Add lots and lots and lots of water. I will let the hose sprinkle water to soak the bale. The water will run all day for a couple of days; this will trigger the composting reaction to begin. Pretty soon, I'll show you a picture of this bale giving off steam some cool morning. When these compost, they get HOT! inside - which cooks the weed seeds and grows all that good ooie gooie bacteria and fungus which the plants love. 

Anything new brings supervision from the troops. 

And here is the November calendar picture for the month. Grey November. The light is not only shorter each day, the brightness is going away, too. Time to go indoors to plan out next summer's garden and look at the seed catalogs which will be coming soon. The cycle of life continues, and all is quiet at Oakdale Farm. Have a great week!