Annie Moved Out!
The Farm Report
05-29-2020
Joyce moved these Star of David flowers to the farm when we moved here from Wisconsin. They were thick all over our lawn there. These are surviving, but not as happy as they were in 'Sconie.' |
Bud's Red Weigelia are in bloom. So pretty. Thanks for the start, Chris. |
The hydroponic strawberry patch has been a learning experience. Beginner's luck is a dangerous trap! My first plants did SOOOOO well. I was enthused! |
We used a little horse hair 'softener' brush I have for gold leaf work to pollinate the blossoms. |
They set fruit and began to bear these huge - and I will add my personal testimony - delicious berries. |
But I wasn't paying attention. See the burnt edges of the leaves? Note to self: This is not good! |
This is Rex buttercrisp lettuce. It is really good. |
Paris Island romain. It is good, too. All hydroponic from a Kratky sweater pan. |
Summertime head lettuce in a dutch bucket. The hole is where I add water. There is a wick inside that draws the water up to the plants. |
Here is the Summertime lettuce 4 weeks later. |
The outdoor strawberries are looking great, too. These are all June bearers. One heavy crop and you're done until next year. Delicious! |
The wind whipped off some of the solar cones, but you can see how it works. |
Here's my trick, by the way. I cut the bottoms out of 5-gallon buckets and use that to hold the W-O-W heaters up. Without the bucket, the W-O-W are prone to blow over onto the plants. |
I'm also building an 'Iowa' version of a Victorian Lantern Cloche. It is just concrete reinforcing wire bent to fit. The lid is held on with hog rings. Keep it Iowa! |
I'm putting egg plant and peppers in these. When the plants are established, I'll remove the plastic. |
Four egg plants per lantern. |
Four peppers, too. |
The Grosbeaks are back! They are so pretty, but so mean! They use their hard/sharp beaks to cut away the nest shells I have out - and then they eat the young ones they find inside! |
The tree frogs are out, too. 'Kermit' is usually green, but today he's hiding and grey. |