We have been gone from the farm for almost two weeks, due to National Guard and a wedding in Tennessee. That’s right, all the Kraeger men are married now. No more available in this batch, you’ll have to wait until the next batch matures.
We returned to a somewhat neglected garden.
Some sort of animal got into the wheat and ran right down the middle of it, bending over about a 3rd of it.
The peas, beans and squash were overrun with weeds. The peas needed a good hard picking, the potatoes needed hilling, the strawberries and cherries were coming in hard.
We started with the cherries. They have a narrow window to pick them before the birds discover them and eat them all, or they just get overripe and fall off. But first, we had to cut down all the weeds under the cherry trees. The American scythe with the 18″ brush blade made short work of that.
Seppi pulled this one out by the roots! So proud of himself!
Then time to pick. At first, Seppi and Ellie wanted to pick from up in the tree.
Unfortunately, most of the cherries are not reachable from there. After we pruned back the cherries in early 2024 they put on a lot of new growth, but it is still mostly out of reach. We don’t want to over-prune especially since these trees are shaded hard by the wild cherries on the neighbor’s side of the fence. They don’t get enough sunlight to stimulate strong growth on the southern side.
Stronger growth the further they get out from the shade. Our neighbor has mentioned that we can cut down those wild cherries if we want. I might take him up on that one of these years. Right now, we don’t have time.
The kids never turn down an opportunity to be up on a ladder.
One for the bucket, one for the tummy.
“Here, Ellie, see if you can catch this in your mouth.”
Uncle has reached the limit of access from the step ladder, and we do not own a tall orchard ladder.
So here is our OSHA approved work-around.
Raspberries are a bit of a bust this year. We pruned them hard last year and had to replant and mulch. We are getting a mass of primocanes, but very few floracanes. Next year should be a bumper crop.
That’s okay. Winnie can find a use for any raspberries we do grow.
The little alpine ones are the tastiest.
Goumi berries are coming in hard. They have a very early, very short season every year. I like them because they are a hardy nitrogen fixer, they have pretty white flowers that are much loved by bees and hummingbirds, and they have a crop of bright, red, sweet but slightly astringent berries. The kids eat them by the hand full.
We’ve never gotten them in these quantities before, though.
Uncle and Mommy picked about 5 quarts of peas in the pod.
At least six cups when shelled.
Meanwhile, Seppi, Daddy and Uncle are busy getting the cucurbits weeded and tamed.
As the good book says, “Train up a squash in the way that it should go, and it will not depart from it.”
Heirloom marriage Tomatoes. Little green ones already!
They like growing in muck.
This grape is the first one we planted at the farm in early 2023. It needs to be pruned down to the height of the fence, and this winter cut back hard to a single riser.
But look! Little bitty grapes!
Only two of our blueberries are fruiting this year. They will be ready and over in a matter of the next two weeks. Sometime I need to put some thought to a more permanent irrigation solution to them. That is the missing piece, I think, blueberries like to have wet feet. Perhaps irrigation for them, water catchment from the barn, and a pond for the ducks could be conveniently combined. Food for thought, but probably a major project, not something we have time or money for right now.
Uncle joined us for supper, pork stroganoff and fresh peas. There is nothing like peas fresh from the garden, especially the first harvest of the year. They pop in your mouth like a little green bursting boba, and have a flavor that you will never find in a canned or frozen pea.
Little Farm in the Big City 