TERRY'S JOURNAL
(started 21 April, 1998)
So far, we have about
3,000 plants up from seed.Last Tuesday, I drove 80 miles to a nursery going
out of business, hearing that they had equipment to give away. Once there,
we were offered (for free!) their double insullated
greenhouses! The smallest is
50' in length, which wouldn't fit in the old Corolla. Thursday, I'm conscripting
some of the kids after school to start striking it. The Dory Shop donated
the use of their truck and flat bed
(Bless you, Jill!)It comes as
a Godsend, since we have run out of room in the Wentzell's greenhouse at
their farm. Included are a furnace and fans. Re-erecting it should be a
challenge. We haven't started plowing yet,
because the ground is still
too damp. Mr.Eikle informed me that horses would be OK to plow with right
now, but 'any fool knows y'all cain't
use an ox yet, 'cause their
hooves are to small for the damp ground, and they'd be up to their bellies!'
Guess I haven't got that far in 'The
City Boy's ABCs of Farming From
Scratch'! Plus, I didn't account for renting a crane in our budget! Tomorrow
night, we have the
Community booth in the Bridgewater
Mall for folks to drop off donations of used farming implements and
to hand out info on Youth
Support. All the participants
have tomatoe plants growing at home as a contest to see who can grow the
largest. Everything is being done
organically, but one of the
boys who is 15 said his was doing REALLY well, 'cause he gave it birth
control pills....I didn't ask where he got
those, and just when I thought
I've heard it all....
06, June, 1998
We've survived the worst of black
fly season. We have .4 hectares plowed, harrowed and planted. For trivia's
sake, I kept track of how many rocks were picked out so far: 3,800 lbs.
the weeds have got a good start, even though the weather has been unusually
dry for this time of year. We've had 'bucket brigades' from the well, but
if we don't get rain, we will have to use a nearby pond , not to deplete
the well. It had gone dry in last summer's drought.
Since the weather is warm now,
we have barbeques when we're working. We've experimented with log furniture
making, and it's quite simple; we just don't have much time to do it until
the garden is well under way.Our first independant fundraiser is July 11:
a barbeque in neighbouring Bridgewater.....
16, August, 1998
We're well into
market season now. We've had a drought here in Nova Scotia this summer,
similar to last year. The wells are going dry. Fortunately, we have the
garden located next to a pond feed by natural springs...which means, bucket
brigades! Not one of our favorite labours since it takes several hours
of hauling to do the task, and it's messy work. Amazingly, everything has
done quite well except for radishes, turnips and beets, but I think that
was from not thinning them out adequately. Because of the abundance of
canines in the area, we have been spared being raided by local fauna, fortunately!
And because of companion planting (ie: marigolds etc. to repel bugs) we
have been relatively bug-free. Found potato bugs on the eggplants, but
getting down on hands and knees and picking them all off solves that.
We've been
selling mainly through word of mouth, and never have any produce left over.
We've made labels and package evrything in paper, which is more environmentally
friendly than plastic. Log furniture production has been slow due to our
spending all available time in the garden but that should pick up come
fall. We've also been experimenting with herbal fragrances which has been
interesting.
On 22 August,
we hold our annual picnic in Martin's River at the home of one of our patrons.
We expect 100+ Youth Supporters, parents, friends and local politicians.
There will be helicopter rides and boating.
We had a
slight setback with our greenhouse due to it blowing down in high winds....how
embarrassing!
Until later!
Terry, head sharecropper