Sorghumco’s Weblog
4/29
It’s ok – as far as we can tell, nothing got damaged by the 29F frost. The photo above is of one of our Asian pear trees. Our friend, Dan Kelly, who has an apple orchard, assures us that 29 will not hurt the fruit blossoms.
Gigi and I attend a local foods dinner at Truman University in Kirksville – part of the week long Earth Day celebrations organized by students. We both signed up to be discussion leaders at individual small tables. There is a good turnout and a lot of good discussions. It is encouraging to hear thought provoking conversations about eating more locally.
Finally! we do some planting in the field: we plant clover into our wheat crop (planted last fall) to help build the soil. The wheat will be harvested in early July and by then the clover will be about 10” tall and keep growing and put a lot of nitrogen into the soil, as well as feeding various other soil building organisms (eg earthworms). The clover will be incorporated (that is, killed by chisel plowing, discing, etc) into the soil either in the fall or the following spring to feed the next crop – sorghum.
Planting clover: we do it by hand – the way seed has been planted by our ancestors for thousands of years: it feels good to carry on the tradition. Well, we do have a minor variation: I imagine our ancestors flinging seeds on the ground by hand. We use a simple, cheap ($25.) gizmo that consists of a cloth bag with a shoulder strap to carry the seed in, and a spinning wheel to fling out the seed so that it is spread evenly. The seed trickles from the bag onto the wheel which is spun by a hand crank; we walk through the wheat field, cranking the gizmo, and the seed is flung out in a 12’ swath. It takes a lot of walking to plant a one acre field. This year, new member Apple, planted all the clover. The clover seeds wait until the next rain to germinate and begin growing in the wheat fields.
5/2
A major thunder & lightning storm last nite – with lots of rain. A mixed blessing: the power/energy unleashed by storms is intoxicating – an energy boost for us all; the plants show it immediately next morning – they are a bright intense green as a result of the nitrogen released by the electricity; BUT, we don’t need any more moisture now – in fact, we’ve had too much all spring; however, since I don’t have a choice, I try to appreciate it. I surmise that the rain is the earth cleansing itself of the poisons we humans are inflicting on her.
Amazingly, we are able to keep up with all the garden work: planting, transplanting, weeding, and mulching – mostly because we have a lot of raised beds and one garden spot has very sandy soil. The peas, potatoes, beets, spinach, carrots, etc are up and we are constantly transplanting: brassicas (kale, collards, broccoli, cauliflower), lettuce, onions, etc. With all the rain, we have a lot less watering to do!
5/4
Bees. We buy 4 queens from a Mennonite beekeeper, from whom I have been buying queens and small cell foundation for the last few years. We (Apple & I) re-queen 2 of our hives that we have labeled “defensive” (mean!); the energy of the entire hive is determined by the queen’s pheromones and her disposition is largely a matter of genes. How does one “re-queen”? We have to find the old queen and kill her (squish her between my fingers) and then I rub her remains on the cage of the new queen, which we carefully install in the hive. The cage has a candy plug (sugar & honey) in the entrance – the bees have to chew/remove the plug to release the new queen (it usually takes 2-3 days, during which time they get used to her smell/pheromone and accept her as their new matriarch). We also divide 2 hives and introduce one of the new queens to the queen-less divides.
5/6
I plant oats in the field. The fields are still too wet to be worked – but in desperation (I am about a month later than my ideal oat planting time) I went to two little fields with tractor and cultivator and disc yesterday to work down and incorporate the wheat/hairy vetch cover crop that was growing to prepare them to plant oats. Apple planted sweet clover in the fields during the time I planted the oats with a mechanical drill – that places seeds into the soil in rows 7” apart.
We also till two fields in preparation for sorghum planting – even though the soil is too wet. Why? The sorghum plants in the flats are about an inch tall already and will be ready to transplant in about 10 days. It takes about 2 weeks for the cover crop (all of our fields are in cover crop) to die and be incorporated by the soil organisms before planting. Since it is constantly wet, I decide to take the risk and start working a few fields – altho I keep having this nagging thought that in 2 weeks I will regret it because likely the soil then will be full of clods and not good for planting; on the other hand, it may be a brilliant move – if weather and soil conditions are propitious, we may be able to transplant in those fields when none other are ready. Ah! The joys of being a farmer – the weather is the final arbiter – it may prove your actions brilliant – OR – “you should know better by now!” (which will it be? Stay tuned……).
I also tilled up a small plot (12’ x 75’) to prepare it for transplanting black currant starts into. When we cleaned up our currant patch last March, I cut a bunch of the prunings into 8” sections and had Michelle plant them in a little bed. Most of them sprouted and are ready to be transplanted. I hope to be able to plant them into their permanent home soon.
