·:[ high hopes gardens ]:·
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The hops experiment has been somewhat successful.  The vines didn’t cover quite as much of the trellis as I’d hoped, but it did produce hops in year one!  Check out what it looked like on May 11 from the same vantage point.

So, now I’ve got to figure out what to do with them. (Actually I know what to do with them, it’s the how I lack.)

Here’s some of the harvest on the drying racks.  I’m virtually clueless on the correct time to harvest hops in this part of the country.  Any brewmasters out there have advice for me on timing and post-harvest?

one year ago…

The hops we planted this year are making a tentative start.

The experimental hops we planted this spring are making their way up the trellis.  I’ve been rather surprised that we are having a bit of a pest problem with these - as there are not many hops around to breed pests.  There are tent caterpillar-like worms that we’ve been picking off the leaves.

one year ago…

The last few days have been back in the 70s after the long early April cold snap. We still are not sure how far along the fruit tree blossoms were when the cold weather came (teens at night and 3 days without getting above freezing).  We should know in a few days to week or so if they saved the flower buds.

The rhubarb will be fine, it’s already sending up new growth from the growing point, even though the first few leaves are brown and dead.

one year ago…

Here’s a look at the furthest east side of our pasture. You can barely see the rows of Christmas trees on the far side and you can see the fencing of the hardwood trees on the left side. For now we’ve decided pasture is not the highest and best use of this ground since we have so little land and need a higher return than we can get from a few grazed cattle.

There’s a bit of higher ground on the far east side, and you can see where a couple of rows of Christmas trees will go. Down the center of the picture, we are investigating woody ornamentals that can stand wet feet. They’re in a low spot that floods maybe once or twice a year if we get a quick, heavy rain in a short time when the crops aren’t in the adjacent field. It doesn’t stick around for long, but does move through pretty good.

We’re looking at curly willow and other brightly colored willows and perhaps some marsh-loving plants like iris in the low area. The willows can be mowed every year and as a side benefit will offer great goat browse as well. I must admit - I do like researching and planning a farmscape like this. A great advantage of doing something totally different than the rest of the county is we’re the only one doing it. Of course, the disadvantage is that we’re the only ones doing it! I do however like the diversity and experimentation that we can indulge in on our little piece of old prairie ground.

one year ago…

It’s not often December 30th brings 50 degrees - we used the opportunity to get a start on some work that is usually done in late March or early April - pulling up and putting in fence. We’re moving the entire line of fence on the north side out another 10 feet so we can plant another row of trees in the north windbreak/Christmas Tree patch.

Here’s Marty working the post puller. It was actually so wet, that we didn’t need this - the posts could just be pulled out.

There’s something about working in a warm rain - I’m not sure it reminds me of camping, or if the rain provides a slight sense of urgency to get done before the rain increases. It was not unpleasant and good to get out.

one year ago…

Now that the cows are gone, the tree-destroying job has evidently been passed onto the rabbits. I noticed some chewing around the base of the trees, particularly the maples. So, now we are starting to put chicken wire around some of the trees.

Today the girls made the cages, pounded the stakes in, and protected 17 trees. More to do tomorrow!

one year ago…

This year, a number of our fairly new peach trees developed wounds on the south side of their trunks. While I was at the Small Farm Conference I spoke with someone from the Missouri experimental fruit station after a grafting workshop who told me to paint the south sides of the trunks white because the hot winter days followed by cold were causing the splits in the trunks. He said you don’t need fancy paint, interior latex works as well as anything.

It looks kind of strange to see all the white trunks offering striking contrast to the autumn browns.

one year ago…

Today might be the last day in the mid-70’s for a while. I used it to take care of lots of nagging little jobs. Fixed the oyster shell dispenser that was leaking oyster shells on the ground outside of the coop, painted the south side of the peach trees white, moved all the chicken tractors in the barn along with most of the summer outdoor furniture, started on rabbit guards on the new trees, put another coat of poly on some bookshelf shelves, and so on.

My favorite task is “pruning” the fall raspberries

Here is a row before pruning.

This is the row after pruning. The “pruner” in this case is a riding lawn mower! This beats the heck out of individual cane pruning the summer bearing berries. I’ll just throw some compost on, and they’ll be ready for next spring.

one year ago…

Today was the 2nd stage garden cleanup - mowing to shreds all the remaining plants and weeds to help them break down over winter. I did find one total surprise - some of the radicchio and chinese cabbage plants have regrown. They are early spring crops and just kind of hibernated through summer and now they are back!

I found out our power cooperative has an off-peak billing option - you pay half price for 22 hours of the day and pay three times the rate from 5-7 pm. It sounds pretty good - put a timer on the deep freezes and water heater to go off for a couple of hours and avoid laundry or clothes washing at that time - I figured it could save us up to $80/month. I’ll keep you posted how it actually works out.

one year ago…

You know you are committed when it’s 39 degrees with a 25 mph wind and you are out picking the last raspberries of the year! I had to come in three times to warm up the fingers before getting all the raspberries picked. Tonight will be the end of the growing season at last. This was the last garden gleaning before a hard frost.

This was part of the day’s harvest. In addition to this, some radishes, lettuce, and herbs were gathered. So, today was devoted to freezing the beans and berries, making one batch of salsa, and canning more tomatoes.

I wasn’t necessarily planning on this for today, but something about my upbringing can’t let the food go without one last putting away day.

one year ago…

The skyward arch of the broom corn adds an interesting accent to the farm, reaching 8-9 feet off the ground. Linda started using it in fall flower arrangements and it is even stunning, a few stalks alone in a vase. The multi-colored seed heads contribute to the beauty.

The frost was not a killing frost - only a handful of tomato plants bit the dust. The raspberries keep going…

Someone asked the variety - they are the old traditional fall variety - Heritage.

One of the neighbors had a “block” party this afternoon(A block meaning a couple of miles square) for all the old and new neighbors to get together. We had some a few years ago, but hadn’t had any for a while, so it was nice to have the tradition picked up again.

We did get a patchy frost - some raspberries had frost, others didn’t. Some tomatoes had frost, others didn’t.

We won’t know until tomorrow what was really killed and what survives to bear again.

Our raspberries refuse to surrender. We’ve been picking since mid-August. On Monday we picked 2 gallons and today (Friday) 6 more quarts. This is from a 50 foot row!
The oldest peach tree was ready for harvest as well. Three crates of peaches from it this year - about 1/2 or less of last year’s harvest from the tree, but still lotsa peaches.

So, time to make more jam, and depending how the mood strikes us tomorrow - canned or dried peaches. I would not be disappointed if it froze tonight (it won’t for quite some time yet). I’m ready for something else besides picking and putting food up (at least for a while). I don’t think I’d do very well in a place without seasons. It’s nice to anticipate, enjoy, and exhaust each season. I look forward to fall - typically a time to fix up buildings/create contrivances in the workshop after the gardens die.