Mr. Combine came out of the shed to get washed for the rye harvest, and our new little duckies had a hay day! These little waddlers arrived in a box from the post office, then were moved to a crate in the shop, but were quickly exiled to the outdoor "trailer coop" as they stink to high heaven! Very messy little buggers!
In the past, ducks haven't lasted very long on this farm as night time predators take them. But these guys, for some reason, go into the trailer coop at night like the chickens, so we've been able to close them up and keep them safe. I'm optimistic these little cuties will be around for awhile! Once they get old enough to venture out and find the pond, we may not be so lucky, but for now we have funny little waddlers dashing this way and that.
What's really ducky is the rye! Last year we had four failed crops: Black Turtle Beans, Oaxacan Green Dent Corn, Potatoes and Flax. We couldn't stay ahead of the weed pressure in these fields so ended up mowing down about ten acres. This opened the land to another crop, and the timing was perfect to plant Winter Rye in early September last year. Rye is one of the best small grains to grow on an organic farm in that it provides gorgeous grain, exceptionally weed free straw, and has allelopathic properties which means is suppresses weed germination. If we could just figure out how to use allelopathy to combat weeds in other crops all farming could be chemical free! The bad thing about rye is that it needs to be planted in September which is normally well before harvest in our area, so land needs to be left fallow to bring this crop into a farm's rotation. Just for the beautiful straw, I personally believe it's worth it!
Sunflower fields 2020
The 2021 sunflowers will likely POP this week as we are getting a bit of rain today. There are specks of gold dotting our four fields of soon-to-be nodding goddesses. Get your cameras and fresh-faced kids ready for a field stroll August 5-8 - the sunflowers will be prime then!
If you stop out to see the sunflowers, please park on the farm site not on the road. Thanks!
Sending love from the farm,
Sarah