Oak Moon Farm

Summer heat

2012-06-29T11:47:00.004-07:00

Nothing much to report as of late, too much moisture and an insect of some sort ruined the two tomatoes I had ripening, but there is another fruit developing on the plants now that the rain has calmed down. Transplanted my big broccoli plants and my elephant garlic bulbs into the front raised beds so that they could get more sun, they seemed to be languishing and not producing in the back yard. The next day the broccoli looked sad and kind of wilty, so a good early morning watering and setting up sun-shades using sheets and bamboo poles are what I hope will perk them back up

The bucket I had dumped herb seeds into in the off-chance of getting them to grow (I have terrible luck with herbs) seems to be full of life, I may have to move the contents of this ice-cream tub into a larger container soon

Baby tomatoes and grape vine

2012-05-01T07:14:00.001-07:00

Today I went into the yard to check everything because it looks like it may rain. After smashing two adult lubbers with the flat of my shovel, I checked my tomato plants and there were two baby tomatoes. It seems that moving the garden to the front yard was an excellent idea.

For Earth day, Chris bought me a Concord grape vine, I plan on training it to arch over the garden gate.

Vandalism, dead trees, and first egg!

2012-04-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the long gap between posts. There wasn't really anything to report until these past few days.

First we had a problem that the tree in our front yard, which we suspected was dead when we bought the property started to lean. Lean and lean and lean. One of Chris' family's contacts came out and took the tree down for us. Now we have a ton of firewood

The next day, I went out front to weed the garden, as the grass under the raised beds decided it wanted to grow up through the soil, and noticed some of my signs were missing. I found them laying all over the front yard and even on the sidewalk out front. along with my rain gauge. The butternut squash and several other plants had been pulled and left for dead on top of the soil. I cried. So much work, down the toilet because some bored kid decided it would be fun to destroy someone's vegetable garden. Some plants were spared, so I'm grateful for that at least.

And finally, while I was doing dishes this morning and brewing tea for myself, I noticed Gina growling and making a ruckus. She has a habit of heckling me when I'm in the kitchen so I didn't think much on it outside of how it was odd she was growling instead of her normal complaining sound. As I passed into the living room, I noticed a little perfect blue egg.

Lubber Prevention and Raised Beds

2012-03-29T17:45:00.000-07:00

A few days ago my partner informed me he had seen the critter that I consider to be my arch-nemesis: The lubber grasshopper. These foul creatures can become huge, they hiss and attack anything near them, and they shoot a nasty toxic foam from both ends. They are immune to most pesticides and nothing eats them. Luckily we caught them when they were in their nymph stage. Last year we tried to deal with the problem manually, but these beasts were too prolific. This year there was no fooling around: Chris went outside and applied Seven, as it seems to be one of the few things that will kill these garden devastators.

After enough time had passed, we assembled our raised beds and filled them with soil. We also picked up a few seedlings more mature than the ones in the back room. Some heirloom tomatoes and a few squash varieties. I put the bandywine and roma seedlings into the bed as well.

Because of my problems in the past with getting tomatoes to fruit, I decided that, since it was on sale anyways, we would see how Mater Magic would work.

Tomorrow we will move the rest of the seedlings from the back room and I will give a brief update then.

From flat to pots

2012-03-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

Despite fighting a kidney infection, I hauled a big bag of potting soil into the back room, where my sprouting exploits are taking place, and moved all of the larger sprouts into pots and put on the windowsill above the washing machine where they can grow and stretch with natural light

This gave me room to start some different seeds, This time black beans, Silver queen hybrid sweet corn, and Early prolific straight-neck summer squash. These are the beginnings of my three sisters planting. I have left the eggplant, which finally sprouted, in the flat to get a bit bigger before I transplant them.

Sprouts everywhere!

2012-03-09T10:46:00.000-08:00

Everything but the eggplant have sprouted. Watered the starter tray today, as the peat was looking a little on the dry side.

Okra and spinach sprouts

2012-03-04T10:40:00.000-08:00

We have spinach and okra sprouts, but nothing from the rest.

First set of seeds started

2012-03-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Seeds started in peat moss disks under plastic with grow light 11" from plants. We planted Roma VFN tomatoes, Brandywine tomatoes, Clemson spineless #80 okra, Avon hybrid spinach, Black Beauty eggplant, and Garden Leader Monster watermelon.

First steps

2012-03-01T07:37:00.000-08:00

I have decided to start this blog as a combination plant journal and informative, so people can learn from my mistakes as I go, And just have a peak into the life of someone in the starting stages of urban homesteading. Just me, my partner Bear, our twins, one mane coon runt cat, and my chicken

Right now I only have the one hen, an Amerucana the waitresses at the family diner affectionately dubbed "Gina". She loves leftover omelets and hash browns, especially if they have onions in them. Her home is a large ferret cage in my kitchen until Bear finishes the chicken tractor.

She has a bit of a temper and is very territorial of her cage. It feels like a constant battle to keep the floor swept, as she is fond of kicking bedding out of her cage.