What we're working on right now...

Just wanted to let you all know... all this rain, while a pain in the but for certain things we people like to enjoy doing while dry (hmmm.... basically everything? =) has been great for the thirsty clay soil over here at Coburn Cove Cooperative farmstead! This is good news for what is planted in the ground intentionally by us, but also good news for weed seeds... for example, today I saw a that a patch of the at first very innocent-looking weeds -- Hibiscus trionum aka 'fleur-des-heure' (named 'Flower of an Hour' based on the fact that it only opens its flower for a short period of time in the sunlit morning) -- had grown to nearly full size:

These guys can spread their seed quickly, and will make this (and every subsequent) year that we do the CSA here a nightmare... if we don't try and hack them down the next time the sun is out, and before they go to seed! They are literally the biggest problem weed in our plot... last year they literally ruined at least half, if not more, of our tomato crop (by preventing air circulation and encouraging mold growth). Friday, a day the weather service believes Candler (and neighboring Asheville) will have sunny skies, looks to be the day I will dedicate myself to hoeing thousands of these pretty little devils into oblivion (Project #1)

Look at the milkweed I brought from Chicago, and planted last year -- coming back, despite me tilling that entire row in with the tractor:

If its spread out FROM the clump where it exists now TO dotting throughout the plot, it will best attract pollinators (to increase fruit yields). Eventually, we'll have a perennial bed of them here, and I'll then help you learn how to enjoy the tasty 'wild' vegetable that is milkweed florets! Now, look at the corn, that my kids seeded way too close together about a month ago:

You know how kid help can be (ahem, usually is) not so much actual help, but rather, 'help.' =) These seedlings will now need to get moved to an area where they are at least two rows wide (helps cross-pollination), and spaced out to where they don't have to compete with each other. This way we'll have corn to eat towards the end of the season. Moving these two patches will be Project #2.

Finally, as soon as its thoroughly dry (and promises to be, the following day) I'll mow the grass in the small 'pastures' that we have, and use the clippings to mulch the tops of the row crops. I'd gotten used to Illinois' unbelievably easy-to-use sandy loam when I started gardening for multiple families back in Chicago, but fortunately have learned a lot about Western NC clay of late! When the soil surface here is directly exposed to sun and wind, it can dry into a painfully impermeable surface... so I need to protect it from that! This task, Project #3, will definitely have to wait until we have a longer period of sunshine.

Well, that's the news for this week at CCC. Pay attention (CSA members) to your email inboxes, as I'll be emailing out a survey asking you about BOTH an optimal date for our beginning-of-season party here at the homestead, AS WELL AS which of the downtown farmer's markets you'd prefer our distro be nearby to...