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Category Archives: Grammy's Pumpkin Patch

New Additions!

17 Jul

     

So I am back from roguing corn in Iowa, and I am back to growing pumpkins. Both jobs are a bit difficult in a very dry summer. Because it has been so dry and brown here, it is fun to see new life at the farm! We have several new additions to introduce to you.  First, Grammy and Papa have brought some new “ladies” to the farm–guinea hens.  There are 10 new guineas that are getting familiar to the coop and us. The darker ones are the same variety that we have had in the past.  They are Helmeted Guineas, and they will look like the older guineas in the last picture in a few months. The four lighter ones are called Lavender Guineas (I think).  I will have to do some more research to find out.  My kids are trying to befriend the new “ladies” with oatmeal and millet.  So far they are still pretty flighty and timid.  Am I crazy to think that they are kind of cute?  By the way if you see the birds that don’t look like either type of guinea, those are the quail that Papa hatched (again, don’t ask).

Speaking of cute, we also found a new litter of kittens in the shed yesterday. I didn’t take a picture because they are so young, and last time that mommy cat moved her litter after we found them.  We couldn’t find them after that, so we are hoping that bringing her a cozy bed and some milk will help her keep them around.  They are so cute! My kids can’t wait to be able to play with them.

And last, but not least, are the new laying hens. We have replaced our chickens that were lost in the “Great Chicken Massacre” of 2012. Grammy and Papa chose some different varieties (all Heritage Birds). I can’t remember them all, but I’ll check. Right now they are molting (not super pretty), so they won’t lay for a couple of weeks, and then we will be back in the egg business!

Grammy’s Pumpkin Patch 2012
 
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Posted by on July 17, 2012 in Grammy's Pumpkin Patch

 

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One Lone Coon

09 Jul

So one lone coon has been trapped near the chicken coop. Papa is pretty sure that it took more than one coon to do that much damage. The 3 surviving hens have been quite hesitant to leave their nests these past couple of days. How sad!

Grammy’s Pumpkin Patch 2012
 
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Posted by on July 9, 2012 in Grammy's Pumpkin Patch

 

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Sad News From the Coop

07 Jul

I am actually in Iowa right now.  My husband and I have temporarily traded pumpkin farming in McPherson, KS for corn roguing in Traer, IA.  It is kind of a working vacation.  I have not decided which is better:  pumpkin flood irrigating and weeding or corn roguing, both in 100+ degree weather.  So, since we are here, mom and dad (Grammy and Papa) are keeping us up to date on the pumpkins and farm life in Kansas.

Last night they called with sad news.  Something got into the chicken coop, killing 10 chickens!  Papa had been leaving the windows open with screen coverings, so the chickens wouldn’t roast prematurely in this weather.  Apparently, some critter, (maybe a raccoon??) clawed through the window frame and screen to reek havoc in the coop.  Grammy opened the coop door to a very sad sight in the morning 😦  Farming is not always easy. The crazy thing is that whatever killed the chickens didn’t bother the young guinea hens or the 3 quails in the other half of the coop.  We are thankful for that.

The guinea hens had slowly been disappearing throughout the spring because they preferred to roost outside in the trees during nice weather instead of in the safety of the coop. Every couple of nights one would “disappear”, so Papa and Grammy had recently brought 10 new ones to the farm. Glad they are safe.  The quail–don’t ask–let’s just say Papa rescued a nest and hasn’t yet released them into the big bad world.

Needless to say, Papa is setting a live trap out for the next couple nights.  I’ll let you know if the culprit is caught.

Grammy’s Pumpkin Patch 2012
 
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Posted by on July 7, 2012 in Grammy's Pumpkin Patch

 

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Just What I Like!

18 Jun

Ahhh…this is my favorite time of the growing season! The plants have sprouted, and the weeds, bugs, and deer are leaving everything alone for the time being. Our hay bale seeds actually sprouted faster than the fields. The conventionally and strip-tilled patches were next. The no-till plants have proved to be the slowest to come up, but they are beginning to peek out. The rain from last week (approximately 2 inches) has proven to be the lifesaver for our crop-literally!

Hay bale gardening

This is the strip-tilled patch into the radish crop

Here is the no-till patch with the radish cover crop

 
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Posted by on June 18, 2012 in Grammy's Pumpkin Patch

 

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Pumpkin Planting

14 Jun

How did it get to be June again??? June, of course, to pumpkin farmers means planting time. We planted three different patches this year.  The method to our madness is to better manage watering, weeding, and bugs. I hope our experimenting pays off. Our fields are separated into conventionally-tilled, strip-tilled, and no-till patches.

We used a cover crop of radishes (with some volunteer triticale)  this year for our no-till and strip-till patches. The idea with no-till farming is conservation of the soil and its nutrients, bug and weed control. We chose radishes as a cover crop because they have been somewhat effective in squash bug control. Our timing in planting the radishes was a bit of an experiment as well. Normally, they would have been planted in September and died off already, but pumpkins are still in the field in September, so our cover crop was planted late.  It had not died off when we planted the pumpkins. Half of the main patch is planted no-till and half of it is planted as a strip-till patch. I am a believer in no-till farming, but I have to admit that it makes me nervous not to see a freshly plowed and tilled field with neat furrows!

We planted another patch with mainly minis, giants, and gourds. This is our school and train patch. We did plant this patch with conventional tilling. We plan to use weed block and irrigation in this patch as it is smaller.

Around the house, we have experimented with some straw bale planting as well. The popcorn is also planted. We are looking forward to some great popped corn on the cob!

So with almost everything planted, we now have to pray that our experimenting will pay off and that the rains will come! This waiting part is not my specialty, but it is always a great reminder to me that God is the ultimate gardener, and He will provide all our needs.

 
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Posted by on June 14, 2012 in Grammy's Pumpkin Patch

 

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