Laughing Owl Farm

Most of our fall sowing is done. We made multiple sowings of collards, lacinato kale, spinach, beets, carrots, and arugula to spread the risk of crop failure in September.
Seeds in the ground are a long way from a harvestable crop.

Still have to finish cleaning out the greenhouse and getting stuff sowed in it. Jenifer and CJ started 1200 lettuce transplants last week that will go into the greenhouse hopefully.

Cover crop/ green manures still have to sown on land that is not in fall / winter production. Hopefully, that will start today. We are using crimson and ladino clover along with rye grain for cover crops this year.

Jenifer and I started pulling up bamboo tomato stakes Wednesday afternoon, all 600 of them. Today, we will finish, after moving the chickens and turkeys this morning to fresh pasture. Then we will rip up, by hand, 1800′ of drip line from under the straw mulch surrounding the dead tomato plants. Finally, I will till to level the area with the rotavator to knock down the fire ant hills and fill in the cow foot pockets created 2 months ago when 15 of my dad’s cows and calves got out and went roaming after a heavy rain.

Garlic Planting

I am excited about planting this year’s garlic! Especially after last year’s debacle of not getting our beautiful 85 lbs of saved garlic bulbs into the ground until late February and ending up with really crappy bulbs in last June.
Seed garlic is costly. $9 – $15 / lb. I got 25 lbs from a local source 2 hours east of here.

I received 50 lbs of gorgeous hardneck garlic today via Fed-Ex. Huge bulbs of the variety Music. I arranged a group buy to reduce costs with 4 other farms so I only get to keep and plant 20 lbs.

I will not be at market on Oct. 10. I will be planting garlic. The signs are right. The moon will be waning and in the sign of Cancer, the most fruitful sign to plant in, Oct. 10th and 11th.

We welcome volunteers to come help us plant garlic.

I know it sounds hokey and superstitious. I am not sold on planting by the signs either. But it is better than listening to cable news with video footage of the latest car chase in California…

Related posts:

1. Snakes, Frogs, Garlic
2. Planting by the Signs
3. Garlic Everywhere!
4. Spring Moves Us Forward
5. Market Updates 10/10