• Home
  • Furrow Archives (2009-2010)
  • Farmbedded Archives (2008)
  • Photos
THE FURROW: The online newsletter of Howell Living History Farm

Swarm

5/9/2013

0 Comments

 
An old saying goes, "A swarm in May is worth a load of hay."

On Saturday, a swarm of honeybees left one of Howell Farm's hives and settled on a nearby tree branch overhanging the creek. (Bees swarm when their colonies are doing well and they've run out of room for honey and new workers.) Fortunately, swarms are very docile, as the bees gorge themselves on honey before leaving home. Farmer Gary placed an empty hive beneath the swarm -- halfway in the creek -- climbed a ladder, and sawed off the tree branch until the swarm settled into the new hive. After giving the swarm some time to settle, he moved the hive a few miles down the road to the location of Howell Farm's workshop. The idea behind moving the swarm away from the old hive is that the bees will get used to their new home--they can become confused if their new hive is too close to their old hive. After a few days, once the swarm is acclimated, the hive will be moved back to Howell Farm.
0 Comments

Corn Planting 

5/9/2013

0 Comments

 
This Saturday is Howell Farm's corn planting program. It is said that you can plant corn when the oak leaves are the size of squirrel's ears.  This photo by Intern Virginia is of the small tree by the picnic area.
0 Comments

Sprouted/Green Sprouted

5/9/2013

0 Comments

 
As discussed a few weeks ago on this blog, Farmer Rob planted both sprouted and green sprouted potatoes this year. The photo on the right shows a green sprouted potato, which we hope will be ready for harvest a little sooner this year.
0 Comments

Weeding the Oats

5/9/2013

0 Comments

 
The weeder works the top inch of soil removing superficial weeds, while sparing oats planted 2 inches deep. (photo by Virginia Perry Unger)
0 Comments

Harrowing

5/9/2013

0 Comments

 
After covering the potato seed pieces with the plow, the field was rolled to crumble the soil and press down the furrow slices.  The next step was harrowing twice with the spike tooth harrow, pictured here.  This step levels the field to make cultivating less bumpy, and will be repeated in a week to uproot superficial weeds.  The harrow works about 2 inches deep over potatoes planted 5 inches deep.
0 Comments

Work and Rest

5/1/2013

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

Spring plowing

5/1/2013

0 Comments

 
Spring plowing continues... Intern Virginia guides the plow through this year's cornfield.
0 Comments

Potatoes

5/1/2013

0 Comments

 
Thanks to the help of a crew of volunteers on Saturday, the potatoes are in. The wooden post in the photo above marks the line between the Yukon Gold potatoes Farmer Rob green sprouted and the Yukon Gold potatoes that were not green sprouted. The question we hope to answer is rather straight-forward: Does green sprouting potatoes lead to a better or earlier yield?
0 Comments

The Gate

5/1/2013

0 Comments

 
The tub yard's handsome new gate has been hung with care. Ever since, the horses have been sniffing at it with curiosity, perhaps to determine whether it will be good to nibble on, or perhaps contemplating whether it can be opened by a horse.
0 Comments

Up

5/1/2013

0 Comments

 
A close inspection of the recently planted field of oats reveals that yes indeed, the oats are up and looking healthy.

These oats will feed the very same horses that helped plant them.
0 Comments
Forward>>

    About

    The Furrow is the online newsletter of The Friends of Howell Living History Farm. We will be updating this site about once a week with crop reports and other insights into life on a horse-drawn living history farm.

    Howell Farm is owned by Mercer County and operated by the Mercer County Park Commission.

    Funding for the Howell Living History Farm Furrow is made possible in part by an operating grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. 

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.