Blog Archives - THE FURROW: The online newsletter of Howell Living History Farm

Sweet Potatoes

8/26/2014

Farmer Rob harvested the sweet potatoes in the kitchen garden one month earlier than last year's harvest. He wants to use the late-August heat to cure the potatoes outside (for better storage), rather than heating and drying the potatoes inside. An earlier harvest will also mean fewer giant potatoes, which are often less tasty.

Rob says some of this year's potatoes split or burst, likely a result of prolonged dry weather followed by bouts of wet. But overall he's happy with the season's potato haul.

Sugar Babies

8/26/2014

The Sugar Baby watermelons in the kitchen garden are beginning to size up. They will be ready when the vines begin to shrivel and turn brown where they attach to the melon.

Corn in the Market Garden

8/26/2014

The corn is this year’s Howell Farm corn maze is looking the best it has in years. It’s thick and tall and will undoubtedly cause many maze-goers to wander hopelessly as they seek the exit.

Over in the market garden, where the farm’s popcorn and sweet corn is growing, it’s a slightly different story. The deer population in this part of the state is extremely high--111 deer per square mile according to one recent report; 11 times higher than pre-colonial population estimates—and a slight delay in putting up an electric fence was all the deer needed to graze the corn and stunt its growth. Although the crop has recovered since the electric fence was installed, it’s not as healthy as it might have been.

Potato Harvest

8/20/2014

Saturday's potato harvest yielded 1,460 pounds of potatoes for donation to the Greater Mercer Food Cooperative, plus a few more pounds for on-the-farm potato chips. Joining our farmers and Jack and Chester the draft horses were some 34 families from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and North Carolina, plus 11 returned Peace Corps volunteers.

Video of some harvesting action by Jeff Kelly:

Last Drives of Summer

8/20/2014

With September almost upon us, it's the end of the Intern season. Intern Katie's last day was Saturday, and Intern Alex's last day will be this coming Saturday.

Today, Intern Alex took the oxen for a spin--not just for old times' sake, but also to fill up a garbage can with sawdust.

Farmers Meeting

8/20/2014

A few highlights from the weekly farmers’ meeting:

-Fall plowing is coming soon, and Farmer Jeremy is curious to put a plow in the ground to see how the soil turns over. He’s afraid it’s been too dry. “I have a feeling we won’t be able to plow until it rains,” he said. Hopefully that will be before the plowing match in two weeks.

-Farmer Jeremy also remarked that it’s been the best fly season he’s ever seen. By best, he means he’s hardly seen any of the big, hard-biting “bombers” that harass the draft horses and oxen for a few weeks each summer.

-Around the farm today there will be fence-post fixing, hay baling, and draft horses rides for visiting children.

Corn Maze Coming Soon

8/14/2014

The corn in the Howell Farm corn maze is standing 10 feet tall, in some sections taller still. After a corn maze last year that wasn’t Howell Farm’s best ever, due to deer damage, a deer fence installed early on this season has helped produced a beautiful maze.

This year’s sports-themed corn maze opens to the public on September 13.

Here are all the dates:

Saturday September 13, 20 & 27: 12-8 pm, last exit 9 pm
Sunday September 14, 21 & 28: 12-4 pm, last exit 5 pm

Friday October 3, 10, 17 & 24: 5-8 pm, last exit 9 pm
Saturdays in October: 12-8 pm, last exit 9 pm
Sundays in October: 12-4 pm, last exit 5 pm

Information:

Weekends: (609) 397-2555
Weekdays: (609) 737-3299

Admission:

Ages 10 & up: $10
Ages 5-9: $8
Ages 4 and under free

Group Rates for 20 or more, pre-paid (call for details)

Pre-Harvest

8/14/2014

Howell Farm’s annual potato harvest is this Saturday, August 16. Farm staff, interns and visitors will pick potatoes to be donated to the Greater Mercer Food Cooperative.

The harvest will take place from 11am to 3 pm. Visitors of all ages can join the harvest crew for as long or short a time as they like.

Today, Farmer Rob got an early start to the harvest with the help of some young visitors. He says that, considering the lack of rain and munching deer, the potato yield was looking pretty good.

Driving Lessons

8/14/2014

After lessons in mucking stalls, feeding, watering, brushing, and harnessing, the excitement for a novice draft horse driver rises considerably once he or she finally gets the lines in their hands. Today, Farmer Kevin gave Intern Katie a lesson in ground driving—driving the horses when not attached to any equipment.

Like any good relationship, the relationship between a driver and horses relies on good communication. In this case, that relationship includes verbal commands, body language, keeping the right amount of tension on the lines, and well timed tugs on the lines to indicate a desire to turn left or right.

Backing

8/6/2014

Backing oxen to be hooked to a farming implement is somewhat akin to parallel parking. Intern Katie did well today during some practice sessions.

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.

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