| THE FURROW: The online newsletter of Howell Living History Farm |
|
|
Farmer Jeremy planted spelt today behind two horses, a dog, and a seed drill. Simultaneously, in the same field, Farmer Rob and a volunteer broadcast orchard grass seed.
After the spelt is harvested next year, the orchard grass (hopefully) will be left behind to grow into a healthy hay field that should produce for several years.
0 Comments
It's a gray, mild autumn day at Howell Farm. A few late October updates:
-The winter wheat has benefited from above average temperatures this month and is off to a fine start. -The color of the leaves on the farm appears to have peaked. Dead leaves are starting to accumulate under the trees. -The chicken house still requires a major overhaul of fencing and netting, but a temporary fence has allowed the chickens to move back in. According to rural folklore, the length of the brown section on woolly bear caterpillars can help predict the severity of the coming winter. The more brown, the legend says, the milder the winter.
What are meteorologists saying? My very informal survey of Internet news articles found predictions of above average temperatures. Much of the kitchen garden is now covered by a blanket of annual ryegrass, a cover crop that will help hold the soil in place over the winter. And today Farmer Rob seeded other areas of the garden with the same cover crop, before applying a thin layer of compost.
On Saturday, Howell Farm's wheat field was planted and harrowed. Star and Stripe, the farm's oxen in training, did some good work pulling the harrow. It usually takes a week (or less) for the first shoots of wheat to push through the soil.
Visiting school children have been roaming the corn fields of Howell Farm this month, helping to bring in the harvest. So far, they've helped gather popcorn and Indian corn, but there's still a lot of field corn to go.
In the third photo above, you can also see that one of the students found an osage orange. As Farmer Rob continues to shore up the corn crib against invasion from squirrels and mice, he's discovered some impressive mouse excavations that will require repair before the rest of the wire meshing can be installed. In general, reports around the neighborhood are that local mice are beginning to move indoors to escape the cold weather.
As expected from the forecast, New Jersey experienced its first widespread frost over the weekend, including at Howell Living History Farm. In the farm's kitchen garden, the beans are done for, and the broccoli took a hit as well.
The first frost of the year at Howell Farm usually occurs in mid-October -- and this year it appears to be on schedule. The forecast for Friday night calls for a low temperature of 31. A hard frost will put an end to some of the vegetables in the kitchen garden, including the green beans.
Last year's first frost didn't occur until October 28. This was a little later than the norm, but was most memorable because the next day, October 29, brought the biggest October snowstorm in New Jersey history. |
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. Archives
June 2015
|
RSS Feed
