I think I have been focussing too much on the animal products of our farm (lambs, kids, wool). So I thought I would take a moment to appreciate the plant products here.
We have had a relatively wet and cool spring. This has been really good for some of our crops.
Peas
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Radishes
It has not been good for the warm season crops. Tom just planted the green beans and corn yesterday, and it is only in the upper 50’s today. And we have had issues with the greenhouse starts. First mice ate most of our starts, and now slugs are enjoying them. But despite this we have some life in the greenhouse as well.
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Squash
In general our orchard is having an amazing year. We have more fruit set than we have ever seen.
Peaches
Asian Pears
Currants
Apples
Pears
Blueberries
Crabapples
Raspberries
I managed to forget to take a photo of our absolutely loaded plum trees. Our cherry trees are struggling this year, and our grape vines were killed by the goats last year. But we expect an amazing year for cider and wine production here. In fact, we have a large rhubarb crop so the winemaking has already begun.
Rhubarb wine
The other event here is what Tom calls the “raping” of the hillside. They are clear cutting a hill near our home. But one man’s plant harvesting is another man’s tree harvesting. It is ugly to look at though, and the chain saws starting at 6:00 AM on a Sunday morning is less than pleasant as well.
