Cabbage planted

Today was the last day dad had work at Penn State (until August), so now he has all day to farm. This week he plowed up more fields in the evenings, did some spraying, and planted more corn. He and mom laid plastic, some white below the gas house for cabbages, and some long rows below the red shed for zucchini, cucumbers, and some of Jamie's pumpkins. On Wednesday we planted about twelve flats of cabbage, plus a few Napa cabbages. The planted worked smoothly; we could just ride along and shove the plants in. Last evening they planted the next batch of onions--500 of them. In the picture mom is poking the holes and opening the point. Dad's job is to drop the onion down the tube. It took them about an hour to get them all planted.

Here you can see the first planting of corn is up several inches. On the other side of the row, a later crop is coming up.
Three weeks ago I started the seeds for the large gourds and pumpkins. I planted eight Big Max pumpkins, and seven different kinds of lagenaria: bushel, zucca, African wine kettle, snake, luffa, Chinese bottle, and mini bottle. They take extra long for growing and can have spotty germination, so I wanted to be sure that they would grow--as you can see, at least half of each kind have.

We received some much needed rain this past week...0.7 inch! The first planting of lettuces, onions, and sweet corn form neat rows down the field. The second planting of lettuces has been transplanted in the greenhouse. Phil has planted seeds for the third planting of lettuces. Today we moved the peppers and some tomatoes outdoors so they become accustomed to the wind and the cool night temperatures. The plants are being fertilized every 5 or 6 days. They look so healthy! Some of the peppers are getting flowers! The irises around the farm are in bloom...blue flags, and white and peach bearded ones.

More pictures from planting

If you follow these web links you can see a video of mom laying plastic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBhOHEL8LwU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EED6MrRP4ZA

Dad's holding the hose as the water tank fills.

Mom and I are waiting to start the first row; this was before we realized that they wouldn't go in so easily.

Today, dad planted the first of the onions. Later, mom and I helped him finish. The little lettuce plants are half-lost in the field, and you can't even see the onion sets. There are two between each lettuce plant.

Plants in the ground

• Last Saturday Mom tried to ease the crowding in the greenhouse by moving the lettuce and biggest cabbage to outside benches. Then, because Sunday night the temperature was predicted to drop down into the 30's, she moved them back in. Monday after work dad spread fertilizer and harrowed it in. That stirred up some dust; we need rain.

• Tuesday evening he and mom laid plastic and drip irrigation tape. It's white plastic instead of black to reflect the sun and keep the ground a little bit cooler.
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  By Wednesday morning, deer had walked across it in three places. That evening we put our own holes in it, planting the lettuce. We were set up to use the water-wheel transplanter, but it was too deep and muddy for the little plants. Instead, after driving down the row to make holes and drop plants, we went back and set them by hand. We managed to get two rows done before it got dark. I don't have any pictures of this part; I was actually working instead of taking photos.
  

As you can see, the greenhouse is getting pretty full. Most of what you see is tomato plants (left and center) and peppers (bright green on the right). The empty peat pots on the lower right are where the cucumbers are started. At the very bottom are the onions.





This table shows tomatoes (at the bottom), the dark red spots are lettuces, as are some of the lighter greens. Way at the back is the blue-green of cabbage. In addition we have some more exotic greens, like Chinese cabbage, pak choi, and raab. Mixed in are some flowers: zinnias, marigolds, salvia, and alyssum.


Yesterday I walked along the corn field, and I think that I saw the first corn sprout. Of course, it could also be grass.


Here are the zucchini planted about a week and a half ago; the tiny things are basil, planted two weeks ago.