Well, it finally rained.
Right in the middle of the harvest, of course.
A friend of mine had her birthday on Thursday and we went into Wpg for it, there were combines everywhere. She was hoping for rain for her b’day but didn’t get it…it came on Friday, and again today.
After my harvest on Thursday, this was all I had left:
I could have finished it but I wanted <oh! a big clap of thunder! There has hardly been any thunder during these rains. And it’s started raining again.> to leave the rest in for a couple more days. Yes, I knew there was rain in the forecast, but honestly this year my motto has been: Unless it is raining on my head, there is no rain. The “30% chance of precipitation” was like: whatever…
So it rained quite a bit on Friday and I finished the harvest yesterday morning. The remaining garlic was wet for sure so I hung them in batches of 3 instead of 5. They’re closest to the door of the barn, so they should be ok. Fingers crossed.
I forgot to write about the last irrigation episode on July 28th. I got a 3/4 ton truck from a friend, then went to another friend’s to pick up the 1000L water tote, pump, and his hose. I took my hose from here at the house. It took 2 hours to gather everything together and take it all back. Once I filled up with water and went to the farm, the actual irrigation of 2 tote’s full of water took 2 hours, including going to fill up the tote again. I had a big sprinkler set up on one of the hoses and on the other one I went from plant to plant down the Music rows. What a hassle! I was a little worried that giving them a blast of water like that would cause them to split, but it didn’t. I did about 550 plants that way, before I ran out of water. I have to devise a better way next year. Trying to find a 3/4 ton truck is a big challenge. Also overhead watering with a sprinkler is definitely not the most efficient way to water a crop that is under a good deal of straw mulch. Back to the drawing board…I’ll have a plan by the end of September for sure. Or…is it going to rain in June & July next year? Can anyone tell me? Please!!
Good Food from Prairie Roots 