Long of Naples

This is a squash I have been watching. It is Long of Naples. I got the seed from Baker Creek. The vines are huge and vigorous - something I like. And the fruit is huge too. The thing is two feet long. I have found that most squash from Italy or France or anywhere else in western Europe do poorly in the Midwest. But this one may prove to be the exception. I hope it tastes good. If so, I'll try it as a field squash. Surely, there is more to the world of squash than Waltham butternut.

The Pumpkin Patch

Our pumpkin patch. Such a beautiful sight. I love to just stand and admire it. It made it through extreme heat and plagues of cucumber beetles (and the bacterial wilt they transport). We are growing three varieties: Winter Luxury Pie, Small Sugar and Young's Beauty. I've had a pie made from Winter Luxury pumpkins. It is heavenly. And what I love so much about pumpkins is that we can grow it organically and with only a few tractor pulled tools. So no chemical sprays or hand weeding necessary. I can't wait till harvest.

Tarahumara Popping Sorghum

No, this is not corn. This is a grain sorghum - and it's tall. It stands 10 feet (a few are 12 feet tall). It didn't really start to grow until we got some rain. In fact I didn't think it would make it. I figured it would have dried up. But to it's credit, it just waited with leaves curled day after day, week after week. Then the rain came and it tripled in size. They are now starting to flower. Hopefully, the birds will leave me some ripe seed. My sunflowers were denuded by little finches well before the seed was even half ripe. If it turns out grain sorghum is too susceptible to bird attack, I think I'll move in the direction of sweet sorghum to make molasses. Sorghum does extremely well here.

Puddles

Finally!!! Starting August 4, our summer drought has ended. What a relief!!! We had nine weeks of no rain, with temperatures in the 100s topped off with spells of crushing humidity. I'm so glad that's behind us.

Squash Harvest

This smiling group of folks is part of the farm crew hear at Bear Creek Farms. We are standing in front of a cart of winter squash. It was a hard year on the squash grow out. Many varieties lost the battle to the heat, insects and diseases. However, a few varieties persevered. Those that worked well were: spaghetti squash, golden delicious, seminole, gold striped cushaw and waltham butternut. Waltham butternut was by far the best producer.

The Spreader

Here is yet more one pto driven, three point hitch tool for the tractor. It is a spreader. Anything from fertilizer to seeds can be broadcast with it. We will be using it shortly to spread our fall cover crops.

Packing Shed Washing Machine

When dealing with many thousands of pounds of produce throughout the year, anything that can be done to decrease hand labor is highly valued by me. So let me introduce the washing machine we use to wash and sort our hybrid tomatoes. Because they have thicker skins, hybrid tomatoes tolerate machine washing. Inevitably, some are lost to bruising or cracking, but that loss is insignificant when factoring in the labor saving efficiency of mechanized washing. Contrast that with the heirloom tomatoes we also grow which must be wash individually by hand.

Attack of the Bean Beetles

This is a photo of common beans, Phaseolus vulgaris. This is the type of bean that makes green beans or pinto/navy beans when dry. When grown without any sort of human intervention, this is the result. Bean beetles make swiss cheese out of the leaves. Yes, I know that the organic farmer can use floating row cover or a few select sprays to keep the bugs away. But what I am looking for are crops with a good deal of 'resiliency'. Crops that tolerate the diseases and insects of this place with little to no attention from me - the farmer. So instead of common beans, I prefer to grow the following types of beans in the summer: summer peas (aka southern peas, cowpeas, black eyed peas), soybeans (hairy leaved types only - smooth leaf types suffer excessive bean beetle damage), lima beans and peanuts.

Onion Storage

In the room opposite the bunkhouse, the onion crop is laid out for curing. The windows are covered. An air conditioner and a de-humidifier keep the room cool and dry. The de-humidifier was set to keep the air moisture content at 35 percent. So far this is the best arrangement Jim and Robbins have come up with to cure onions. In the past they have tried to dry the onions in the field. But that didn't work. Last year they put the onions into an open greenhouse, which had been whitewashed. That was marginally successful. All told, organic field production of onions in the Midwest is a challenge. The difficulty lies in keeping them weed free while they are growing. Curing them once harvested is the next big hurdle. This year we still threw away about 2/5ths of all the onions because of neck rot.