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When I started on this farming adventure I will now admit I was more than ignorant and to a great extent made a good number of mistakes. But, along the way also made a number of discoveries and have come out on the other side a wiser farmer who truly can now enjoy the harvest! As always, click each photo for a better view.
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Every morning I rise to go into the backyard and pick vegetables for the day and it feels just as I had imagined.
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The sprinkler system has made watering effortless as it doles out the allotted ration for the day. There have been a few casualties along the way though. The Summer squash got a fungus and had to be pulled up. It produced squash but the fungus would cause them to rot before they reached even a decent size.
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But the sweet corn is doing just great despite an attack of corn beetles (had to do a little reading to get rid of them) and corn is forming all over. By the 4th of July there should be corn on the cob for everyone.
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The tomatoes are great but a surprising treat has been the cucumbers. They are sweet and juicy unlike what I have experienced from the supermarket. Sometimes I go out to cut a few and eat one as I am picking. I have placed them in cages so they grow up rather than out and it is always fun to lift the leaves looking for the juicy wonder!
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The monster crop of spaghetti squash has just now begun taking off and I have made sketches of the barrier I plan to erect to separate them from the rest of the crop.
But, the watermelons have begun to spread just as much. I find it funny that one day you see this little thing the size of a marble and a few days later it turns into the makings of a melon. Very strange and wonderful indeed!
But, more than anything, I have new found respect for what real farmers go through on a larger scale. And, Daddy has not admitted defeat just yet but even he has given grudging respect to the work I put in to produce my harvest...