Sundog Farms

Sundog CSA May 23rd, 2022

Welcome to the first week of the ’22 season! We could almost, not quite, copy the words from the beginning of last season as to what our gardening world looks like from the top of the hill - wet and lush! Lush growth of weeds and crops is what we are looking at and what we have been trying to plant into this spring. Most springs we would have been able to plant in the tunnels as with their plastic covers, they remain dry. Winter and spring weather, mostly high winds, effectively punched those covers on both tunnels so they are in the process of being repaired. We were able to “late-plant” tomatoes, peppers and eggplants into the structures a week ago so now Dan is having to maneuver the ladder around tubes and drip tapes. Katy and Dan spent Sunday afternoon working on the top tunnel and by the late end of the day, it was covered and secure. The bottom tunnel is still on the to-do list. The rest of the gardens are in various stages of plantings as we stick things in between rains. We were lucky last week as the large hail did very little damage to our crops, although it shredded blooming flowers and de-leafed trees and probably did not do the roof any favors! 😊 We continue to be grateful that we are not facing the drought that western Kansans are seeing this spring.

Cows, goats, pigs, chickens and various other beings keep everyone busy with chores. There are new boundaries for the cows due to our land clearing project finally getting started. We have been lucky enough to find someone, Mark, who is willing to tackle years of neglect which translates to lots of small and large trees (mostly cedar and locust, neither of which are welcome in a grass pasture) and underbrush taking over what was once pasture. It has been so good to see the land bare and sprouting weeds and hopefully some grass as Mark makes his way from one end to the other with a fierce tree cutting blade on the front of his skid steer. In addition, new fencing is being put in. Our neighbor to the north co-fenced that boundary with me over the past few months. I am lucky to have my sister and her husband on the west side of me and even luckier to have my brother-in-law take on that boundary line. We hope to be able to do our share as soon as we get the tunnels under control and some of the fallen trees cut for firewood. It feels good to see some of these long-planned projects come off of the to-do list. And it will feel even better to see grass growing once again and be able to find our cows without peering under trees as they play hide and seek with us.

NEXT WEEK: Due to the Monday holiday, we will start with regular deliveries on the first Monday in June so we will be skipping next week.

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK -

  • Rhubarb

  • Lettuce and Mixed Greens

  • Turnips

  • Green Onions

  • Peas or Asparagus

  • Sage and Mint

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Izzy’s baby chicks born Friday, May 20.

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Meet Hank, newest resident on the hill.

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Moonset on a spring evening – listening to the first songs of the whippoorwills and watching lightning bugs.

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Before the repairs – a pretty big job! 😊

As I carry feed out to the pigs who are at home in their “mud spa”, I have to keep reminding myself that I am grateful for the rains as each pig nudges the other one aside in order to nuzzle up to me, coating my pants with a thick layer of their beauty lotion. From about 3 inches below my knees, my pants, when dry, will stand up by themselves. And yes, I am grateful for the rain!

Blessings from the farm - Teresa, Seth, Izzy, Katy, Dan, Jen and Zach