Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Snake Hill
Yesterday was one of the busiest days yet on the farm. We started off by changing the oil in a vintage push rototiller. We were then given the job to construct a hoop house to place over the ginger beds. A hoop house is greenhouse of sorts. It is made by arcing tubing (either metal or plastic) over the beds and then putting a special plastic over these "hoops." Then doors are installed and you have a hoop house! It took us about 30 minutes to make it. The purpose is so that you can build a greenhouse just about anywhere to lengthen your growing season. In the afternoon we were given the lovely job of cleaning out the goat stalls! It was possibly one of the most disgusting things I have ever done in my life. Since the stalls are near impossible to clean out in the winter (because the bottom freezes over) and the rainy April made it too humid and wet, this was its first cleaning in about 5ish months. We cleaned out four heaping trailer loads of it with pitch forks. Despite how disgusting this scat-hay combination was, it was put to good use. We are composting it so that it can turn into a very rich soil that can be used in about 1-2 years.
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Wow David! That sounds sick (in both the good & bad way). How big is the farm you're working on? I'd be interested to know what you've been growing lately. It sounds like you're doing a lot of multi-season work. Is is as hard as you expected it to be so far? I'm expecting to see huge biceps on Tuesday, just so you know.
ReplyDeleteThe rural farm life you describe sounds peaceful, but rough. There's no doubt there's a lot of work involved. I'm surprised by just how much you've done so far (especially all the work in one day). Has it changed the way you think of food? Either way, it sure sounds like you've gotten a full experience so far. can't wait to hear what's next.