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Low hanging clouds full of rain dropping their load on our plants is a sight to see and revel on here in far west Texas. It is such a different summer than last year where I couldn't bear to see the sun anymore by October. When we took our break in the winter, all we did was stay indoors, eat, sleep and watch movies.
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To have the rain break our routines on occasion is such a welcome moment. You know if you live here that rain doesn't last long, and like Dan says "we hardly ever get gentle rain here." But yesterday we did, and while I continued my preserving adventure, I was looking out the kitchen window how the drops were falling and the plants literally rejoicing in each one of them. It makes my heart tender to see all that and know what it does to all the living beings.
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Hope you enjoy the rain in this little video.
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#floweringlifefarms #farwesttxfarm #whenitrainsinthedesert
Never too much green. All the beautiful plants. Love them ALL.
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#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #eatyourveggies #farwesttxfarm #farmingbigbend
Beans!!! As in green beans. Can't wait for a handful steamed. Loving our weather, so I can enjoy this summer.
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#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #eatyourveggies #farmingbigbend #eatlocal #twofarmersinapod #farwesttxfarm
That rain on Sunday! So sweet ro hear its sound. I am ready for more.
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#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #eatyourveggies #farmingbigbend #monsoonseason
More goodies coming! Seedlings are ready for transplant. Green, green, green. #eatyourgreens
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#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #eatyourveggies #farmingbigbend #farwesttxfarm
We are on staycation for a few more days, but we are starting to harvest cucumbers. They will be on the order form soon!! I love cucumbers!
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#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #eatyourveggies #farmingbigbend
Black Magic Kale was transplanted today. Plus peppers and eggplants are starting to set fruit.
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#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #eatyourveggies #farmingbigbend #eatlocal
Overhead irrigation. Trying everything. Maybe this will work?
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#newinfrastructure #floweringlifefarms #thanktheheavensforcoolingrain #workingoutthekinks #whenwehaveamillionotherthingstodo
Looking pretty dark and ominous out there. But after last week's #hailstorm #marfatx, we are not taking chances. I guess we are prepared?! We will see.
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#floweringlifefarms #farwesttxfarm #ifithailsicryfortheplants
The big mess has been tackled. The flowers, herbs and medicinals are in. After dealing with walk-in cooler issues and having everything delayed for a day or two, today's rain enouraged me to take on this area of the farm that's been calling me for weeks. Only a few plants will need to be added, then the mulch and it should be ready for the summer to give us blooms. I am excited.
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#farmstandday is this Friday. See you then.
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#floweringlifefarms #herbsandmedicine #flowersatourfarm #pollinatorgarden
Let's talk about the crops that don't make it. Or that don't do so well, or that need help to germinate. While lettuce looks great, carrots have barely come up and are struggling to germinate. We've had a hard time getting them going for now. More need to be planted and probably some by hand. Ugh.
Then there are the cucumbers (where you see the pink saw horses) that never made. Again we planted too early, and they suffered, so new ones are in flats. Hours of tending to the last batch are now composted.
Lastly, I am looking at the dahlias I planted from seed and hope they will make it. I am not taking any special precautions, so am hoping they will be ok. They seem to grow very slow, which makes me nervous. So, I am waiting.
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#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #farmingbigbend #farwesttxfarm #alpinetx #marfatx #marathontx
Going through the walk-in refrigerator showing some of what we are offering at the #farmstand Carrots, beets, radishes and many types of greens, plus not pictured are the shoots and microgreens and the bedding plants. It was good to see everyone today. Looking forward to next week.
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#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #farmingbigbend
An update from the field and the nursery all at once because social media break made the days kind of melt into each other.
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Far West Texas is getting warmer by the day. Most of thw field has been planted and when you see this video that was shot only a few days ago, you can't see how much everything has grown in this short time. Greens love this weather, and we will soon be over this period of "when are you having greens again?".
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Most of the nursery has been moved outside. The latest we have re-potted are the cherry tomatoes which are now hardening for Friday's #farmstandday plus all the rest of the summer vegetables. Eggplants and sweet peppers will be on our menu, also cucumbers will be back, along with our regulars the summer squash. Which, by the way it is blooming. I am holding a little contest to see whether we will have summer squash before we have lettuce. A weird year for sure.
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That's about it. Hope you enjoy the short spring if you live in West Texas. If somewhere else, enjoy spring for all of us here. It is almost summer time.
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#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #farmingbigbend #farwesttxfarm #alpinetx
Tomato re-potting. Take your plant out of the original pot, add a handful of soil at the bottom, put your tomato plant into the larger pot, cover with soil about 2 inches above the original soil level, tamp it down well, and water generously.
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As you can see, the plant fits into a pot about 4x the size of the original pot. When you add that much more space for growth and you bury about 2 inches of the stem, your tomato plant will develop strong roots, and a strong stem. This size pot can hold your tomato plant for about 2 more weeks, if you don't yet have your beds ready to plant them.
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tomatoes
>> like to have space to grow their roots in
>> need regular watering, but no soggy soil for extended time
>> do better if you water them at the soil level, instead from above; this prevents disease development
>> need support either in form of trellis (indeterminate varieties) or cages/stakes (determinate varieties)
>> if indeterminate, they need to be pruned regularly to maintain 1 stem and no offshoots, this way you will have a tomato plant producing until frost time
>> if determinate, they will produce a LOT of fruit all at once, and then take a break, bloom again and set new fruit again in a 2 week span
>> are heavy feeders, so investigate at your local nursery or garden center where you can get your hands on some non-toxic, made for organic agriculture fertilizers.
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Check our post on how we transplant larger plants in the field to follow those instructions, if you are ready to plant this weekend.
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Here in West Texas, we are having a week of warm temperatures, so you could plant your tomatoes in the ground. Do it earlier in the day, and see that in the first two days they don't get too hot. Always check for temperatures below 40 F, and cover your tomatoes with agricultural fabric during the night. They will appreciate that. That's it for now.
#floweringlifefarms #howtorepottomatoes #zone8bfarm
#lovetomatoes
Let's talk transplanting bigger plants: here in the video you can see Dan transplanting summer squash.
1. You dig a large enough hole
2. Water the empty hole generously
3. Take plant out of the pot gently
(Intermediate step dip in liquid fertilizer made to formula. We use fish emulsion for organic farming. If you bought plants from us, yoir plants have been fertilized the week you bought them, so if you plant them right away, no need to fertilize again.)
4. Drop plant in and cover it with dirt. (Tomato stems can be buried about 2 inches deeper below the soil level - they will send out new roots and will be stronger.)
5. Make a wide enough berm around the plant so that when you water, the moisture is retained around the plant.
6. Keep an eye on your recent transplants, and make sure they are watered appropriately, but not overwatered and protected during the cold nights like we are having here, now.
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We keep our squash uncovered during the day, but we cover with agricultural fabric during the night to protect against freeze. Some nights might be warm enough not to cover, but until May 1st there are no guarantees. So we protect our plants.
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We transplant like this all kinds of vegetables: zucchini and other squashes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, flowers like marigold, cabbages and cauliflower.
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Happy planting!
#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #farmingbigbend #plantsale #howtotransplantsquash
Update from the field: it's starting to look like a spring farm. Lots of lettuce is in, Asian greens, and radishes as well. We have more greens that are ready to be transplanted. We might even get carrots and beet seeds in the ground this week since we have such warm weather this week.
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#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #farmingbigbend #eatyourgreens
Earlier in the week this happened: transplanted baby butter lettuce. I am already dreaming of crunchy, buttery lettuce heads that look like flowers. With Helen's help, the transplanting job was accomplished that day. So exciting!
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#floweringlifefarms #farmtotable #farminginwesttx #farmingbigbend #paperpottransplanter
