We're back on the hay wagons again. Since there isn't any second cut hay in sight we've returned to first cut, making squares out of some overly mature grasses that will keep the horses well fed this winter. Long ago seem the days that we dreamed of getting three cuttings off of … [Read more...] about Full and By Farm: Late Blight Update
Full and By Farm Essex
Full and By Farm: Help from Mother Nature & Texans
The fields thirstily drank up three quartersinch of rain yesterday. I had just begun to irrigate very modestly again, taking just a little water for short spurts of time, and only for the most critical new plantings. I am most grateful for the help from mother nature, a … [Read more...] about Full and By Farm: Help from Mother Nature & Texans
Full and By Farm: Water Issues
On Friday our spring ran dry. We cobbled together a makeshift water system for ourselves and the animals—siphoning out of the pond and trucking tanks of water down from the neighbors—interjecting short-term disaster control with long-term planning. Tuesday and Wednesday we buried … [Read more...] about Full and By Farm: Water Issues
Full and By Farm: We Need a Drink
The scant quarter inchof rain we finally collected this week was not enough to make much of a dent in the dry soil. The vegetables and pastures are hurting badly for it with stunted vegetative growth and poor yields. Many of the crops that are starting to come in are coming with … [Read more...] about Full and By Farm: We Need a Drink
Full and By Farm: Adages to Live By
In the early days—before the arrival of the horses—lifting, pulling, dragging, and cultivating were all done by hand, and shoulder, back, and leg. James coined our first farm motto then "putting the arm back in farming." Lightning and Thunder arrived just in time, as … [Read more...] about Full and By Farm: Adages to Live By