Seed Farm Update

Mark from Georgia asked for an update. Good timing, Mark! I planned to visit the seed farm today.

Rather than load the 330 gallon tote into the truck, I opted to full the green jugs with water. The seed farm is dry, so I have to bring in my own water. Every time I go there I always bring whatever water I can fit on the truck. Currently the water reserves are down to 150 gallons, so I need the bring some water with me today.

By not using the 330 gallon tote, I have room to load grass clippings, buckets of soil, and plants. Three more trays of soil and I'm ready to go. 

The baby taro is growing. I've not grown taro here before so I'm not sure if the wind will hinder it. But so far, so good. I used the clippings that I brought to re-mulch the two rows on the right. Over the next few days I'll bring more to do the other four rows. While I'll eat some of this taro, I hope to be able to sell it to other gardeners. 

This is my first attempt at Lima beans on this farm. This variety is Black Knight. It's a pole type and I'll use the fence as its trellis. I'm growing it for a seed crop. Rather than devote a full row to it, I'm first trying out 10 plants to see how it does, 

The little bananas that I planted last month are all pushing new leaves. Bananas are a thirsty crop, so in order to conserve water for them I will build up a thick mulch around them. I've been cutting the tall grass, weeds, and other vegetation to use for mulch. It's coarse but effective. 

The next two projects for the seed farm are:

1- rebuild and replant the grow boxes

2- plant sweet potatoes as a living mulch around the taro

Mulching is a must on this farm. The wind and sun dry out things super fast....as in 24 hours after a rain. But I am finding that if I can keep the ground covered, what little soil there is between the rocks tends to stay moist for days. My goal is to have a thick and healthy enough mulch layer to keep the soil moisture in for weeks between rains.