Seed Farm Update

I was down at the seed farm today. I only had a hour for working, so I surely didn't get everything done, but it felt good to be working down there anyway. The sun was out, it was warm but there was a great breeze blowing. Paradise! 

The warmth and the wind are two reasons why this location is usable for seed production.....it stays hot and dry. Things don't rot, seeds don't prematurely sprout. 

This photo didn't turn out to be the best, but you can see that the pea vines actually dried out. That would not have happened at the homestead farm. So I consider the seed farm a success...at least partially. The soil fertility is terrible, plus there's hardly any soil. But it's a start. 

The pea vines only reached 3 feet in length and only produced 2-3 pods per plant. Pretty pathetic for a normally 5-6 foot vine. The soybeans were only half their normal height. So the ground needs lots of improvement and soil building. 

I did get to harvest peas, soybean, and yard long beans. The lima beans are 5-6 foot long with their first pods. They are better suited to the conditions. The taro is slow and small but growing. Some of the varieties are actually looking fairly ok, though others are decidedly unhappy. What is dong just fine are the sweet potatoes. Incredible vegetable! Grows even in hot, dry, poor places. I don't know if they will produce tubers, but I am growing them for the vines so that I can take cuttings. 

Pulled weeds, which I chopped up for mulch. Cleaned up the taro. Straightened up the sweet potatoes, getting their vines going in the right directions. Still plenty of work to do chopping weeds. So I'll return soon to bring more water, chop weeds, bring mulch, bring compost, plant the next seed crops.