Market Farming

[Marie Kamphefner <kampy AT grm.net>]

Regards to the list:

I, too, pick in the ice cream buckets and it seems to work well.  My worst 
problem picking the black raspberries is the damned poison ivy!  I have it 
now on my legs from the cat rubbing on me!  The second worst problem is 
trying not to eat them all!  The berries, I mean.

Adelman Fisher in KC has those berry containers.  They have the plastic 
ones that look like open weave and the pressed board type ones.  Their 
number is 816-842-4961.  We have some of the green plastic ones that we put 
cherries in.  I don't think they would hold the berries we've been getting 
- they're awfully small.

It may be dry enough to disk the strawberry patch this evening here.  I'm 
hoping we can get the berries planted quickly.  We will with that FANTASTIC 
transplanter!  It's just getting the ground ready in time.  I opened the 
box and the plants look just fine.  We'll probably have to water them for 
quite a while.  I don't think we'll take the time to make raised rows for 
them and that's a shame.  Looks like all the tomatoes and other plants have 
lived through transplanting.  My pole beans are about 4 inches high and the 
cucumbers are up - these are the seeds from Italy and they're looking 
great.  There are a few little corn plants up. We planted Incredible this 
year because it did so well last year.   Should be canning green beans by now!

This is the first year we've raised garlic.  It's time ot harvest?  What do 
you do with it to keep it good?  I still have the scapes in the 
refrigerator - do you think it's too late to pickle them?

My baby turkeys are dying like flies.  Only have 6 left and they just sit 
or stand around with their wings and heads down.  The first two we hatched 
are really healthy - they're from a different source.  The chicken house 
nests are almost full of setting hens.  Some of the girls have been laying 
on the floor.

It has been a month since knee surgery and I swear, it's getting worse 
instead of better!  Now, the other knee is hurting.  I probably just need 
to go lie on a beach somewhere for a couple of weeks.  That would fix 
it.  I know!  Fort Walton Beach!  Or Destin!  Yes.

Marie in Missouri