Market Farming

["Peg Cook" <pegcook AT northnet.org>]

Liz,
Actually the best time to take soil samples is in the Fall.  If anyone needs
some help or advice on how to take a soil sample, you can check out my
website at www.cooksagconsulting.com.  If anyone has additional questions,
please send me a private email and I will gladly help you.

Peg Cook, Agronomist
Cook's Consulting
Lowville, NY.

pegcook AT northnet.org
www.cooksagconsulting.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Liz Pike" <liz AT laughingbrookfarm.com>
To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Sunday, October 13, 2002 10:35 PM
Subject: [market-farming] "The time has come,"


> the Walrus said, "to talk of many things: Of shoes and ships and sealing
> wax - - of cabbages and kings."
>
> Out of desperation for new topics, I'm throwing out what I've got going on
> here at our farm at this time (sorry folks, no wolves or coyotes, but
> depending on the day, time & moon cycle I can drum up a fierce feline,
> canine or equine or two...)
>
> Soil Tests:  hopefully the rain will hold off long enough for me to get
the
> samples I need.   god how I hate red clay, give me my black coastal soil
> anytime please!!  I should have demanded custody of my old farm dirt...no
> visitation rights...
>
> Clearing fields:  Have gotten a 1 acre plot finally cleared, and prepped
for
> planting next spring between house & road for cut flowers.  That location
> gets full frontal view of traffic coming around curves, hope to not cause
> too many accidents ; ))  A nice mix of weeds grew this past summer.  I
> originally cleared it last fall, and let it go to see what weeds would
grow,
> and judging by the types and virility in spite of the drought, the plot
> should do great.  Need to teach the dogs to fetch rocks, big rocks, big
> heavy back breaking rocks....
>
> Bushhogged a 2 acre field last week of 4" pine tree volunteers (on a
fairly
> steep hill...I was half way off that tractor just in case she decided to
go
> on over!!)  I'm thinking of pasturing a few porkers on it to help "plow"
it
> up; it's thick with stumps.  Anyone with any advice in this regard--I need
> it.  It's above the highway on a ridge, with a sharp 12' drop to road (I
can
> just see it now, "But honey, I really did see pigs fly...")  I want to use
> electric fencing, and have read that I should use a double fence as the
> little ones don't mind getting shocked and like nothing better than to get
> out.
>
> The last 2 plots to be cleared are a 1/4 acre plot behind the house for
> intensive veggies, and a 4 acre hillside, for major row & vining crops
like
> pumpkins, sweet potatoes, sunflowers, etc.  (The rest of our acreage is in
> pasture for the horses, who should start producing farm income in the next
2
> years--a very slow crop indeed ; ))  The 4 acres is currently in
> fescue/orchard grass.   I plan to get it plowed in the next couple of
weeks.
>
> Our chickens have now dwindled to a whopping 3 (from 45!!) and the bad-ass
> Doberman we were given for protection spends his nights in the house, what
a
> wuss...  Must get another flock going.  (The neighbors whose dogs devoured
> most of our flock, sold eggs for half of what I'd planned to.  It was all
I
> could do to smile, and beg her dogs to come back a visitin'  "got a nice
> sweet juicy bullet waitin fer yer lil doggie, maam" ; ))
>
> I hated not having anything to grow or sell this year, but the year spent
> observing the climate, watching the local farmers, studying traffic
patterns
> & markets has been worth the wait.  Now I'm rarin' to go, just in time to
> have to sit on my hands through the next few months of winter ; ))
>
> Liz Pike
> Laughing Brook Farm
> Westfield NC
>
>
>
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