Farm Update 7/17/2019

So what’s been brewing on the farm? 

Tea of course, every morning.

Rains are here today and although the property is not a spring green, it is much greener than in any previous year.  So far the well is still supplying enough water to keep things irrigated and we’re on the downhill run for the fall weather.

The last week or more has been gobbled up doing maintenance around the property: mowing incessantly, pruning, watering and planting.  Yesterday I finally enjoyed some tractor time and dug more of the pond and started building the mounds that will surround the pond.  I have used all the boulders and need to have another truckload delivered so I can place them by the pond before I lose tractor access.  I still have a substantial pile of gravel that needs moving and the deer fence posts are off loaded and waiting for installation.

I have begun the initial steps of the torii gates that will adorn both the main and back entrances to the farm.  Initially I was going to set the back fence in concrete with brackets holding the uprights, but on more reflection that will not give the look and so I am amending the plan and will have to get longer posts (6” diameter Doug fir X 12’) and plant them in the ground with the modified torii.

The first two 8’ posts are sanded the edges rounded and ready to accept preservative, but now instead of being uprights, they will be used as one of the top cross beams.

These gates need to be placed before I can tie the deer fencing to them.  I am considering gabion walls for a few spots in the garden and am doing research now to see if it is viable.

I dug a dozen holes for bamboo yesterday and will transplant some potted bamboo that I had at another location.  This will go a long way toward finishing the bamboo garden as all these plants are running variety and should each extend at least 20 feet.  I still have quite a few other bamboos that were cut in Portland Oregon and are set in soil hoping they will form roots.   Time will tell whether that experiment is successful. 

Yvonne ordered some different varieties of tea from Georgia (the country not state), China and elsewhere and they have arrived.  All are much larger that our Hawaiian plants and will give us a good comparison after the winter. 

We are on a road trip for the next week or so and I suspect little will progress for awhile, so take heart, grab a cool drink and enjoy the summer.

Cheers from the farm,

Greg