Bluebird Meadows of Stevensville, Michigan

Owner's Web Log
Copyright 2005 Michael S. Brown
June 2005


Daily activities of the owner of a 20 acre Organic Farm plus
observations, notes, and comments on a wide variety of topics.

1 Pinned open the greenhouse vents for the summer and disconnected the thermostatic vent operators.

Set out one row of tomatoes in the 14 row Tomato Field. Each row has 35 plants so there will be a total of 490 plants when the field is full.

Watered seeds and seedlings on the farm.
2 Set out one more row of tomatoes.  Watered the farm.

Consider The Trees
Trees are amazing things.  They show measurable growth every year - even when conditions are at their worst.  However, they are prepared for exceptional growth when conditions are good.  In their lifetime, trees purify the air we breathe and provide shelter for countless birds, animals, and insects.  Even in death, trees continue to contribute to our lives as a source of timber, firewood, and enrichment to the organic content of the soil.

How do we compare to the trees?  Do we show measurable growth every year?  Are we prepared to take advantage of good conditions?  Do we enrich the lives of others?  Will we leave behind things that are valuable to others?    Consider the trees.  We can learn allot from our silent friends.
3 Set out more tomatoes.   We got 0.2" of rain.
4 Set out more tomatoes.
5 Finished setting out tomato plants.  Re-connected the tomato irrigation system.
6 We got 0.6" of rain.
7 Cultivated the farm by driving the single row cultivator down each planted row.
8 Finished cultivating.   Disced the East Meadow-Central and Northeast Fields.  We got 0.3" of rain.
9 Planted winter squash and 6 rows of sunflowers for seed heads.
10 Planted 3 more rows of sunflowers for seed heads.  Bought a roll of row cover and put it on one of the tomato rows. (I didn't like it very well).  Roto tilled the potatoes.
11 Just a trace of rainfall.
12 Got 0.1" of rain.
13 Hoes the pepper plants.   Roto tilled tomatoes, pickles, and gourds.  We got 0.1" of rain.
14 Roto tilled the pumpkins.   Re-slotted the Farm Stand due to tomato plants getting larger.
15 Watered the farm.   Re-set the tomato irrigation system to make use of barrels of city water (the farm pond which is the normal source has gone dry).  Got just a trace of rain.
16 Planted one row of ornamental sunflowers for cut flowers.  Hoes 10 rows of tomatoes.
17 Finished hoeing the tomatoes.  Preparations for the first Farmers Market of the year tomorrow.
18 First Farmers market of the year in St. Joseph, MI.
19 Started a new flat of parsley.  Watered the farm.  Worked on the tomato irrigation system to use gravity fed city water vs. the usual pressurized pond water.
20 Watered the farm.   Plowed the east meadow central field to grow more sunflowers.
21 Watered the tomatoes.   Scooped some pond bottoms from the dried up East Pond and put them on the East Meadow Central Field.
22 Got a flat tire on Miss Daisy - took it off and had it repaired.

Put in some sprinklers in the greenhouse for watering and temperature control.
23 Hoed the peppers, cukes, squash, and pumpkins.  Watered the tomatoes.
24 Watered the farm.  Got ready for the Farmers Market.
25 Did the Farmers Market in St. Joseph,  MI.  Mowed the blueberries and got ready to set up bird netting.
26 Watered the farm.  Set up bird netting over the blueberries.
27 Watered the farm with city water.

Set up 4 Japanese Beetle traps in the blueberries.
28 Cultivated the rows with the tractor single row cultivator.

Started a second planting of cukes and pickles.
29 Finished the second planting of cukes and pickles.  Planted 4 more rows of sunflowers for seed heads.
30 Mowed and weed chopped the blueberries.

Watered the farm with city water.  Got a trace of rain.  For the month, we got only 1.65" of rain - just awful!
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