Rock & Roll Farm

Sunday! Jul 09 2006 // 11:57 am //

ZapMoose

Today I may be turning on the juice to the moose fence. So far we haven’t had any further visitations, at least from moose. (I got stung twice by something really big on Thursday, and the voles are eating the cabbage, and whatever made the mystery holes in the squash moved on to the potatoes.) Whether or not the bear hide we hung in the corner of the garden is keeping the moose out, I’m not sure, but it definitely makes for a great conversation piece. The thing stinks pretty badly and there are parts of it that I wish I wasn’t able to identify. My dad and I are debating whether it is a “bearcrow” or “scaremoose.” I like the former.

The remay is still on the garden, but I’m hoping that as soon as I get the juice turned on I’ll be able to remove the remay for good. It’s been close to two weeks now and it’s hard to keep track of things when they’re all covered up. On Wednesday I started uncovering everything every day when I get to the garden, and tucking it in to bed when I leave. It has the same feeling as opening and closing a cafe or something. The main frustration for me isn’t that I can’t see everything, or that I spend an hour or two every day covering and uncovering plants, but that it is starting to cause damage. Keeping all that remay on the crops for so long, and through so many heavy rains, has put a lot of stress on the plants - and me! Some of the outer brassica leaves are snapping and a few brussels have just given up and fallen into the paths.

This week I’m going to be able to distribute kohlrabi, cabbage and broccoli! I’m getting pea blossoms, the squash are sizing up, and the storage turnips and rutabagas are looking great. I’ve passed the halfway mark for the season, and I’m already sad that I have to leave.

I’ve been having car trouble, battery related, which I think is funny in tandem with this electric fence problem. Hopefully it won’t get too much funnier.

Attendance among my students has been pretty poor lately. My one superstar student is the only thing really keeping things afloat. She has become my sidekick. The other one who was coming regularly has been having bike trouble, among other things, so hopefully he’ll get that worked out. But that’s just two out of what’s supposed to be six. We lost a lot for various reasons. They are back in school starting Monday so we are going to do some serious recruiting. Two students for two hours a day is not enough!