New Site: www.itfarmersblog.com

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I.T. Farmer’s Blog has a brand new home @ http://www.itfarmersBlog.com

I’ve finished moving all of the posts available here, and I’m still working on the design and some serious upgrades, but you can still take a peak at the new site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If You Want to Taste the Sun, Plant Grapes

Cloned Grape Vine

A few years ago I learned how to clone grape vines, with the intention of growing table grapes, and maybe someday making wine as a side project. Soon after, I began accumulating more and more varieties of grapes, including Concord, Thompson, White Niagara, Canadice, Blue Concord, Reliance, Niagara, Beta, Stueben, and a few unnamed varieties that had favorable crops.

While dad was still around, I made my first few bottles of “wine”, which I’m sure any person who has ever sipped wine would call gross, but it fermented, and more importantly, dad got to try it. We all agreed that the product of my experiment had a use, but flavor was not the reason you would drink it. I decided again that … [ Continue reading at http://itfarmersblog.com ]

Cider Press Progress

Press Frame

After working hard all summer on my shed and it’s second story wood shop, I’ve finally gotten started on my first serious project: A cider press.  [ Continue Reading at http://itfarmersblog.com ]

Spring Projects 2012

Seedling Order Form

While the weather is still cool, and before the garden demands so much of my time, I hope to build a … [ Continue reading on I.T. Farmers new home @ http://itfarmersblog.com/, or click here ]

The Wild Side

Turkeys

While leaving for work the other morning, I spotted a large group of turkeys standing in the middle of the long lane which connects the valley to … [ Continue Reading by Clicking Here. You will be transferred to Itfarmersblog.com ]

Email Subscribers: By now you should have gotten an email from the domain name “itfarmersblog.com” requesting permission to add you to the new mailing list. This may be the last new content posted to itfarmer.wordpress.com, and unless you resubscribe to the new site: http://www.itfarmersblog.com, these emails will no longer arrive in your email box automagically.

You may also like:

 

Tart Cherries and Wild Mint

Herbs

Rainy Days are Here Again.

Direct Seeded Plants & Rock Garden Status

Summer Cherries and Berries

Chick Pics, and a Unique Guest

Plants That are New To My Garden

Things Keep Piling up Around Here

Seasonal Pruning: Available at http://itfarmersblog.com

Large Apple Tree Pruned

You can continue to read new posts by clicking here: http://itfarmersblog.com

Email Subscribers: I’m working quickly to move my site to it’s new home at http://itfarmersblog.com. I do not yet have the email newsletter function installed and configured, but I hope to have that accomplished soon. When I get the newsletter up and running, you will recieve instructions for moving your subscription. I would move all of my subscribers manually, but the newsletter software requires that readers add themselves for securtiy reasons.

Thank you for your patients during this transition.

Jon Macpherson; aka,  I.T. Farmer.

A Year of Growth: 2011

New Equipment on the Farm

Another year has passed on the farm, and as the old year passes by, it leaves changes much like a glacier grinding and pushing its way to the sea. 2011 brought lots of new equipment and experiences to the farm, including a new John Deere tractor, and a much older yet still very effective 8n Ford tractor. The two tractors work great in tandam, making the hard work of yester-years into play time on full sized toys. The two tractors share lots of interchangable attachments including a back blade, brush hog, finish mower and more.  Once we got up to speed on how the tractors worked and what we could do with them, everything changed. Tasks that were difficult became easy, and what was once impossible is now do-able.

Improvements to the Land

With the power of many horses under our feet, we began to transform the land directly in front of my home from a thicket of brush into a smooth flowing lawn, complete with a meandering stream which runs through the center. This will be the land where I continue planting cherries, berries and fruit trees, as I’ve nearly run out of space close to the house. I’ve also found time to build a herb garden with lot’s of old field stones.

New Shed and Workshop

The year has also been shaped a great deal by the construction of a new shed. The idea began as a chicken coop, but as soon as I began construction of the shed in my minds eye I envisioned a work shop and extra storage for many of my tools. The shed demanded a good deal of my time, and I’ve had lots of help with the design and general construction. That project is now complete for the year, and the workshop is quickly being stocked and organized. I’ve built a study building that should last for decades, and its large enough that I have extra room for future use.

First Book

While the sun was hidden from view I put together my first book, which expands upon my first few years in the garden. After returning from work, and putting away my shed construction tools, I would edit, layout and revise my story,  producing a 70 + page tale of trials and some errors on my path to master gardening. You can read more about the book by clicking here.

Battling Late Blight

In 2009 and 2010 I had well over 100 tomato plants die due to late blight, and I lost the majority of the tomato harvest to this pest. It’s a difficult thing to loose so much hard work to something which is hard to see, but in 2011 I fought back with the conviction of a four star general. I drew up “battle plans” and stuck to the program, using Epson Salt and “Dragoon Dust” to protect the plants and destroy the enemy.

The blight managed to kill a plant or two, but I treated the outbreak much like the CDC would treat a case of SARS. I carefully covered the infected plants with a garbage bag, then ripped the roots from the soil, being carefull to isolate the infected plant. After torching the exposed plant matter, I redoubled my efforts in blight prevention. I took a doctor’s approach towards treatment, and gave the plants a heavy dose of Miracle Grow to keep them strong, while dusting the area exposed with an extra serving of anti-fungal agents.

At the end of the season it was clear that the blight had not succeded in robbing my harvest yet again. The tomatoes flowed from the garden like water spraying from a badly leaking hose.

Canned Tomatoes

With the endless bounty that streamed in from the garden, we all learned the fine points of food preservation, including canning, freezing and even vacuum sealing veggies. 2011 has been a great year for the garden, with two exceptions: Cucumbers and Zucchini.

I only managed to grow a few cucumbers, unlike past years when I would require a back pack in order to pick a row of cucks. The zucchini wasn’t nearly as bad, but it also suffered due to a thousand bites from pesky ground hogs. Overall, I’m very happy to see so much progress in hind sight. I’ve grown a great deal this year, perhaps more then the last five years combined. I’ve extended my garden season into the winter with Broccolli, Cualiflower and Brussels Sprouts, and I’ve demonstrated stubborn commitment towards shed construction.

Everyone on the farm has been learning and working together very well, and I think the outcome of this years labor is a testement to that effort. I hope to redouble my planning in 2012, and deliver even better results in the new year.

Happy New Year !

- I.T. Farmer

You may also like:

Equipment Roundup

Here Comes The Work Part of Winter

Herbs

Spring Onions

The View From the Top

The other end of the farm…

Getting Serious About Organic Fertilizer

A Good Year for Apples

 

New Equipment on the Farm

Improvements to the Land

New Shed and Workshop

Battling Late Blight

Canned Tomatoes

First Book

December Growth

Elderberry Growth

Most of the plants in my garden have long ago succumbed to the cold weather, but there are still a few hints of life around the farm if you know where to look. When I set out with my camera to document these hardy plants, I was pretty surprised to notice that my elderberry bush is beginning to set new shoots, in December. While I would have never expected this plant to begin growing when the sun is far away and the tempuratures are even lower, the whole process may hold some secrets to cloning elderberry bushes. I’ve tried in the past to clone the bushes in the spring, and now I’m thinking it may be best to attempt cloning while the canes are very cold.

Brussels Sprouts

When I got to the garden, I was hoping to see thriving Swiss Chard plants, but none were found. In fact most of the cool hardy plants in my winter garden are going to seed, with only my garlic, a few turnips and Brussels Sprouts left to display to green colors that keep me planting. I’m very happy to have the brussel sprouts doing so well, but I must admit these are my first plants, and I’m not quite sure what to expect from them, and even more importantly when to expect it.  There are lots of little sprouts on these plants, and they taste good, but I don’t think they should be eaten just yet.

Garlic

Moving away from the garden, I walked down to my rock garden, where I planted a second batch of garlic. I had planted an early crop of garlic in July (As Good a Time as Any), but I wanted to plant an additional batch at the correct time to ensure a healthy supply of garlic. I’m a huge fan of garlic, and this will hopefully be the best results I have with this tasty plant so far. To prepare the ground, I dug up some garden soil, mixed in some sandy silt from a nearby stream, then added lots of manure, epson salt, bio-char, and pot-ash to make this one of the most fertile beds of soil on the farm.  After taking this picture I spread an inch thick layer of hay and straw to protect the bulbs from the bitter cold in February, and help block weeds from growing in the spring.

You may also like:

Back on Track

A Broader View of My Gardening Ambitions

Signs of Growth

Weekend Roundup 5/16/10

Frosted Veggies

Early Signs of Spring

Photos by Nate: 3

August 4th Harvest

Ladder and Lights

Ladder

I only have a few major components to finish before I can call my shed complete, but before I totally enclosed the second story, I figured it would be a good idea to add a ladder and some light.  I decided to use some left over 2 x 4′s as the ladder base, with 2 x 3 rungs. After nailing the whole thing together, I added some railings that I made from some left over facia boards.  I plan to hang a piece of plywood on some hinges and attach those to the railings to produce a very accident free ladder system.

Fluorescent Lights

When the ladder was complete, I hung the first of three large lights. Hanging a light by yourself can be very frustrating, so I cheated a bit by using an extension cord as a pully system to hoise the light into place. Once I was happy with it’s location, I tied the cord around a nail to secure it in place, and used the screw gun to permantely attach the light. After adding three lights, I ran some electrical wire and installed an On/Off light swtich.

Switch - Made in America

After turning the light on, I saw that the light switch was made in America, which made the accomplishment that much sweeter.

You may also like:

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Shed Progress: Fascia and Drip Edge

Stubborn Progress

This Old Barn: Part 2

Chicken Coop Plans

Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day

Spreading Manure

Rob uses the John Deere to fill the Spreader

Over the weekend, Rob and Maurice were cleaning up the horse pasture, and piling up the manure. After seeing the pile, I rushed off the get my tractor and connect the manure spreader. The manure spreader is a fancy wagon that is capable of carrying about a half truck load of manure from the field to my garden. The machine saves a great deal of manual labor, as in the past I had to shovel the manure into a truck, then shovel it back out. With this spreader, Rob could load the manure with his tractor, and I could use the flinging capacity of the spreader to apply a thick layer of organic fertilizer to the garden without touching a shovel.

On our first use of the machine, Rob loaded it up so that the manure towered nearly a foot over the edges. We all assumed that the tractor could pull the wagon heaping full of manure, and it worked with some rough driving.  In order the steer the tractor I had to use the rear brakes, as the front end tended to lift itself off the ground. Then just as I passed over the small rock wall on the edge of my garden the manure spreader experienced a mechanical malfunction: The hitch separated from the spreader.

Hitch Assembly

The spreader was constructed with a hitch and a handy built on spacer that keeps the hitch from laying on the ground.  The whole hitch assembly was held together by four very rusty bolts which snapped as I tried to pull the wagon over the small rock wall.  Luckily we found four bolts in the barn that fit the assembly.

Hitch with New Bolts

After reconnecting the hitch it was time to try out the spreader. At first the machine seemed to be working with all of the gears moving but no flying fertilizer. Soon we found a mechanism which advances a track system in the wagon. The tracks force the load back at 1/2 inch intervals, and when the manure moves back far enough, the rotating spikes in the tail end fling the manure in every direction.

Tire Issues

We all decided after the first load to fill the spreader only half way, since the tractor had trouble negotiating the hill with such as heavy load. The lighter loads helped smooth out the whole process, and before I knew it I was gaining confidence in this new tool. All was well until I noticed the tires inner tube bulging out the side of the wheel. I knew this could be a show stopper as flat tires don’t tend to turn well, but I kept on driving and kept constant watch. After nearly half of the work was done, I noticed the bulge in the tire missing, and curiously the tire was only about half flat. If the inner tube was punctured, the tire should have lost all of it’s air, but it did not. I decided not to wonder why it was still inflated, and figured I’d just be happy and keep working.

One-Half Acre Covered in Manure

When the whole garden was covered, I took this picture which shows the layer of fertilizer covering the garden. The garden begins along the row of trees on the left, and runs behind the greenhouse out to the edge of the field where the poles are sticking out of the ground.

You may also like:

Getting Serious About Organic Fertilizer

Warm Season Wrap-up

Things Keep Piling up Around Here

Rob uses the John Deere to fill the Spreader

Hitch Assembly

Hitch with New Bolts

Tire Issues

One-Half Acre Covered in Manure