Summer is my favorite season. This past summer was tough to like -- with its endless rains when it wasn't delivering a sweltering heat wave -- but it never dissuaded me from being my favorite. It offers so many opportunities. Watching trees sparkle at night with lighting bugs. Jumping off a rock into the Loyalsock Creek at Worlds End to escape hummingbird-sized horse flies. Listening to the crickets on an August evening while the sun casts pink light on the clouds and the full moon appears above the hills. It made the mosquitos tolerable. [Is it weird that I remember moments by the insects?] So as September keeps moving along, I'm evaluating the summer of 2018 for me. Overall, I can't complain.
Some moments of note include:
The larvae were moved out of the parents' garage and into Gram's barn. I had anticipated mice being an issue in the larvae feed bins, as well as fruit flies or house flies and so I took precautions with a metal-screened frame draped with a mosquito net. What I had not expected was the voracious hunger of the birds around the fly house. I had to chase birds out on a few occasions -- the first time being when they ate all of the flies, even the dead ones. I jokingly told Gram that we had built her a giant bird feeder.
The bait sale license for Pennsylvania came this summer, and I made my first sale to Blue Heron Sports in Milton. The woman at the bank asked me if I wanted a scan of my first business check. I laughed and said no. I did get a photo the the memo line. It just says "GRUBS."
I have water at the barn now, thanks to a 55-gal water barrel that mom and dad won at the DEP open house. The barrel sits at the top corner of the stone wall, out a few feet to make sure all the masons' hard work isn't destroyed. A garden hose runs down the hill through the window for a gravity-powered water system.
The garden started off really strong, but then the rain came. I went from optimistically taking weekly progress photos to wading through running water in the cucumbers and scowling at the blight hitting the once marvelous tomato plants. The peppers didn't do great, but I got an ok yield. Cherry peppers did the best. Jalapenos were meh. Cayennes did ok too. Habaneros were the slowest growing plants and the blossoms came late in the summer. I have a lot of green habaneros now with no hope of them turning that lovely peachy orange. The sunflowers that the chipmunks didn't destroy did pretty well. I can safely say that these are the tallest sunflowers I ever grew. Progress photos of June 23 and August 22:
You can see how the tomatoes really went downhill. Some positive notes: The tomato that was planted in the hugelkultur experienced no blight. There was very little slug damage in the garden this year. Even the marigolds were left untouched. Tomato horn worms weren't an issue. Instead I noticed a different insect going after a lot of plants:
This bug went after the scarlet runner beans aggressively. I saw it on the peppers and corn as well.
PASA (Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture) hosted a demonstration day at Anthill Farm which is utilizing agroforestry practices. It was inspiring and overwhelming to see the group of people who came out to learn how to integrate trees and shrubs into their properties. Sara and I took a lot of notes, and we're planning to get some solid ideas together for the farm this fall. The frass from the larvae has begun to accumulate, which would be a great benefit in a tree propagation area to begin breaking down wood chips.
At this time, I'm still waiting to hear from the DEP about the status of my business's proposal I sent in June. I'm confident that what needs to happen will happen -- I try very hard to maintain that mindset with anything.
It has now been two full years since Marley and I moved back home, and I've learned a lot. Something that I hope never to forget is the help I've received from so many people. It is incredibly overwhelming to think about the scope and scale of what I want to accomplish, but I wouldn't have gotten this far without the help of my amazing family -- this isn't a solo act. I don't know how I will show my gratitude, but I'll certainly try.
I'm not ready for the snow to fly. I still have to figure out how to create a climate-controlled space for the flies and larvae. And winter is my least favorite season any old way...
Some moments of note include:
The larvae were moved out of the parents' garage and into Gram's barn. I had anticipated mice being an issue in the larvae feed bins, as well as fruit flies or house flies and so I took precautions with a metal-screened frame draped with a mosquito net. What I had not expected was the voracious hunger of the birds around the fly house. I had to chase birds out on a few occasions -- the first time being when they ate all of the flies, even the dead ones. I jokingly told Gram that we had built her a giant bird feeder.
 |
| In the fly house -- no longer a bird feeder |
The bait sale license for Pennsylvania came this summer, and I made my first sale to Blue Heron Sports in Milton. The woman at the bank asked me if I wanted a scan of my first business check. I laughed and said no. I did get a photo the the memo line. It just says "GRUBS."
I have water at the barn now, thanks to a 55-gal water barrel that mom and dad won at the DEP open house. The barrel sits at the top corner of the stone wall, out a few feet to make sure all the masons' hard work isn't destroyed. A garden hose runs down the hill through the window for a gravity-powered water system.
The garden started off really strong, but then the rain came. I went from optimistically taking weekly progress photos to wading through running water in the cucumbers and scowling at the blight hitting the once marvelous tomato plants. The peppers didn't do great, but I got an ok yield. Cherry peppers did the best. Jalapenos were meh. Cayennes did ok too. Habaneros were the slowest growing plants and the blossoms came late in the summer. I have a lot of green habaneros now with no hope of them turning that lovely peachy orange. The sunflowers that the chipmunks didn't destroy did pretty well. I can safely say that these are the tallest sunflowers I ever grew. Progress photos of June 23 and August 22:
You can see how the tomatoes really went downhill. Some positive notes: The tomato that was planted in the hugelkultur experienced no blight. There was very little slug damage in the garden this year. Even the marigolds were left untouched. Tomato horn worms weren't an issue. Instead I noticed a different insect going after a lot of plants:
 |
| I would like to know what insect this is |
This bug went after the scarlet runner beans aggressively. I saw it on the peppers and corn as well.
PASA (Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture) hosted a demonstration day at Anthill Farm which is utilizing agroforestry practices. It was inspiring and overwhelming to see the group of people who came out to learn how to integrate trees and shrubs into their properties. Sara and I took a lot of notes, and we're planning to get some solid ideas together for the farm this fall. The frass from the larvae has begun to accumulate, which would be a great benefit in a tree propagation area to begin breaking down wood chips.
At this time, I'm still waiting to hear from the DEP about the status of my business's proposal I sent in June. I'm confident that what needs to happen will happen -- I try very hard to maintain that mindset with anything.
It has now been two full years since Marley and I moved back home, and I've learned a lot. Something that I hope never to forget is the help I've received from so many people. It is incredibly overwhelming to think about the scope and scale of what I want to accomplish, but I wouldn't have gotten this far without the help of my amazing family -- this isn't a solo act. I don't know how I will show my gratitude, but I'll certainly try.
I'm not ready for the snow to fly. I still have to figure out how to create a climate-controlled space for the flies and larvae. And winter is my least favorite season any old way...
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