Of Goats and Collards

The last thing you see before a baby goat takes you down!

I visited the farm on Saturday and pulled a few more weeds, put down some seeds, and harvested some radishes. They are going great, practically pushing each other out of the ground. Everything is growing well there so I’m feeling that the 500 pounds of horse manure/compost we mixed in with the dirt was well worth the sweaty, stinky effort. The squash have doubled in size since one week ago, and long green blossom hulls are forming all over the vines. I put some tomato baskets around them to help direct them upward, vs. invading the other beds, but I don’t think the baskets are going to contain them. The collards are 18” tall and have a great collard taste. The sunflower sprouts have thickened and are climbing upward as well.

In my own garden things are progressing more slowly. Maybe it has to do with my garden not getting as many hours of direct sun everyday as the farm garden. Or it might be the mix of dirt and compost I used. Both gardens have plenty of earthworms in them, and neither appear to be beset by pests. Both get plenty of water. Of course the older crops in my garden are doing the best, the lettuce, the tomatoes, the broccoli, even the carrots are sprouting up healthy, bushy tops. Everything else feels like it has paused in the unseasonably cool weather, waiting for some hot days to grow. The nasturnums have bloomed, and I see bees, wasps, and butterflies around the flowers. The tomatoes have swollen on the vines and there are still many blooms. I know I should probably cut some of the fruit-clusters down to only one or two fruits, but I just can’t right now. I’m going to let them grow and see who develops and how fully.

After I visited the farm garden I wandered around the farm, checking out the bee-hives they had placed earlier in the week, and visiting the goats, mules and chickens. The baby goats have tripled in size and at least one is sporting horns. I took some photos of the mules and felt something tugging at my shorts. I looked down and saw a baby goat trying to eat the hem of my pants. When I walked away he gave me the butt routine… that is, he butted me in the butt. Everywhere I stopped he tried to eat my pants, and everytime I walked away he reared up on his hind legs and thrust his head at me. Too cute.