Fall Crop Preperation

I have started doing another weeding project on the hops today on Friday, Nov. 6. All of the bines have been cut down and because of the potential of spider mite eggs overwintering, I burned them instead of composting them. It was then possible to wind up the irrigation line and start to weed out the remaining rows.

Then I over seeded in winter rye and crimson clover and top dressed with wheat straw for a mulch. As you can see, the crimson clover I had planted earlier between the rows is coming in fairly thick, hopefully thick enough to keep out weeds. Note Sept. 2 blog

Here is a picture of my other experiment in two other rows using landscape fabric between the rows. Note the first picture has sawdust placed over the fabric and the second picture shows a thick crop of wheat that sprouted from the straw that I used. It was full of wheat grain that sprouted on top of the fabric!

Blueberry bed preparation began as well today in anticipation of around 75 replacement plants due to winter injury from the nursery this spring. In addition to the soil that was originally incorporated with 4 inches of sawdust, I have added about 5 gallons of pine bark mulch to each individual hole. This was a recommendation from Bill Cline, Extension Horticultural Specialists with blueberries in North Carolina. Since my soil is fairly heavy in clay content, he thought that this would help keep the soil drier. However, with abundance of rainfall this year, I am not sure anything would have done that.

Hopefully the new bushes will arrive within a few days. I will call the nursery Monday to check on the arrival date. You can just spot the misting bed in the background of this photo. I currently have frost cloth over the rooted blueberry sticks. I plan to remove the cover tomorrow as no frost is forcast for the next few days to finish hardening them off.

I am wondering--When is the off time for farming?