Farm News 07-31-05
Farm News
Sunday morning, after chores, 72°
Heat Wave Blamed for Multiple Deaths in Rabbitry
The heat wave has hit the rabbitry hard. The ugly old buck from Calvin's herd died first, followed by all but two of Ayte's little bunnies. Then Nyn died. Ayte's bunnies are just opening their eyes and I think the two survivors will be okay. The bunnies she lost all died in the nest box, which I have removed from the cage. Nyn's bunnies were due to be weaned next week and they are all fine.
The cages are all equipped with 'lick' type water bottles. Although the rabbits probably get enough to drink from them, sometimes they will be waiting in line at the water bottle, so they are going to get crocks of water in each cage, also.
In another year or two the yellow trumpet vine (Campsis radicans 'Flava')will cover the south side of the rabbitry, keeping it cooler in there. It has tripled its size so far this year.
Has Anyone Seen Calvin?
Calvin was last seen two weeks ago departing on a horse trading trip with his gay jack and ungelded hinny. That's a whole truckload of useless testosterone. It's possible that Calvin has been shot or something because his gay jackass made a pass at the wrong man's stallion, I suppose, but, generally, it's been more peaceful than that in Kansas over the last 150 years. Of course, he might have gone on down to Oklahoma or Texas, in which case he might have been subjected to violence of some sort just because he's a teenager traveling with a gay jackass and a horny hinny.
Pond Goes Dry
The pond raised a few inches last week but still had over four feet to go. The water had cleared enough that the bottom was clearly visible. Frogs are collecting already and a Black Crowned Night Heron has been hanging around. By the end of this week the creek had stopped running and the pond was down to a shallow spot in the middle of the mud.
The Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia) is thriving with the changing water levels. They should start flowering soon, I think. For Native Americans of the northeast the roots were a staple but I've never tried them.
One aquatic native plant that I have tried is cattails. Cattail pollen is good stuff. It is a nice golden yellow in color and it adds an egg yolk like taste to things without adding cholesterol. Collecting cattail pollen is easy and a nice opportunity to look at a marsh area up close. Use an insect repellent.
Red Tide Reaches Midwest
The Red Tide, a seasonal phenomenon produced by the ripening of millions of tomatoes, has reached Kansas. This week Paula brought a barrow loaded with tomatoes from the garden to the house. (The type of barrow noted for having a wheel on the front end; not the kind of barrow noted for not having testicles on the back end.)
The Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum var. commune), like it's relatives tobacco and potato, were domesticated in the Americas thousands of years ago. Tomatoes come in more varieties than you can count adapted to all sorts of environments and producing all sorts of fruits, but the ideal environment seems to be the suburban back yard. When you purchase tomato plants you will often find that the label will have something like “(vfn)” after the name. The 'v' and 'f' mean that the plant is resistant to two common kinds of wilt disease. An 'n' means the plant produces tomatoes until frost, whereas 'd' means that it bears one large crop and dies.
'Roma' type tomatoes are usually sort of pear-shaped and are usually 'd' types, which stands for 'determinate' and means that they bear one crop and then die. I like them for slicing into sandwiches; they aren't nearly as juicy as the big red round types, so they don't drip on your lap. They are generally used for sauces because they aren't as juicy and boil down to a thick sauce more quickly.
The big round juicy types are usually 'n', for non-determinate, which means that they will continue to bloom and set new fruit until frost. Also, they keep growing until frost, so they need cages or something to help hold them up. These are the plants that are the stars of suburban competitive tomato growing.
Finally, there are the cherry tomatoes, which might be a different species. They are usually small, round, red, and flavorful; which is all I know about them.
Tomatoes need sun, heat, water, rich soil, almost daily care, and a small amount of good luck.
E-mail Subscribers: To subscribe, unsubscribe, contribute stories, complain or send a gift subscription, send an email to FarmNews@GeezerNet.com . The editor reserves the right to steal ideas submitted, rewrite submissions, and sign false names to them whenever it strikes his fancy to do so.
Sunday morning, after chores, 72°
Heat Wave Blamed for Multiple Deaths in Rabbitry
The heat wave has hit the rabbitry hard. The ugly old buck from Calvin's herd died first, followed by all but two of Ayte's little bunnies. Then Nyn died. Ayte's bunnies are just opening their eyes and I think the two survivors will be okay. The bunnies she lost all died in the nest box, which I have removed from the cage. Nyn's bunnies were due to be weaned next week and they are all fine.
The cages are all equipped with 'lick' type water bottles. Although the rabbits probably get enough to drink from them, sometimes they will be waiting in line at the water bottle, so they are going to get crocks of water in each cage, also.
In another year or two the yellow trumpet vine (Campsis radicans 'Flava')will cover the south side of the rabbitry, keeping it cooler in there. It has tripled its size so far this year.
Has Anyone Seen Calvin?
Calvin was last seen two weeks ago departing on a horse trading trip with his gay jack and ungelded hinny. That's a whole truckload of useless testosterone. It's possible that Calvin has been shot or something because his gay jackass made a pass at the wrong man's stallion, I suppose, but, generally, it's been more peaceful than that in Kansas over the last 150 years. Of course, he might have gone on down to Oklahoma or Texas, in which case he might have been subjected to violence of some sort just because he's a teenager traveling with a gay jackass and a horny hinny.
Pond Goes Dry
The pond raised a few inches last week but still had over four feet to go. The water had cleared enough that the bottom was clearly visible. Frogs are collecting already and a Black Crowned Night Heron has been hanging around. By the end of this week the creek had stopped running and the pond was down to a shallow spot in the middle of the mud.
The Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia) is thriving with the changing water levels. They should start flowering soon, I think. For Native Americans of the northeast the roots were a staple but I've never tried them.
One aquatic native plant that I have tried is cattails. Cattail pollen is good stuff. It is a nice golden yellow in color and it adds an egg yolk like taste to things without adding cholesterol. Collecting cattail pollen is easy and a nice opportunity to look at a marsh area up close. Use an insect repellent.
Red Tide Reaches Midwest
The Red Tide, a seasonal phenomenon produced by the ripening of millions of tomatoes, has reached Kansas. This week Paula brought a barrow loaded with tomatoes from the garden to the house. (The type of barrow noted for having a wheel on the front end; not the kind of barrow noted for not having testicles on the back end.)
The Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum var. commune), like it's relatives tobacco and potato, were domesticated in the Americas thousands of years ago. Tomatoes come in more varieties than you can count adapted to all sorts of environments and producing all sorts of fruits, but the ideal environment seems to be the suburban back yard. When you purchase tomato plants you will often find that the label will have something like “(vfn)” after the name. The 'v' and 'f' mean that the plant is resistant to two common kinds of wilt disease. An 'n' means the plant produces tomatoes until frost, whereas 'd' means that it bears one large crop and dies.
'Roma' type tomatoes are usually sort of pear-shaped and are usually 'd' types, which stands for 'determinate' and means that they bear one crop and then die. I like them for slicing into sandwiches; they aren't nearly as juicy as the big red round types, so they don't drip on your lap. They are generally used for sauces because they aren't as juicy and boil down to a thick sauce more quickly.
The big round juicy types are usually 'n', for non-determinate, which means that they will continue to bloom and set new fruit until frost. Also, they keep growing until frost, so they need cages or something to help hold them up. These are the plants that are the stars of suburban competitive tomato growing.
Finally, there are the cherry tomatoes, which might be a different species. They are usually small, round, red, and flavorful; which is all I know about them.
Tomatoes need sun, heat, water, rich soil, almost daily care, and a small amount of good luck.
E-mail Subscribers: To subscribe, unsubscribe, contribute stories, complain or send a gift subscription, send an email to FarmNews@GeezerNet.com . The editor reserves the right to steal ideas submitted, rewrite submissions, and sign false names to them whenever it strikes his fancy to do so.
posted by The Geezer at 8:16 AM
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