......farewell, it's been eight years

What began as simple postings for my grand kids to follow the progress of a new project—building a farm from the ground up... and then became a popular blog within the Sacramento Bee online newspaper is quite amazing. The time has come to stop writing the stories. The farm is basically finished now. Instead of blogging, I will be fishing.

This coming year—2017—all the hard work of eight years will finally pay off. The orchards have grown from 3-foot tall "whips" to trees that are now 10 to 14 feet tall. Fruit is borne in vast amounts. All the mistakes of caring for orchards have passed....and boy, were there ever a lot of mistakes! We did, however, make the right decisions about what type of fruit to produce. Plant produce that one normally never finds at the local Farmers Markets.....the supermarkets, or the local fruit stands.....thus having zero competition. Blood oranges sell out in a matter of weeks. Pluots....the demand just keeps getting humongous. The figs draw buyers from the Bay Area... and our peaches are snapped up almost immediately after they are set up on the sell tables! Boysenberries, of all berries....proved to be the best seller on the farm. We have 25 solid crops that yield a lot and are in high demand.

Our ground crops over the years were plagued with the learning curve of irrigation systems and those damn jack rabbits....all which were resolved with higher education :-) Rabbit-proof fencing... and three Aussie Shepherds who enjoyed the occasional meal.Time taught us that growing "salad" vegetables and most squash.....was time consuming and hard to compete with local store prices.... which are much lower from cheaper countries such as Mexico. Most of the squash we grew required too much time educating clients on what it was and how to prepare.

Now we specialize in melons. Black Mountain and Orange Glo watermelons and Hayle's Best cantaloupes that have old-time flavor.....huge in size. Our specially selected tomato varieties ....have become very popular since we harvest only when they are absolutely ripe......and that is our secret to why our produce has so much flavor...we harvest ripe. Everything on this farm is ripe for harvest. Oh....the lessons we have learned over time.

Social networking, internet use such as Craigslist, blogging, and participation in local events are all essential for business promotion.I was fortunate to have a business background as well as experience working on the web. Much of this is time-consuming...usually at night after a full day in the field. A great web page had to be created and maintained, and great advertising took time—and even more time.

Much of the infrastructure work has been completed, and the farm house has been upgraded. Fruit stand and the chicken coops are up. There are only a few things left to do, such as finishing the upstairs of our barn and erecting a large greenhouse.The installation of a white fence around our barn, pastures, and grow fields... to make this joint look more "farm," has begun.

So... was it worth the hardships....stupid mistakes, ....chasing three horses down the street whenever they broke a fence....covering citrus trees at two o'clock in the morning from frost, .....?

Hell yes.

.....those attacking glochids

 This post is solely dedicated to the victims of a glochid attack. That's right...I am referring to those tiny, invisible thorns that are on a so called "thornless" cactus pad. During the harvest of prickly pears, we always get a few of those embedded in us.

Forget the tweezers... and the magnifying glass with the glochid extraction attempts that fail. Spread rubber cement over the injured skin; let it dry. Peel the glue off the spines with it. Don't like that glue idea? Then use a strip of duct tape....place it over the area of attack, and then pull it off.

It works like a champ!

....is it merely another chimera?

GreenWorks 22342 40V 20" Cordless Pole Hedge Trimmer......just saved me a few days of work......and saved me from having to hire some help.

 

One of the biggest seasonal jobs here at the farm has now become topping off the fruit trees. Weeds are still in first place for the worst job. We have over 500 trees on this farm....so one can imagine dragging a tall....heavy...bulky fruit ladder around. Not a lot of fun......and now there is no need for it.

 

More light....more fruit......is the reason why the trees get topped. However..... my real reason is this: keep the trees no taller than 7-8 feet to make harvesting fast and easy. Those monster 3 - legged.... 12-foot-high fruit ladders shall not be used on this farm. It takes a lot of energy to step up and down all day long......and it takes time to maneuver around each tree. In reality, many farms have begun to plant trees much closer together while keeping them shorter. All in the name of saving money and possibly reducing the risk of injury.

 

I know what you're thinking: "That junk trimmer wouldn't cut a piece of butter on a hot day. Well.......it does! The buzz goes to the 5/8 branches with no trouble. This tool has a reach of 12 feet.....and as seen in the posted picture...a flexible arm. Battery life is a an hour......and which is why you buy an extra one or two batteries. Charge up time is 15 minutes.

 

For a guy that absolutely hates hard work (me), this equipment delivery is love!

.....The Legend of "Stingy Jack"

   

    

So.......why do we carve pumpkins...ever wondered that? Farmer Deno had to know...and here is scoop:

 

The Legend of "Stingy Jack"

People have been making jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

 

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

.......Insanely fabulous

 

This month is harvest season for our prickly pear. Don't think for a second that this fruit is "weird." This weekend.....we start making hotcake/waffle prickly pear table syrup. It's like a mild honey flavor. Insanely fabulous. When you try real pancake or waffle prickly pear table syrup, you'll never go back to fake maple syrup again.

 

Available in March... through our new online store. There will be prickly pear rock candy, soft candy, concentrated juice, and much more cactus products, such as our jelly. If you think this is a low end money crop....think again. I encourage small farmers to conduct online research on the products made from prickly pears and the rest of the plant.

 

Oil from the seeds......hand lotion from the green pads....burn remedy (like Aloe).... pastries. Much more.

.....should had done this years ago

If you have followed this blog over the past years.....you would know that we use riding lawn mowers for getting out in the fields. Yes....we have a tow trailer behind us for carrying field tools....needs for crop harvesting, transportation of harvested crops....and so much more.

The mowers may not have the speed of a quad runner....but they do have the power to tow. Also...riding mowers are far cheaper to repair. Not to mention, a quad-runner costs around $8000.00, whereas the Cub Cadet costs $2200.00.

Perhaps the biggest advantage is that the visiting family members don't want to go "off road" on a riding mower :-) Another advantage of the mower is that it actually mows! Many times, heading out to the fields.....or returning.....we will mow a strip between the orchard trees (or berries). Time saving.

I should have added a tool box and an open carry crate to the top of the hood years ago. The tool box is needed.....for the tools slip out of the crate. The crate is great for housing mosquito spray and irrigation repair parts. Life becomes so much easier.

......siesta time for the employees

It's been a tough work day for the K9 kids. Their job is to chase off the wild birds that fly into the farm to munch on our fruits. Running off those weird looking cats that sport big ears....aka jack rabbits. Lucky, Black, and Number Four. They do great work here at the farm.

I suppose their favorite job here is to be the farm ambassadors. We occasionally have farm tours for groups.....and the K9s treat the folks with wagging tails and licking tongues.

No farm should be without a dog or three. Of course, until last summer, we had five.

.....making a gizmo

If you grow any type of vine-type crop, such as berries or grapes, you'll immediately understand the functional purpose of this homemade gizmo.For about $4.00.....life becomes so much easier on the farm.

Each and every year......farmers train their vines to grow. It's a process that requires lots of pruning and/or tying the vines to a trellis line. Snips and stretch tie vinyl tape is usually used. Snips has a belt holster....the tape has no real good solution to hold it.

By welding a piece of steel re-bar that was bent into a "J" shape...... to a spring loaded one-way latch, you make a perfect tape hanger. Simple snap onto your trellis line (steel or other) as displayed....you are now freed to use both hands....and there is no fumbling around looking for the tape. Significant time savings. I did after the picture was taken...painted it orange. It was getting "lost" in the vines.

.....we have the best cactus eggs

Our special crop........very special indeed........has doubled in size/yield this year.It's a crop that requires very little labor and.......very little water. The thorn-less prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) is the perfect plant. You don’t have to water it after the third year......it flowers..... you can eat the pads and the buds..... and it’s evergreen. Plus, if a piece of it falls off onto the ground, it will grow you another plant.

It's harvest time here at the farm.....for the prickly pear fruit. How do we determine when the fruit is ripe? When the birds start pecking away at it! 

 In modern holistic medicine..... prickly pear cactus extract and supplements are used to treat type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, colitis, diarrhea, and benign enlargement of the prostate gland. Prickly pear lollipops are occasionally used as a weight loss aid in the treatment of obesity. The natural extract is a useful remedy for alcohol hangovers, and the plant's gel-like sap is often used as a hair conditioner.

It's amazing that we seem to be the only farm within Sacramento County that grows this perfect crop. Besides all the uses talked about above.......the older ...more mature green pads are processed into chicken feed. That's right....chicken feed!

We have the best eggs.......hands down!

......the farm is already at work for the Spring 2017

Fall is coming and the farm is already at work for the Spring 2017! Farmer Deno is preparing ground for a new orchard....of a old Turkish variety of "Smyrna" Quince. Makes delicious jellies and pie fillings. Most of you probably never even heard of this fruit. Sort of tastes like a pineapple/pear.

The boysenberry patch is bigger than ever......and it too is expanding. Our fruit stand ran out of berries each weekend (that is good)!

The Blood Plums planted last year produced a few boxes of fruit recently......and according to the folks that were given sample bags of fruit....they were simply the best plums ever! 

Yes....we closed the farm sales a bit early this due to repair all the damage from the broken water piper that bled sand into out driplines, sprinklers, timers, and valves. Two months of repairs....now fully operational. Whew!