Spring has finally…well, you know the cliché, and I thought that it would be nice to update everyone as to what is happening here at LongMeadows Farm. So earlier this evening, I took my camera and ventured around the farm to see what I could find.
I first passed my husband Xandy who, even as I write this, is busy installing a new deck, which I have to add is his idea of relaxing on this Father’s Day.
I walked to check on our three raised beds that we put in last year to give our larger garden a break (more on that later).
I then walked up by the pool to check on our third bed.
We also have a 1/6 acre garden plot that had been planted by the Browns for over a decade. After a couple of years of pleading, Xandy finally assented to DO SOMETHING about the noxious weeds that had overtaken the plot.
He planted winter rye which we left last year to grow. Earlier this spring we grazed the rye and then Xandy tilled the land twice. What was left is the most amazingly rich soil that I have ever seen. Although, I have to admit that is not saying much considering I have only been gardening for five years.
We have decided to plant half of this plot each year on a rotational schedule. Today I planted crimson clover on the left side, along with in between rows of the rest of the garden.
I then walked back by Xandy, out front to check on our garlic. I found my dog relaxing on the front lawn.
Our garlic, I noticed, is doing fabulously.
It was while I was picking a few weeds out of the garlic, that I found an interesting purple flowered vine with a hard, round pod that I wondered if Xandy could identify. I walked back to the deck and asked if he knew what it was.
“No idea,” he said and proceeded to pull apart the pod.
It was hard, and almost felt like a nut.
“It’s wild cucumber, I think,” he said, and then took a bite out of the pod.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” I yelled back at him, “That thing could be poisonous.”
“Nah, poisonous stuff tastes bad.” He said, and took another bite. “Hey, this tastes good. I think we should cultivate it.”
I went inside and frantically searched Google and our Audubon Field Guide for answers. I kept listening outside to be sure that I still heard noises from him, and I wondered where we had put the poison control number. Then I found this:
Not poisonous. Shocking. It has actually been used for medicinal purposes for centuries.
The plant could be toxic for these guys, however:
So I don’t think that we’ll cultivate it just yet.
That’s if from the farm for this evening. Haying starts tomorrow. Xandy mowed a swathe tonight to be wrapped for silage tomorrow. I guess I won’t see him until September. Hopefully, he won’t eat random plants until then…