Another early day out picking squash since I had to be in town by 10 am. My largest day so far with 46 pounds of squash. All the plants are producing pretty well except for the crookneck and the table dainty but they have oodles of flowers so should start putting off more soon.
The cooler has 213 pounds bagged and boxed. I have an order for 230 pounds for tomorrow for our CSA box for the co-op. Nicely that means I only need another 17 pounds to fill out the order. I'm happy that I will have extra as I have yet to check to the squash I picked last week since I may need to swap out any that are not of good enough quality. I have left the bags all open now in hopes of reducing the amount of moisture in the bags which is a key part of the reduced shelf life. Always a learning experience and if we aren't learning we aren't growing.
My 10 am appointment was to finish the water pump replacement and to clean up the water feature. It had sat for a couple of weeks which meant it had grown a thick layer of scum. After getting the pump in the hole on the pavers I placed in the hole I was able to get it powered on and then drained all the scum water out as I sprayed the rocks down with the hose.
You can see how nasty the water was. Luckily the water feature is only about 4-500 gallons so it doens't take very long to drain it with a 10K gph pump.
The water feature sprayed down and drained of the bulk of the old water. It is next to impossible to remove all the water since the pump sits some inches above the lowest point. The remaining water gets diluted with the fresh and then the chlorinator takes care of the rest of the scum which also settles out.
You can see the still colored water but that is far better than it was.
Most of the mid part of my day was spent on various task around the farm. I spent a good hour in the tool shed trying to get some organization done. It really is a disaster area and is in serious need of sorting/cleaning/organizing.
A bit after 4pm I went out to get the package which had my new relays and heat sinks. I ripped the old one off the back of the board for my glycerin setup and installed the new one in short order. I powered it on and was very pleasantly surprised to see the relay has an led on it to show it is powered on. SUPER HANDY! I have a second relay/heat sink to use on another project later.
I made a quick dinner and barely got the boys and myself out the door in time for scouts. Scouts was primarily a planning meeting for the adults. Next week we will be having our meeting mid day at the lake near our farm and will do an awards ceremony for the boys.
Our road is going to be closed for the next month and a half while they repave and rebuild the roadbed. I hope to get the workers to dump some asphalt along our dead end so I can go and fill the potholes that have been growing. They should have ample asphalt for the little bit I will need since they are paving over a mile of Chattaroy road.
Today I pick as always, run the sprinklers on the gardens, keep organizing the tool shed, prep all the boxes of squash for delivery tomorrow morning, get a batch of glycerin going, prep the trailer for getting grain along with my delivery which will make for an hour and a half round trip instead of the normal hour,and need to figure out the next bike ride day now that the temps are dropping to the low 90s.
For more information about our farm:
Fleming Family Farm
FLEMING FAMILY FARM, LLC
Sustainable & Organic Methods | Heirloom Produce
