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May Farm Tour Photos / Farm Work Day Info

December 12, 2005

Wrapping Things Up For Winter - Thaddeus

The peach trees have shed themselves of all their summer leaves. Each
different variety of peach lets their leaves go in a slightly different fashion - some leaves cling to their mother branches for longer than others with different shapes and patterns. Ultimately they all part with one graceful dance through the air to the ground from which they were created. Now the orchard looks different, the formerly bare rows of soil covered with a painting of gold, orange and red leaves that shuffles with the wind. The bare trees stand taller and reveal their structure much more clearly. The top branches of the trees are much more red in color than the older grey trunks that have seen the changing of the seasons more than once.

Now is the time to prune the peaches for the summer to come. Pruning
trees is a mindful, strategic task that requires looking at the tree and making predictions about what will happen to it next year. The goal is to cut off the branches in a fashion that will cause the tree to yield the most sustainable amount of fruit. How much fruit will this branch hold without breaking? How many pieces of fruit will this tree be able to adequately nurture? Will the tractor accidentally rip off any of these branches if I leave them? Which branches will produce the most fruit? What about the shape I am leaving - will I be able to prune that next year? It is much more difficult than you might think. Like all difficult jobs, the end product is quite satisfying if done well.

The farm is busy with the dry weather. Besides pruning orchards we are transplanting spring crops into the greenhouse, putting away irrigation pipe for the winter, harvesting fall and winter crops. All of this is being done in the very cold weather (my grandfather recorded a 35 degree night last week). We are also bustling to do the last of the farm clean up before winter - this is a task that never seems to be complete.

Enjoy your boxes and I hope this holiday season treats you well.

Thaddeus

 

 

Customer Work Day Update
Please check back for updated information about the next Work Day on the farm. You can also email and let us know you'd like to be put on the list for the next one.
Plant some trees! Pull some weeds!
Get dirty & sweaty, & feel GOOD!


Please email: noah@farmfreshtoyou.com to
reserve space for you, family and friends.

Plan on arriving at the farm early in the morning, as close to 8am as possible, and bringing a lunch to enjoy out in the orchard.
We'll plan on wrapping things up around noon due to the heat,
and you'll be free to relax in the shade of the trees and
have lunch afterward.

 

Farm News
April 16, 2008
Spring Heat
April 9, 2008
Farming Weeds
April 2, 2008
The Canal Season
March 26, 2008
Spring Overload
March 19, 2008
The Spring Rush
March 12, 2008
The Frog Hole
March 5, 2008
Light Brown Apple Moth
February 27, 2008
Herb Garden
February 20, 2008
Cental Valley Agriculture
February 13, 2008
Greenhouse Time
February 6, 2008
The Science of Farming
January 30, 2008
Generation Two
January 23, 2008
Paper Whites in January
January 16, 2008
Winter Pruning
January 9, 2008
The Storm of the Winter
January 2, 2008
The Farming Year
December 19, 2007
Auction Season
December 12, 2007
Winter Winds
December 2, 2007
Herb Garden in the Making
November 28, 2007
Fall Colors
November 27, 2007
Thanks for the Soil
November 14, 2007
Green Festival
November 7, 2007
Fish Pile
October 31, 2007
Fall Changes
October 22, 2007
Married in France
September 26, 2007
The Perfect Tomato
September 19, 2007
Fall Is Falling
September 3, 2007
The Blue Wasp
August 29 , 2007
The Chard Challenge
August 22 , 2007
Fall Planting
August 15 , 2007
Ideas for Fall and Winter Crops
August 8 , 2007
A Lesson in Transplants
August 1 , 2007
Mini Quail
July 25, 2007
Middle of Summer
July 4, 2007
Jersey Girl vs. Mr. Rattlesnake

June 27,2007
Already Thinking of Fall-Thaddeus

June 20, 2007
A Week of Benchmarks -Thaddeus

Jun 6, 2007
Goslings in the Creek -Thaddeus

May 30, 2007
Tomatoes -Thaddeus

May 23, 2007
Summer Smells -Thaddeus

May 9, 2007
Muddy in May -Thaddeus

May 2, 2007
What a Busy Week-Thaddeus

April 11, 2007
An Early Start - Freeman

April 4, 2007
Gopher Food - Thaddeus

March 28, 2007
Spring Silence - Thaddeus

March 21,2007
Spring Buds and Worm Food - Thaddeus

March 12, 2007
Spring Gobbles - Thaddeus

March 7, 2007
Spring Time - Thaddeus

February 26, 2007
Summer Food Please - Thaddeus

February 19, 2007
Peach Blossoms and Arundo Burning - Thaddeus

February 12, 2007
Chris Leaves - Thaddeus

January 31, 2007
Heart Attack- Thaddeus

January 24, 2007
Turkeys Can Fly- Thaddeus

January 10, 2007
Live the Seasons- Freeman

January 1, 2007
Happy New Year Thaddeus

Nov 29, 2006
Organic? - Thaddeus

Nov 15, 2006
Winter Preparation - Thaddeus

Nov 1, 2006
Canal Dries Up - Thaddeus

Oct 25, 2006
Beets - Thaddeus

Oct 18,2006
New Database - Thaddeus

Oct 11,2006
Rain, Sweet Rain - Thaddeus

Oct 4, 2006
Organic Fertilizers- Thaddeus

Sept 27, 2006
Windy Days - Thaddeus

Sept 20, 2006
Clean Produce - Thaddeus

Sept. 13, 2006
Cools Coming - Thaddeus

Sept 6 , 2006
War of the Worms - Thaddeus
Aug 30, 2006
Fall Falling - Thaddeus
Aug 23, 2006
Farm Tour - Thaddeus
Aug 16 , 2006
Hopping Roadblock - Thaddeus
Aug 9 , 2006
Tomato Storys - Thaddeus
Aug 2 , 2006
Slow Food- Thaddeus
July 26, 2006
Blah Blah- Thaddeus
July 19, 2006
Golden Hills - Thaddeus
July 12, 2006
Heirlooms and Heat - Thaddeus
July 5, 2006
Algorithms - Thaddeus
June 28, 2006
It's Getting Hot Out Here - Thaddeus
June 21, 2006
Cherry Tomatoes - Thaddeus
June 14, 2006
Bear and Deer Meet- Thaddeus
June 7, 2006
Poults in the Green Beans- Thaddeus
May 31, 2006
A Wedding in the Garden - Thaddeus
May 24, 2006
The Wedding Brigade - Thaddeus
May 17, 2006
Irrigate!!! - Thaddeus
May 10, 2006
Trading Weather for Carrots - Thaddeus
May 3, 2006
Honoring Immigrants - Thaddeus
April 26, 2006
Radishes with Aioli - Thaddeus
April 19, 2006
Can we cultivate yet?! - Noah
April 5, 2006
Migratory Birds and this Crazy Rain - Thaddeus
March 29, 2006
Getting Tractors in the Field, Ready or Not - Thaddeus
March 15, 2006
Warm in the Greenhouse, Frost Outside - Thaddeus
March 8, 2006
Bear Learns to Chase Rabbits - Thaddeus
March 1, 2006
Dependent on the Weather - Thaddeus
February 22, 2006
Almond Festival - Thaddeus

February 15, 2006
Feels Like Summer, Sort Of - Thaddeus
February 8, 2006
Spring & SuperBowl Sunday - Thaddeus
February 1, 2006
Back from Asilomar - Thaddeus
January 25, 2006
Wind & More Wind - Thaddeus
January 18, 2006
Figs in the Greenhouse - Moyra
January 11, 2006
Toms & Jakes - Thaddeus

January 4, 2006
Rain, Roadblocks & Mud - Thaddeus

December 12, 2005
Wrapping Things Up For Winter - Thaddeus

December 5, 2005
Au Revoir, Automnal - Noah

 
All Past Farm News for 2005