THE U-Pick GARDEN will be closing August 20th. This will be the last year the garden will be open to the public. Next year I'll be operating as a CSA, supplying about 20 regular customers with weekly boxes. Thank you for your support over the last 8 years, but it's time to try something new.

To get a copy of my book, "How To Grow Vegetables In Sitka, Alaska" just give me a call....The books are $20 plus tax. If you live out of town and want me to mail you a copy, you can mail a check for $25.60 to:

Lori Adams
P O Box 6021
Sitka, Alaska
99835


Down To Earth U-Pick Garden is located at 2103 Sawmill Creek Road in Sitka, Alaska. It is open usually from mid-June through late August. Hours are Monday-Saturday 12:00 to 6:30. On Farmer's Market Saturdays I am not open until 2:00. Children are welcome but may not run through the garden or chase the ducks. If you have any questions you can contact me, Lori Adams, at 907-747-6108 or 907-738-2241. My email address is downtoearthupick@gmail.com

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

A Summary.......Of Sorts

Things have been really busy around here, and this pretty much sums up why....


But it's not all about the planting....there are lots of other things that need to be done to keep this farm running. Here are just a few:

Moving the Pea Tunnel for crop rotation purposes.


The black zip ties hold each concrete reinforcement wire section to a rebar arch, and the white zipties hold each of the units together. Cut the white zip ties, move the sections, and rezip tie.


Maintaining the duck fence. This section was too low...


 So I added another section....


And tied them together.


Try to get out of that!


These 2x4 blocks that were supporting the big beams alongside the house in the garden were rotting away.


So new ones needed to be built.


An easy, but boring project.


But hey, I got to use a hydraulic jack for the first time.


It's so cool....I came up with all sorts of other things I could use it for in the house, but the jack is so heavy I didn't feel like hauling it around.

All of the beds needed to be tilled and prepped for planting. I had lots of helpers for that job.


While tilling up last year's carrot bed I found a bunch more carrots!


And they were just as sweet and delicious as ever!


Of course all of the starts in the Sunroom needed to be continuously cared for.


This Spring has been so gloomy that all of my starts are very weak and spindly. Very sad.....but I'm hoping for the best. With a little sunshine they should snap out of it.

Of course, Kitty needed to be shaved. Here he is on the chopping block, awaiting his inevitable demise.


 That's better!


 Of course, most of my projects had to be done in the rain.....it just won't stop raining!

Mr. Adams has been busy too, getting the boat ready for the Spring hunting season.


One of his biggest projects was putting a bulbous bow on the boat. For those of you who do not know what a bulbous bow is....
  1. bulbous bow is a protruding bulb at the bow(or front) of a ship just below the waterline. The bulb modifies the way the water flows around the hull, reducing drag and thus increasing speed, range, fuel efficiency, and stability.

A "building" was required for this project. 


And Gerald Gangle, our local fiberglass expert, was hired to make sure the job was done properly.


And while he was doing that, Mr. Adams was attending to all of the other things that need to be done at haulout time.


 Here are the guys with the finished project. It's a thing of beauty....


It's a beautiful thing!


 And back in the water it went.


Of course, with an extended bow, it now became necessary to extend the bow roller too, so the anchor won't drop on the bulbous bow. Mr. Adams built a beautiful new bow roller.


He's handy like that.


 A lot of long, hard hours have been put into these projects....I think we both could use a vacation.

6 comments:

  1. I don't think I like the word 'bulbous.' But the carrots look yummy!

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  2. Never a dull moment! What an amazing, inspirational duo! Love that you chose to live your busy lives in Sitka. And thoroughly enjoy your blog!

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  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  4. I'm thinking those tomatoes can be buried deep and you would never know they had once been weak and spindly. Being the farm girl you are, I'm sure you are already aware of that. :)

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  5. Well, it's totally true. For my garden starts And personal tomato plants I don't mind too much, although they are small they can be buried deep up to their necks. The biggest problem is the tomato starts I sell to the local nursery. I like them to be sturdy for appearance and handling, but there isn't anything I can do about it short of transplanting them like you said. Unfortunately I'm not willing to invest the time and resources for that and the customers wouldn't like having to pay more for them. They seem to be selling fine at the nursery, but I really feel like it wasn't my best....

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