We have finished filling the large high tunnel with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and squash.  The tomatoes and cucumbers will grow up the twine which you can see my dad installing in the picture.  We use tomato clips for both the tomatoes and cucumbers to help train them up the twine.  The peppers are planted between the rows of lettuce and spinach which we will be harvesting in the next couple of weeks, giving the peppers room to grow.  Our smaller high tunnel is quickly filling with herbs.  Cilantro and basil will finish out the plantings in there.

Outside we are getting the soil ready for our Three Sisters plantings, more lettuce, spinach, beets, carrots, squash, melons, green beans, and cabbage.  It’s quite a bit of work this year because the soil was compacted by the heavy machinery we used on another project, and the fact that Wyatt always wants to fall asleep in my arms while I walk along with the rototiller.  Although, we are several steps ahead of where we were last year, we still are working hard to revitalize the soil for our outdoor garden, and we are behind with our high tunnel tomatoes and peppers because our tunnel wasn’t up in time.  Every year we will be a little closer to being on track, right?

Our rye cover crop is still growing and growing.  Yesterday I watched what at first appeared to be smoke blowing across the farm, but it was actually the pollen from our rye.  It is too tall for the children to see over now, and I warned Wyatt that he might get lost in it if he tried to run through it!  It made me think of the dire warnings from my parents about not wandering in the corn fields when I was a child.

After working at the farm in this heat and humidity we have had the last few days, there is nothing more refreshing than a dip in the pond.  The kids and the dogs are very appreciative of this addition to our farm!