Plant Them 'Maters Deep! (Thoughts from week #2)

I am undoubtedly enjoying the tid-bits of information that I am picking up from Barbara and Tom Boyer out at the River Ridge Farm. I aim to create and maintain my own garden of sorts one day and this knowledge I am obtaining will allow me to do this effectively. For example, I learned that tomato plants can be planted deep in the soil. Most crops cannot be buried too deep or they will fail to properly sprout and grow. Yet tomato plants have small pores running up the stems that, if planted deep enough, will sprout new roots. With more roots comes the ability to absorb more water and nutrients from the soil. This improves the growth of the tomatoes. Hence, don't be hesitant to plant your tomato plants deep!

I have learned various tips such as that. I understand that right after planting seeds or transplanting crops into the garden, the area must be watered immediately. This allows the plants to immediately begin absorbing water and nutrients, which allows them to flourish in their new homes.

After dealing with various crops in the garden that needed to have the roots pulled out when being harvested (such as radishes, onions and garlic), I learned that this practice should not be reciprocated with asparagus. This is because asparagus needs its rhizome left in the soil in order to produce the edible stock the next year.

According to Tom and Barbara, pea plants are one of the fastest growing crops. Plus, when they become ready to be harvested, the pea pods are plentiful. Tom said that the most abundant growing crop, though, are zucchini plants. In a joking manner, Tom said that "One zucchini plant could feed a valley if it were re-harvested."

For my project, Jake Baker and I are going to use the high tunnel that Barbara and Tom have on the farm to plant a series of crops. Our first step is to have a soil test conducted by Oregon State University in order to decipher what crops would be best for the area.

Out on the farm, there has been a rapid change of surrounding personnel. The first week on the farm brought about the blossoming of friendships between us interns and a pair of WWOOFers. Yet when we showed up this week, they had up and left the farm. It was unfortunate not being able to say goodbye as I respected the knowledge and morals of Gus and Megan. Also, the two dogs on the farm, Freida and Pablo, disappeared over the weekend. After contacting the local dog pound, asking neighbors and putting an ad in the newspaper, the Boyers have been unable to locate their dogs. Yet Barbara always sees the positive in a seemingly negative situation. She said that if they don't come back, it would enable Tom and herself to build a chicken coop and raise chickens. It was simply too dangerous before with "Freaky" Freida around. Overall, I am enthralled with the knowledge I am gaining and the experiences I am undergoing.