- Posts tagged Tools
- Explore Tools on posterous
Seeding Spinach for a Spring Harvest
The soil temperature in the high tunnel seems warm enough to germinate spinach seed, so I sowed a short row last Thursday; lets hope I'm getting better with the six-row seeder. My plan is to get the spinach picked before its time to transplant peppers or eggplant in June. I'll do another half row of spinach in a week or so, and then it will be time to get the early potatoes planted around the first of March.
Buttonhooks
Buttonhooks are handy tools. Yesterday, my old cow Gert (Gert is the brown cow in the photo below) got a piece of wire wrapped around her hoof. I’m not sure when or how this wire ended up in the pasture, but it must have been some time ago. The wire ran around her ankle twice, went under the wraps and down between her toes, under the hoof and up the back of the hoof, looping again through the wire around the ankle. I was amazed it could get that way on its own, and it was not going to come off easily. My squeeze chute is currently at its other home, so I had to crowd the cows into a pen, and get Gert locked in an alley. Of course the leg with the wire was on the inside of the alley, and I had to get down on the ground and work from under the fence boards. After she got tired of kicking each time I touched her hoof, I was able to work the wire loose, and unwrap it with the buttonhook.
Six-Row Seeder Update, Carrots and Spinach
Carrots were my first attempt with the six-row seeder, and I think it worked out okay, but just okay. I need to do better with the starts and stops.
Spinach was my second use of the seeder, and I still had problems at the end of the row. I'm still getting growth in the high tunnel, despite the short days and cold nights. These pictures were taken a little over a week ago.
Spinach and the Six-Row Seeder (FarmArt)
It’s warm and cozy in the high tunnel, and my first row of mechanically seeded spinach started sprouting a couple of days ago, planted back on the 5th, and they are looking good. I planted six rows in the 30” wide bed, and spaced the seeds 4 inches a part; at least that was the plan. I’ve got a bit of a curve in the middle, and I crowded the edges of the bed, but not too bad. To do as well by hand would have been difficult, and would have taken a very long time, at least for me. I’ve also got a row of carrots seeded, and I’m looking forward to seeing how I did with the much smaller carrot seed.
The Six-Row Seeder takes some getting used to, and requires a finely prepared bed, but I think in the long run it will be a real back saver. Planting a 32’ row of spinach took just a few minutes, and it looks like I’ll have almost no thinning to do.
