Romney WV Farm Update
This post provides a Romney WV Farm Update. It provides an update on the projects being implemented out at Great Escape Farms in Romney, WV. This week we provide updates on the plant propagation beds, the water harvesting systems, the sheet mulching project in the garden, the mini-dams in the food forest garden and the deer proof garden.
Plant Propagation Beds
The plant propagation beds that I put hardwood cutting into back in December is coming along nicely. Almost too nicely actually. I have elderberries trying to flower out and grapes trying to grow grapes. The growth on the top of the plants with limited root growth is causing some plants to wilt a little. So I took a pair of shears and cut all flowers and grapes off and also trimmed back some of the green growth on the more aggressively growing plants. Then I watered the plants and will start a watering campaign in the next week or two.
The Water Harvesting System
I put some black plastic over the IBC totes to prevent algae from growing in them and clogging up the plumbing. The long-term fix is to paint the IBC totes, but that has to wait until the fall / winter when I’m not using the systems. Covering the IBC totes created another problem for us though. Now we cannot see the water level in the totes. We have several ideas on how to solve this issue and you’ll likely see another post in the next week or two with the fix to that issues.
Romney WV Farm Update – Water Harvest
Mini Dams in the Food Forest
The upper part of the food forest has about a foot of leaves down on the ground. For the past two weeks in a row we have had large wash away storms come through and moved the leaves several feet, running right over some blueberry plants. I had a large wood pile in this area and decided to build dams every couple of feet to slow the water down. I know it won’t stop the water, but if it just slows it down so it’s not a fast moving stream, it should stop washing the leaves away.
Romney WV Farm Update – Mini Dams
The Garden
This weekend I went around the garden area and weeded everything. With all of the sheet mulch and wood mulch on top, the weed pressure was not all that bad. I also did a quick inventory and it appears that all the perennials are surviving. The strawberries are struggling a little, but are surviving. I did lose some annual plants, but I’m not the least bit worried about that.
The Garden
Deer Proof Garden
At my father-in-law’s house we repaired the first flush pipe of the water harvesting system. We also did a little more work on a deer proof garden we are installing. This area of WV has a large deer population and they will tear a garden up in no time. The fix for my father-in-law’s garden is to use a raised bed with cattle panels for a roof in kind of a hoop house fashion and 2×4 fencing for the end pieces. This should keep the deer totally out.
The Deer Proof Garden
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Romney WV Farm Update Video
To see more details on the weekend, please see the video below titled: “Romney WV Farm Update”
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