Life and Death on the Homestead

The viney plants (cucumber, melon, squash, zucchini) went in the ground this past week. It was a few days ahead of schedule, but the forcast was for very warm temps. Tomatoes and Peppers are the last plants that will need to be transplanted. They may go next weekend or the one after that, depending on the weather forcast.

As I have probably mentioned in the past, we are members of the Genessee Valley Organic Community Supported Agriculture. We actually just got our first share today. They produce a wide variety of veggies, but you don't really know what you're going to get on a given week or even for the year. They gave us a list of the vegetables being produced, but there are two different membership levels and the two don't always get the same food. Out of all the vegetables we're growing at the homestead, the one crop that I know there is no chance of us getting from the CSA is Melons. Guess which plant is the first and only plant on the homestead to fall victim to pests/vermin? You can see the carcasses in the picture below. They appeared to have been cut off at the base and just discarded. They were not eaten, merely killed for sport or out of spite. Maybe the families of those weeds I've been killing are retaliating. Its senseless. They were so young....

I'm not willing to give up quite yet, though. I buried the carcasses and planted new melon seeds just above them. The decomposing bodies will provide nourishment for their young siblings. Its a circle of life.

In other news, the first plantings of Pak Choi are getting pretty good sized. There are a couple plants in the bucket in the picture below that I had to thin out. They made a nice little side dish when sauteed.

Which brings me back to the CSA. Guess what we got in our shares this week? Oregano, Garlic Chives, Carrots, and.........Pak Choi.