July is usually a bit of a slower month on the farm and very weather dependent. The first cutting of hay is done. Second cutting will start this month – hopefully. It all depends on getting enough rain for the grass to grow and enough dry days in a row to make the hay. The hops are all strung, growing to the top wire, and starting to produce ‘burrs’ from which the hop cones develop. Usually we turn the sheep back out in the hop yard and they will do their job of trimming the bottoms of the bines. This helps with weed pressure and air flow to help reduce disease. This year may be different as we are nursing along ‘baby’ hops from cuttings of the Monocacy Hop. They may not be well established enough for the sheep but are growing well and we anticipate a small harvest of our own.
The lambs have all had their booster vaccinations and were shorn in June. The ‘quads’ have officially been weaned off of the bucket fed milk replacer and are all doing well. Summer means watching them VERY closely for signs of parasite infestations. Neighboring farms have crops coming up and barley and straw being harvested.
Vegetables have been sequestering the sun’s energy and more and more are coming ready for harvest. We have stated to dig new potatoes. This year we have Russetts, Yukon Gold, Pontiac Redskin, and Kennebec varieties. Did you know potatoes originated in the Andes?
Sweet Corn and tomatoes should be coming in around the end of this month. Planting different varieties as well as staggering the corn plantings allows us to extend the season for the fresh crop.
Look for the farm fresh produce in our mercantile