Tobacco Stalks

I haven't gotten to take any pics of taking the tobacco down from the shed, or of stripping the leaves off yet this year....I will get some the next time we take some down. I did however get some pics of pulling the stalks off the lath.

Here the leaves are in 30 lbs bundles, the stalks and lath are piled behind the bundles.


Ed Sr. feeds the lath with stalks through the Lath Puller.



Two rolls pull the lath through the headboard leavin the stalks on a shelf.




The lath are tied into buldes of about 50 and piled in the corner of the shed for next years use.
The stalks are piled into a wagon and will be spread out on pasture and corn fields.

The white circles in the pics are the camera capturing the flash reflecting off all the dust in the air.

One shed done....two more to go!



Gene

Cooling Down

Well this is certainly a day to see the frost on the pumpkin………that is IF we had any pumpkins! Some crops did sooooo well and others not so much! Even our “pup” Diesel didn’t want to crawl out of bed to get a biscuit! That is saying something. It’s definitely turning cold now and it will make it much harder for the guys to strip the tobacco. Even being in the shed with some protection after the sun goes down it gets cold very fast.
The geese are flying south but also finding some of the fields to make a stopover and the gun fire is abundant. First thing in the morning you can hear the shots being fired. Several farms around us must have them set to go off!
My windshield needed scraping this morning too! I am not ready for cold weather! I would have liked a few more weeks of 45-50 degree weather but I think we are in for some pretty low temperatures now. I guess that means the turnips will be much sweeter this year! Jean brought out his coveralls and so the season goes on!
On our farm the work doesn’t stop because the season is over! Now some of the other work begins. This weekend sweet corn was cooked and packaged for the freezer. The sheds will house some of the tractors as the tobacco is stripped and bundled. The stalks will be put out in the fields to go back in the ground from where it came.
At home our Oak trees are sharing their abundance with us too! Lots of acorns and many, many leaves to cover the ground…….now of course we expect the rain because each year we have not been able to rake or pick up the leaves due to continual rain! Let’s hope we can get some of them up!


Chris

Cutting Corn Silage

We finished cutting the corn silage for the cows to eat over the winter.

Ed Jr. running the chopper with Jean along side with the trailer

Gene pushing up the pile and packing it down with the dozer.




Ed Sr. backing up to the pile to dump off a load of corn.




Gene back on the dozer.






And of course, the hardest worker on the farm, Diesel.

Gene

Feather Pots

I just read an article in the Connecticut Weekly Agricultural Report that says there is now a way to take chicken feathers and make flower pots from them. The chicken feathers which are an unwanted byproduct of poultry processing may have a more valuable use as an ingredient in biodegradable flower pots. This is according to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist. The pot looks and feels like a normal plastic pot that you could buy at your local nursery. These pots are made to disintegrate naturally without harming the environment. These pots are manufactured without any petroleum components would release beneficial nitrogen into the soil. For the full article www.ct.gov/doag the September 16th issue. Well, Jane I guess we know what we should save all our chicken feathers for! It may take a while but we have time. (Only 24 chickens could take a LONG while so don’t wait for us to have pots for you for next planting season.)

Chris

Winding Down

This year has been quite a year for the Garden of Eat’n. We are winding down now on our weekly pickups. This week and next may be the last of the main vegetables. Potatoes and Turnips will be available closer to Thanksgiving. We of course, will let you know about that as the time draws nearer. We hope you have enjoyed what vegetables we were able to provide for you this year.
Our honey production for this year was not as plentiful as we hoped but what we did take this year was good quality. We are most grateful to our mentor John Howe of Willington who gave much of his time and talent to help Chris and Ed Jr. learn how to take care of the hives and bees. Thank you so much!
A very grateful thank you also goes out to Joe Jauss for his help in setting up this year’s shares at Emanuel Lutheran Church. Thank you so much!
If you wish to take home your bins home to store them until next year please feel free to do so. If you wish us to hold them over for next year we will be happy to do so for you.
When potatoes and turnips are ready you can bring a bin or bag as we will let you decide how many you would like to have for your family. We will give you notice by email, blog and/or by phone so you will know for certain that they are ready for pick up.
Again all of us at Rothe Homestead Farm would like to say thank you to all who shared our ups and downs with the weather and veggies this year! We hope to see you again next year!


Edward Jr. , Edward Sr. and Jane, Gene and Diesel, Jean and Chris

I know, I'm a slacker!

I haven't been keeping up with updating here. Even though the tobacco harvest is done, we're still busy here.

The newest addition to our Farmall family.....I think this one makes the count now 62.

A new fan assembly and a fix an oil leak.


One of the Cubs I'm workin on.


This one needs a new rear main seal on the engine.


Flywheel removal


A buddy of ours dropped of his H for me to fix. Engine was froze up. Got it freed, but it smokes like a chimney.


Bad valve guides.


Pulled the head...gonna put new rings on the pistons and new rod bearings in it while I got it apart.


Meanwhile, Ed Jr.'s been busy reroofing one of the tobacco sheds.


Ed Sr. helpin him out...ya ain't gettin me up there. I'll stay in the shop...thats where the beer is anyways!!!





One more day and he'll have it pretty much finished. Hope the Rain holds off!!

Gene

The Garden

This year we are trying something new with the basil and dill. Since the season was so wet and much of the herbs did not do well we decided that using the cold frame nearest the tobacco shed by Ed Sr.’s house might be the better place to grow herbs. These were planted a little late (cause not all good ideas come timely) and they are making a good showing now. We will be cutting them in just a week or so and bunch them. Then you will find 2 small buckets in the Veggie Shack with where you may take a bunch from each small bucket. We also planted cut flowers and savory and marjoram. I will have to see when these will be ready for the buckets too. Next year we will plant the herbs earlier and plan for wet or dry weather.
The tomatoes took a real hit this year. Not many of the farmers we have talked to have had a really great crop. It took corn quite a while before there was any available for picking. The weather this year could have been much, much better. But we should also be thankful that we did not have a real drought that lasted all season or year! Which is worse you ask; drought or constantly wet? Either can ruin a farmers crops in a year.

Chris