Farming in the shade

While we were putting the roof and sides on, we were also taking out our frustrations a little at a time by busting out the old concrete floor. Yes, with a sledgehammer. Our skid steer was a great help in hauling off the concrete. We filled three dumpsters with concrete that will be recycled by a local excavator. Before the new concrete floor could be poured, we needed to wet down the sand. We were surprised at how dry the sand was, but it hasn't had any rain or moisture on it for decades so I guess it makes sense that it would be dry.  Four cement trucks came that day, and we poured an estimated 27 cubic yards of concrete. The day of the pour was fairly warm. Probably too warm for the workers. Some things are worth hiring done, and while The Farmer and his father helped, the bulk of the work was done by a contractor. The Farmer comes from a construction background. His father and one grandfather were brick masons. His other grandfather was a furnace man. The Far...

After the roof trusses were set, we nailed plywood to the roof and sides of the new addition. This work is not for the faint of heart, or those with a fear of heights.  Love that nail gun. After the plywood was on, it was time to put the steel siding up. My mother in law started the holes, to make the job easier when the siding was vertical. Again, not for the faint of heart. Sam, the intrepid cat, amused us by climbing ladders. Here is the start of the cupola vent. There will be three attic vents. This one is the coolest. Before the siding went on the ends of the barn, four windows needed to be wrestled in place and secured. Again, tricky work at the top of a ladder. It's almost weather-proof now, and the progress will be less dramatic from here on out. If you'd like to see the other stages of the barn renovation project, click here .

We grow edible dry beans. Many times people will ask us, "How do you dry them?" We don't. They naturally dry on the plants. The plants dry out and die. The pods become crackly dry. And the beans inside the pods dry and harden.  Once the beans are dry enough, we harvest them. With some varieties, that means hand pulling the plants and loading them on hay wagons.  We've found a very short window each day where the harvesting conditions are perfect--the dew is just gone from the plants, but conditions are not yet extremely dry. In the heat of the late afternoon, the crackly dry pods will break open and spill the beans on the ground when the plants are pulled. Too much waste. When the hay wagon is full, we bring it to the combine and run the plants through to separate the beans from the plants and pods. For a short video on how the combine works, click here .