Farming in the shade

We've been busy! We planted some of the beans later than we would have liked this year (due to a wet spring and some slow shipping of bean seed). But we are happy to report that the beans are coming along nicely for the most part. The Yellow Indian Woman beans just after they popped out of the ground...  And Black Valentine in blossom... These are Jacob's Cattle with blossoms and small beans forming. We could use a bit of rain right now. The beans are doing well, but one of the fields is a heavier soil (clay) and is baked to nearly concrete stage with the heat and dry weather. The weeds are somewhat under control, thanks to starting with clean fields, cultivating regularly, and LOTS of hard hand-weeding by the family. We are hopeful...

This isn't actually a photo of organic pesticide. It's a photo of a bit of a wildflower strip that some Michigan State University students planted on our farm several years ago. The Farmer calls it the Predator Feeding Sanctuary. Planting it was part of a study on whether planting habitat for beneficial insects helped with pest control. I don't think I ever heard any definitive results on the study, but it's the loveliest pest control I've ever seen. Last year I made the mistake of treating this area as part of the rotational grazing plan. We didn't see many flowers. This year we're leaving it alone and it seems to be doing just fine. And I did see a ladybug (considered a good insect) on one of the bean plants while I was weeding yesterday...

"But this is gain for a land in every way : a king committed to cultivated fields." --Ecclesiastes 5:9

Tomorrow begins the buying cycle for the West Michigan Co-op . I have a one-year membership to give away to the Co-op. It covers your annual membership fee, and allows you to purchase locally grown and produced foods and other items.  Please comment here or email me at shadysidefarmmichigan (at) gmail (dot) com if you'd like to have a chance at receiving this membership. Please only enter if you are local, and would actually use this. I'll pick a lucky person at random about noon on Wednesday, July 8. That will still give you plenty of time to shop the cycle before it closes on Saturday the 11th.