Onions

We planted some early spring onions this weekend. 

We are still having problems with cats digging up plants. Plastic forks are the latest line of defense.

Documenting Progress: 5.1th Installment

February 4, 2008
The previous installment gave no indication that it is in fact February here in Brooklyn. So here is a more appropriate image. The snow usually stays for a couple days and goes through a messy cycle of melting and turning to ice.
Farmer No. 2 has a size 9 print. Detective work has revealed these .09 size tracks belong to the cats.

Documenting Progress: 5th Installment

February 2, 2009The farm is barren right now except for the frequent cat visits. When Farmer No. 2 chases the cats they slip and slide the entire way down the sheer ice path.

CAATTSS!!

They're everywhere. It's a breeding ground next door and whatever it is in this picture that they are feeding them will end up on the farm. 

Plant Problems: Aphids

Natural pest control is important to Brooklyn Farm. In the spring we found a outbreak of aphids chomping on the crops. In response we released a platoon of aphid killers: ladybugs. Now that it's autumn we haven't decided what to do. Apparently you can just spray off the plants with a strong stream of water and the aphids won't return to the same spot.
But maybe these aren't even aphids. Does anybody know?

Pest Control: Slugs

The nerve. These slugs are cruising around the farm a little too comfortably and actions must be taken. We've spotted them before hanging around the crops. Slugs are almost entirely made up of water so they have to stay in damp places to keep from drying up. This critter was found slithering across the path in broad daylight.
Aerial view showing the trail of slime.
Slugs are attracted to yeast and barley. We filled a couple bowls with beer and sunk them into the ground.
The party got out of hand, in the morning we found over a dozen baby slugs drowning in the beer.

R.I.P. Golden Giant Plant, Young Peppers Orphaned

These brothers and sisters are orphans.
Their parent, Golden Giant Pepper Plant was mysteriously severed at its base today. Total tragedy. 

One possible explanation are those cats again. Border Security may have scared the cat so much that it jumped right into the plant breaking it and forcing us to prematurely harvest its peppers. 

The other pepper plants appear in good health. The Bananaramas are out and we have harvested one so far. The pepper on the right we found on the ground and are not sure which plant produced it. 

Brooklyn Farm Border Security

Those cats are still at it. Every morning as we walk the rows Farmer No. 2 is on the lookout for traces of the cats. Their new favorite spot is our brand new boxes where they bury fresh poo. This forces us to look out for the concentrated swarm of flies. The feral cat community continues to multiply and until these cats start practicing safe and responsible behavior, or until we get the Mayor's Alliance on NYC's Animals on it, we contracted out a sniper. For 24 hour protection a motion-activated sprinkler is strategically placed to watch over the crops. The ASPCA endorses The ScareCrow as a humane method of addressing this pest issue. 

We will be monitoring the placement and the sensitivity dial.

Operation Slugs

There have been slug sightings on the farm. These critters bore holes in the plants which make them more susceptible to rot and disease. We have only seen two of them so far. If there are more, we'll refer to this helpful and safe list of different ways to get rid of slugs. 

Slug trivia: They are hermaphrodites.

Cuteness vs. Cayenne Pepper

A year ago there was only one black cat in the backyard area of our block. This year there are no less than 10 stray cats roaming the yards and doing as they please. Farmer No. 1 heard a tip about using a cayenne pepper mixture to repel cats from backyards. The mixture was sprinkled everywhere, effectively turning the dirt red. Soon enough, the cat noses were all red and sneezing. So it does work, although the sneezing made Farmer No. 1 feel guilty. Also, if it rains or when the plants are watered the mixture is rendered useless. Cuteness wins for now.

Plant Problems Post 2

The brussels sprouts leaves look like swiss cheese. Baby caterpillars have been spotted eating the plant before us. Preliminary online research found this article which describes the evil Caterpillar of the Small White butterfly as the culprit. "Pick off and destroy…"

Plant Problems Post 1

Something is going terribly wrong. Leaves on our swiss chard have not been faring well. Theories range from too much sun or too much water. Online research prompted us to remove the dry leaves (and compost them), but keep the stems because they are still edible. There's no need to wait until the leaves are giant grocery store size swiss chard…we can pick the leaves earlier before they dry up. This discovery resulted in a delicious dinner—

Swiss Chard with Onions

Ladybugs

Ladybugs are a great way to control aphids and other pests without spraying chemicals...and they are completely adorable. We purchased this bag of 1,500 ladybugs from the Gowanus Nursery, or you can buy them at Bio Logic . An adult ladybug can eat 5,000 aphids, then lay up to 1,500 tiny yellow eggs. Just sprinkle a few on each plant and watch them go to work.