Just another quick update.  Last week the emphasis was on planting, watering and maintenance tasks.  Most things are in and we are late this year.  We had to adjust some planting schedules but we should be o.k. unless Mother Nature throws an early freeze this fall.

John spent Wednesday and Thursday setting posts for various trellis systems.  The majority of the posts are to accommodate the tomatoes.  The taller posts are for the pole beans and pea varieties.

Posts Set - 06/26/11

This coming week, we will be working on the actual trellis installs.  We primarily use the “Florida Weave” method for tomatoes and are experimenting with a new method for pole beans.  More on that in a future blog post.

As we are approaching the month of July, make sure that you are signed up for our newsletter.  It will be sent out late this week.  If you are not yet signed up, click here to join our list.

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Part of the reason we do what we do is to encourage and promote healthy living.  I ran across the following article that I thought was interesting.  Proof that gardening not only provides us with healthy food, but also is an activity that provides healthy exercise.

Although the countdown to the Summer Solstice is literally down to hours, it still feels like spring here.  And that is actually a step up from it feeling like winter!  It was so cool and rainy on Saturday (two days ago) that we had to list a fire in the furnace.  Interestingly, one of the headlines in today’s paper read, “Oregon Endures Second-Wettest Spring in 117 years of Record Keeping.”  I for one am hoping and praying that the weather changes, we actually get a decent summer and growing season, and that it lasts well into October.

We have finally made a big dent in our planting.  Our potting shed and greenhouse are finally about empty of plants.  Tomato, pepper and tobacco plants are all in.  Corn, beans, squash, melons, etc., are sown.  At least the main production varieties.

We are now actively figuring out what small samples of rare seeds we have in the seed bank that need to be grown out for comparison to the historical record and then if accurate, scheduled for seed multiplication grow outs.  That process typically takes anywhere from 2 to 7 years from the time we receive a rare heirloom variety to when we have seed available for home gardeners.  This is also the whole foundation of our mission.

This is the biggest of our gardens this year. It is a little under one acre. You can see this view from our field camera, watch us work and watch the progress.

Speaking of mission, if you have recently discovered us and would like to learn more about what we do and why we are here, you can learn a lot by following the links below:

About Us

• About Our Company
  • Historical Company Timeline
• About Our Mission
• About Our Seeds
  • Our Position on GMOs / Safe Seed Pledge
• About the Farm
  • Virtual Farm Tour
• Customer Praises
• In The News
  • Information for Members of the Press
• Contact Information
  • Our Business Hours
  • Following Us On Twitter

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This is just a quick entry . . . We moved our son’s belongings home on Thursday but yesterday was his first day here.  We finally had a convergence of the right conditions – prepared soil, dry weather, and help!  If you are indoors and bored, you might be able to catch us out in the fields working on one of the FarmCams.  You can watch at http://www.duntonfarms.com/weather/cam_page.html.

We went from cold, wet weather (that felt like winter) to Summer overnight here in the Northern Willamette Valley.  This happened on Friday and Saturday.  By yesterday (Sunday), the clouds started coming back in and it is considerably cooler today.  The nearly 90F temps on Saturday, combined with a breeze, allowed me to get the small tractor and tiller onto about 75% of the field yesterday afternoon.  And although there were serious thundershowers last night in our area, we were spared.  I will get the remainder of the field tilled today.  The rest of the week looks overcast with a chance of showers and highs in the mid-60s.  Frustrating for a farmer but nearly identical to the hand we were dealt last year.

Small orders are still trickling in (Thank you!!!) and we are able to get them quickly mailed out.  Typically we are sending them within one business day.  Folks here at the Victory Seed Company are taking advantage of this slow time for early vacations and catching up on home maintenance tasks.

Thursday we are moving our son back home from college for the summer and starting first thing Saturday morning, we plan to focus on planting.  So far the forecast looks promising.  The plants in the greenhouse are holding out but they are beginning to look a bit stressed and need to be out in the ground.

Not a lot else to report.  Blog posts may now start to be more sporadic than normal as I am required to spend less time in the office and more time out in the fields.