Kataru's love and pursuit of Farming

Farming is not easy, not pretty, not wildly profitable. And I had no prior experience; then, why did I even get into it? I believe I felt a connection. Plus the challenge excited me - To be a successful farmer nowadays, one has to be equal parts entrepreneur and agronomist. As I dug into it, I also found farming to be fulfilling. That's how I branched into agriculture, as the Sanskrit aphorism "Vriksho Rakshati Rakshitaha" (Trees, when protected, protect you) took on a new meaning for me.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Roto-tiller at work at Carpenter ranch

We have hired a rototiller to come in to loosen up and smooth the soil. We have a lot of "sink holes" where the soil has fallen in to cavities formed way back when the ground was ripped. The rototiller does a nice job of loosening and smoothing. In the worst areas the holes are too deep to fill in and we will follow him with our orchard "float" and roller. We will end up roto-tilling probably more than half of the middles.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

When wind and roof fight, wind always wins!

We had a terrific wind all day and in the afternoon there was a period of extreme gusts. We lost very few trees, but the wind badly damaged the roof of the house. It lifted the top layer of the roof and peeled back a section. A good portion of the Styrofoam insulation blew out. A portion of the sheet metal tore. I am pretty sure we will have to replace the whole roof.