| July 7, 2017 -- July 13: Our annual picnic at the Grange Hall at 6pm. Bring a covered dish to share. Hot Dogs, Hamburgers and Soda will be furnished. Please feel free to bring family or friends.
May 11: Agriculture committee reported that the fields are ready but the weather is not. As I write this report I have the heat going in the house to chase the chill and dampness out. It is supposed to go into the forties tonight. The committee reported further that in Binghamton, NY there was heavy wet snow that may have caused some crop damage. Geremia Farms was looking for season help. The weather wasn’t looking to promising for the day before Mother’s day with heavy showers in the middle of the day; for that reason I decided to call off our Flower sale. Janet reported that she received back some ads for the fair book. Jim had brought in 2 cases of fair booklets from the ACF.
A very interesting Gardening Program was then presented by Vern Grant. Vern is your typical home gardener and he has had a garden for quite a few years. He starts his plants indoors early. He makes a miniature greenhouse with seed trays. To get started he mixes water with starter soil to get it moist and then puts the soil in the seed trays. To these trays he adds 8 to 10 tomato seeds to each compartment. Then he bags the tray and places the tray on heating pad that keeps the tray at a temperature of 72 to 76 degrees. The bag helps keep the soil moist. There is no need for light yet because the seedlings don’t need it yet. After 5 to 7 days the seedlings appear and he will place them under a standard double bulb 4ft fluorescent light fixture for 17 to 18 hours a day. When they get about a few inches tall he will take 4 to 2 seedlings from each compartment and plant them in a 4” inch pot. When they are about 4 to 6 weeks old he will transfer these pots out to his garage to harden them up. When they have been out there for a week or so then they are ready to go outside once the weather is warm enough. Vern also explain how he saves seeds: he just doubles up a paper towel and just puts the seeds in-between. So nothing real complicated. He also likes to use and make his own organic fertilizer. He uses pin wheels along the garden and pie tins on fishing line to chase birds away. |
