June 20-26 was declared Bee Pollination Week by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. You can view his official proclamation here. As Growers of all-things vegetable… and flowers too… we Farmers should maintain a robust reverance for what bees do for our plants. Without them, next to nothing would bloom at the Farm! So treat them as you would a colleague… and try not to fear their presence. Bees are here to help our plants, not hinder them! (6/22/201)
Farm Posts
269 posts
New Irrigation System Update… The Committee has been hard at work and now has the proposed new system out for bid. You can view the layout for the system here and the watering system data here – both are also on our website’s “Irrigation System” page in “About The Farm”. You can also view the system schematics as a slideshow in the “Photo Alum” page. Individual Plot Watering Systems… There are a few individual watering systems already in place at the Farm. Also, the Organic Farmers in Section H have voted as a group to switch over to these for […]
Sounds like there’ll be more than just a few of us gathering for the Farms’ kickoff “Lessons Learned” event. Tina Zipperer will be on hand to offer her professional insight and advice on what to grow next while Education Coordinator, Donna Shea will moderate a con-fab among the Farmers who will be encouraged to share what they have learned so far this season. It all starts tomorrow at 9 am – Saturday July 9th – in Valley Crest Square at the Farm! Bring a chair to get comfortable….once we Farmers get to talking…..well, you know how it goes! (7/7/11)
That downpour was great but we are still in a serious drought so our water pump continues to work overtime to compensate. The SolarSync sensor on our irrigation system dictates just how long to run the pump based on the previous few days’ sun and temperature readings. Needless-to-say, this drought has the pump running close to almost a full hour per section. Eight sections means eight hours of watering… start at 1 am and finish at 9 am. We’d prefer to finish watering by 5 am – better for the plants and for those of us who like to garden first thing in the day – so we […]
Any and all youngsters are invited to gather round renowned children’s book author, Phyllis Tildes as she reads to them from some of her enchanting books on gardening and plants. The event is free and takes place July 27 at 10 am at the Skidaway Library. Phyllis is a Landings resident who has 18 books to her credit…including Plant Secrets; Pumpkins and The Garden Wall. Written with kids from 3-6 years old in mind, these books will charm and inform our future farmers on veggies and gardens and other-things-natural. Put the date on your calendar and in your phone…your children will thank you for it! (6/8/2011)
After our first spring planting at the Farm, we Farmers have learned a thing or two about growing vegetables and fruit in the Savannah climate! Save the Date: July 9th at 9 am in the Farm The Farm will be hosting a gathering for those of you who would like to share their newly-acquired know-how with others. Education Coordinator, Donna Shea, has invited Tina Zipperer, of Zipperer Land Managemnt, to visit with us and share her knowledge as well! No matter whether you have success stories about your vegetables or a disaster tale to share, we want to learn from you. […]
Our first critter breached the fence last night…or so we think…could have been early Monday morning. The consensus among several Farmers this morning was—RACCOON! Plots spotted with demolished, half-eaten tomatoes gave the culprit away. Raccoons can easily climb our fences…no problem for these wily furry vegetarians. TLA Director of Public Works, Paul Kurilla, stopped by to check on the Farm…looked at the tracks in the fresh compost and thinks it could have also been a fox. Whatever it was, it ate well…and left its trail on the plots closest to the south gate… sections G and H. Hope it’s fat […]
We really are a diversely talented bunch of Farmers! Dozens of individual trellises at the Farm certainly bear that fact out. Tall…round…metal…bamboo…straight or shaped like a tee-pee…adorned with art…or roped with twine…these structured webs-built to support traveling plants-display the creativity of the Farmers who built them. Symmetrical or free-form…earth-bound or reaching for the rainclouds…each trellis, pragmatic though it may be, puts a Farmer’s personal stamp on getting the job done. (6/3/2011)
One Farmer was in the dark about the holes in his green cabbage leaves until a plot neighbor revealed the secret to her perfect, hole-free cabbage heads: mint! Planted next to cabbage, mint repels those dreaded cabbage moths that just loved to bore tiny holes in an otherwise gorgeous cabbage leaf. The concept of companion planting has been around for a long time: radishes repel squash borers and cucumber beetles; basil enhances the taste of tomatoes; corn helps out beans and pumpkins; marigolds, geraniums and sunflowers offer all kinds of advantages in the garden. Search Google online for “companion planting” […]
Skidaway Farms Committee Chair, Blake Caldwell, received the 2011 Environmental Stewardship Award from Skidaway Audubon this month. Not one to boast about such things, Blake left us all in the dark! But surfing on Skidaway Audubon’s new website www.skidawayaudubon.org turned up the announcement and a great bio on Blake… seems her Farmer roots go way back to her childhood on the family farm in Kentucky. Read about Blake, and how her keen interest in “all things-natural” helped launch Skidaway Farms by clicking here. (5/25/2011)
In May, Janet Waldie and Blake Caldwell hosted a tour of the Farm for the realtors of the Landings Company. It was a beautiful morning and the farm was the first stop on their regular weekly caravan. Blake and Janet wanted to “tell the story” of the farm so that the realtors could relay that to folks who were prospective residents. The story of the Farm inspired one of the realtors so much he rented a plot for himself during the tour! We are almost at 100% occupancy but there are still three ground-level plots left as well as several […]
The Farm Officially Tips Its Hat to Valley Crest Landscape Companies! Without Valley Crest, Skidaway Farms would not be ….at ALL! We Farmers are enjoying our plots only because Valley Crest Skidaway Island manager, Chris John, and his incredible staff toiled thousands of man-hours moving and tilling and hammering and digging and laying pipes and gravel and seed and hay… many of these were VOLUNTEER hours mind you! To honor this amazing donation of time and energy, the Farms’ Governance and Development Committees voted unanimously to name the center hub of the Farm “Valley Crest Plaza”. Chair, Blake Caldwell announced […]
Swallowtail Butterflies invaded one Farmer’s fennel crop over the weekend. She hand picked eight of their cocoons off the leaves …put them in a jar and gave them to a youngster who wanted to raised butterflies at his house! A nice way to get rid of these critters! They love fennel and ate her leaves… nothing but the stems were left… they’ll do the same thing to parsley! Plant extra crops as “sacrificial” plants ‘cuz you are going to lose a few to these critters. So be on the lookout for their lime green, black and cream-colored larvae. Make sure […]
If you missed our Supper in the Farm on May 15th, you missed the most happening event on the island in a long time! The weather was perfect… the breeze was Savannah-balmy and kept all the bugs and gnats away! Visitors from Atlanta and South Carolina – who were guests of Landings residents – were completely in awe of the Farm… the plots…the diversity of flowers and veggies… the camaraderie… the Farm ART… yep, the Farm art impressed so many people there was a rumor floating through the crowd that we should host an annual competition to see who can […]
We Farmers are mighty creative folks… so when you visit the Farm let your eyes wander to the marvelous art and sculpture that the Farmers have lovingly placed in their plots. Birdbaths and wood-gnomes; antique bicycles and glass globes; costumed scarecrows and, of course, windmills of every size and shape! Enjoy! The Farm Art is just one of our many talents on display! (5/15/2011)
Two visitors to the Farm noticed a Farmer struggling while trying to sift her soil. They stopped to chat with her and suggested using a solid framed sifter as this had worked for them. When the Farmer said that she would have to build one for herself, the two visitors smiled, bid her good day …then went to the store…purchased supplies…and started working. The next day, they returned to the Farm and presented that lucky Farmer with a gift – a wooden sifter! Such kindness extraordinaire! These two visitors remain anonymous but what they have left behind does have a […]
Squash Attacked! The leaves of one Farmer’s summer squash was being eaten by something not visible and the blossoms were shriveling up and dying. So, she dutifully tried an anti-squash vine-borer concoction … which did not work fast enough. Alas – all her squash plants fell prey to the invisible foe and had to be pulled to keep the rest of her plants safe. One Farmer suggested a new tip: a new way of growing summer squash is to put the plants in cages like those used for tomatoes. Growing the plants vertically rather than sprawled on the ground apparently […]