Last week Gretchen and I had to search to find a few pounds of okra. This morning, Terry Davis and I picked 44 pounds of okra:
Terry Davis and the okra
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 25 June 2012.
Picking up:
Continue readingOkra is ready!
This big!
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 21 June 2012.
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Zucca in the morning light:
Zucca, Okra Paradise Farms, 16 June 2012
Picture by John S. Quarterman, Lowndes County, Georgia, 16 June 2012.
It's an Italian squash that tastes like pumpkin and grows two feet long.
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The dogs like the new spigot!
Here's video of them cooling off after a run:
Dog shower at Okra Paradise Farms
John S. Quarterman and Gretchen Quarterman, with Brown Dog and Yellow Dog.
Video by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 June 2012.
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Pumpkins:
John S. Quarterman and Gretchen Quarterman with Brown Dog and Yellow Dog.
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 June 2012.
Rain coming in:
A rather odd little grouping of things. A large flock of geese in a cow pasture.
Here's the video:
Geese and Cattle Egrets in a cow pasture
Video by Gretchen Quarterman, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 June 2012, for Okra Paradise Farms.
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Acording to U.S. Drought Monitor, drought throughout south Georgia and surrounding areas is either extreme or exceptional, and has been for months.
Here you can see detail for Georgia:
Continue readingThe only well in the Withlacoochee, Little, or Alapaha River watersheds that seems to be instrumented for near-realtime depth measurements is in Valdosta. That well is now at historic lows, compared to 55 years of back data.
On the
graph to the right, the black triangle in the middle of the green is the median over those 55 years since 1957. The green is 25th to 75th percentile. The yellow is 10th to 24th percentile. The red is below 10th percentile. I’m guessing below the red means never been seen that low before in that month.
The current depth shown, 137.52 feet below the surface on 26 April 2012, is not the lowest ever seen, which was 152.31 feet on 19 September 1990. But apparently it is lower than seen before for April.
Maybe we should think about water conservation more frequently than just when Valdosta’s water pumps have problems. Not just for watering lawns; also for agriculture and silviculture. Maybe we should try to plant crops that don’t require as much irrigation, or plant them in ways that don’t lead to so much evaporation. Maybe we should be more careful about clearcutting trees, which causes rapid runoff that doesn’t get back into the groundwater as much. Maybe we should think about how much growth do we want.
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Does the jar grow around them?
Here’s the video:
Planting Pickles
Video by John S. Quarterman of Gretchen Quarterman planting cucumbers
at Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 16 April 2012.
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Returning for its second year, Valdosta Farm Days starts this Saturday:
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There’s a list of vendors on VFD’s web page. See also their facebook page.
Support local agriculture and buy direct from area farmers while shopping at Downtown Valdosta Farm Days.
The market presents producers from the surrounding areas of Lowndes County offering fresh fruit, vegetables and so much more.
Come for the freshness and stay for the fun at Downtown Valdosta Farm Days!
At the market, you’ll find locally-grown, locally-raised, locally-produced fruits and vegetables, plants, herbs, meats, farm-fresh eggs and dairy products, baked and prepared foods, snacks, and coffee. You’ll also find a variety of artisan and natural value-added products including products made from recycled goods, birdhouses, handmade soaps and body products, candles, gift baskets, and honey products.
Oh, look! Potatoes from Okra Paradise Farms! OPF won’t actually have those there this weekend (they only just bloomed last week), but stay tuned for later Valdosta Farm Days!
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