manure

Adah and Kathryn have made friends with all the neighbors and have struck deals with many of them on various projects. Up in Jerry’s orchard they are planting popcorn and meal corn. I went up to help them spread manure this weekend only to find that their first planting (from two weeks ago) had been eaten by crows and blackbirds. So that part of the field received a fresh drench of manure.

In the above photo you can see Jerry on his tractor discing in some overwintered red clover. It was starting to go to seed, the bees were finished with it and it was time to incorporate the organic matter.

The manure came from an auction stockyard to the west of Siler City. Apparently there are livestock auctions there frequently with all flavors of beasts present. The manure was a mixture of pig, goat, horse and cow as well as plastic bottles, beer caps and empty match packets. Kind of like the leaves we get from the Siler City street cleaners but with more of an ammonia bite to it.

Hopefully this round of planting is able to sprout and grow. Adah and Kat are putting row cover over the seeds and installing some scarecrows. I guess we’ll know in a week or two whether those two methods get the seeds through the first phase and into the next battle – deer.