There are more great storm video's on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/Turquoise-Trail-Lavender-Farm-428931034543845/?modal=admin_todo_tour
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This lonely sunflower decided to grow amongst the lavender! I couldn't find it in your heart to pull it so it just keeps getting bigger... I thought I would share it's progress. The lavender is also getting really hardy! Some are even starting to rebloom. Life is good on the farm 😊
If you care to see the video here is the link to our Facebook page you can see it in it's glory... https://www.facebook.com/428931034543845/videos/363676654297243/?modal=admin_todo_tour 16 boxes arrived from FedEx today! They contain our new irrigation system. The new system is much more adapted to the harsh environment of the desert. It is 1" lines of thick plastic that the rodents shouldn't be able to smell the water through. It is going to be built on a t-line system and each plant will have it's own emitter. We think the rodents might eat through the emitters so we bought extras of those, but the system will be a slow drip system that the plants are used to and a pressure system that our well can handle. I guess it is time to head back to the field to take out the old system and put in the new! Let's just hope that all of the money and time will keep the pesky rodents out of the irrigation lines! Have a great day! Lyric and I start early tomorrow morning!
We have finished cutting the lavender! PHEW the the last row is cut now we are getting ready to change our irrigation system. It is never boring here at the farm!
Things have been really crazy here on the farm. We have been working on on the lavender. It is July and we are currently cutting all of the rows. We are also weeding and trying to figure out some rodent issues. We thought it might be better to water in the evening. Big mistake! The rodents we think field mice or rats were attracted to the water. They began to eat through the irrigation lines for the water. We have repaired the lines and are going to try to bury the lines deeper to see if this solves the problem. It has been just so pretty in the evenings I thought I would share this.
The booster pump decided to give up the ghost on July 3rd. This is a big deal for an off-grid house. Trying to find a DC booster pump is not an easy ordeal. Well it didn't happen! After going to 3 different places, calling several more. We drove from Santa Fe to Albuquerque and ended up with a booster pump that is for AC. This means that it is now wired with an extension cord from the well to the house so the inverter can convert it to AC power. Also, Carl Hansen luckily was close by so he could wire it to work for the short term until the new DC pump can arrive. We will keep the AC as a backup. But man what a ride... No water without your booster pump. Sigh! What a blessing to have good neighbors close by to help in a pinch! Thanks Carl!
We had a 76 plants die off in transition. We made an executive decision to go and buy some plants at local nurseries. We couldn't get enough plants from just one so we ended up going to two different places. Auga Fria in Santa Fe and Plant World in Albuquerque. They are both great nurseries and do a wholesale business so it was great for the farm. We are hopeful that now all of the plants survive. I don't think we will replace any more this year. It is getting much too hot. Also too expensive.
Today we began to give the the lavender a haircut. We are just pruning them back to help them grow. Normally you cut in July and again in October.
This is not a typical cutting they are short and much less than a older plant. I'm going to come up with something fun with the stems that I gather from the first cutting. This is from the first 6 rows. Only 74 to go. This is it! The last plants to go in the ground. We will finish planting in just a few hours... Phew!
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