Farewell Tomatoes- A Homestead Journey for Fall Crops with Rakkasan84 and Furry Friends

Welcome back Steemians for a very special homesteading blog where we say farewell to our tomato and pepper crops for the season and welcome in our fall crops. Joining me on this mission is my husband @rakkasan84 and our two little dogs Jackson and Jasmin. It was a beautiful day outside and with the holiday weekend giving us some much needed extra time, we knew what had to be done. So we headed up to the tomato crops that had been so good to us this year. If you have been following @rakkasan84 you can see our stockpile of salsa and other canned tomato goods that he made for us to enjoy this winter. I'd like to say that this job was no small task, it was a lot of hard manual work but it was well worth the experience. My husband does a lot around our property while I am away at my full time job, so the fact that we could get this done together really set us up for success this season. This was not a one man job, but we had fun and really enjoyed the quality time together.

We got started mid morning once the ground had a chance to dry up a bit and for the chill in the air to warm, and once we started working it wasn't long before things got hot. As my husband started cutting the vines and ties that kept our tomatoes vertical, I started harvesting what was left for our use with the help of the dogs. I would like to add that it is about time those two earned their keep around here, but they did a mighty fine job picking up the ones that had fallen to the ground in the process. By the time Jackson was finished he had tomato sauce all over his chin and he had the biggest smile on his face. If food is involved he is there no matter how big or small the task may be. Once the tomatoes and peppers had been harvested we cleared out the vines and strings and removed the poles. Thankfully the ground was still soft enough to pull them up and out of the ground with ease. This portion of the process was probably the most fun and went by quickly with four of us cleaning up.

For our fall crop we laid down a generous amount of Austrian winter peas and oat seeds in four rows. This too was a quick and easy task. About a week ago I re-steemed @rakkasan84 blog about how we scored the mother load of cedar mulch. To give you idea of just how big this pile was, I feel it is safe to say that the size of this would be equivalent to two of my cars stacked on top of each other. (It was HUGE!) This mulch will help serve many purposes around our property and thankfully we have plenty left and more to come, so just stay with us as we take you a long for more homestead projects to come.

Cedar mulch is great because it really adds to the landscape, diminishes soil erosion, conserves water and because cedar breaks down slower than other wood mulches we won't need to replenish it as often and it will help suppress weeds which also really helps reduce the amount of work around here. Not only does it smell amazing but it has pesticide properties that can help manage the pest problem. There can be some draw backs to using cedar mulch if not done properly, so if this is something you plan to use and have questions about it please feel free to ask in the comments below. In addition to the benefits of the cedar mulch, the Austrian winter peas and oats are a great fall crop for foraging, erosion control, and it's a natural fertilizer.

So this is where the hard work really took place and we worked steady as a team and finished right before sun down. To get this job done we enlisted the help of grandpa's old wheelbarrow, a mid size garden fork and rake, with the occasional shovel to help speed up the process. It is safe to say that after the first dozen trips from the mulch pile to the crop I lost count, but because we had the right tools to get the job done it didn't really feel like hard work.

My job was to return the wheelbarrow to the mulch and load it up, @rakkasan84 would dump the load and rake the pile into the rows. This sort of team work was a great opportunity for him and I to develop clear communication, develop a plan and designate the right person for each task, and accomplish our goals like a boss. I must admit that I have never worked my arms so hard in my life. During the process it didn't bother me a bit because I was in a zone of getting it done. Today my biceps are screaming murder and you know what? It was worth it. I had no idea that those muscles existed and that they could feel such pain. No pain no gain! I wish I could tell you that they look shredded after one day of work but that simply wouldn't be true.

As you can see the landscape takes on a new fresh look and we can't wait to see how it all turns out. This project was really special for me because it's the largest project I have worked on since living here with my husband. I'm really happy that we could share this experience with our Steemit family and to anyone who wants to experience our permaculture journey!

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