Archive for the ‘Crop Progess’ Category

How We Plant Pumpkins

Tuesday, July 5th, 2016

Transcription
Good afternoon. Greetings from Maize Valley Farm, Farm Market, Winery, and Craft Brewery, and we’re planting fun today. “We make great wine fun” was one of our tag lines because we started in the corn maze business and the pumpkin patch thing. [00:00:15] My wife’s family’s been farming in and around the parts here since the 1800s. The home farm is about a half a mile that way, as the crow flies. Maybe about a mile, that’s where she and I live, and this is the rest of the place here, where we have the brewery, the winery, [00:00:30] the farm market, the restaurant, the live entertainment, activity area back. We’re making hay there soon, corn maze in the back, pulling that vineyard out. Gonna try some new different grapes there, and this year pumpkin patch right here. We’re gonna try and put some pumpkin down in this black [00:00:45] muck soil we have here along the ditch.

It’s a gamble. Last year, it flooded. That was kind of unusual vineyard over there. But to plant pumpkins, a lot of people ask, “How do you plan pumpkins?” We use a corn planter. I’ve seen a lot of people do it different ways. [00:01:00] This works really, really well for us because it takes one guy. It takes a little bit of adaption of the corn planter, but not much. There is a video. If you go to the Maize Valley, it explains. If you’re a farmer and you’re looking to plant pumpkins about this and you’re wondering how we did it, [00:01:15] we changed the planter plates inside there.

How adapted our corn planter plates to plant pumpkins

Basically you have the plate inside there with the cells that suck up the the seed corn. Well, you gotta make them a little bigger to fit the pumpkin, but about one every fourth or fifth one, we leave open. The rest, we put silicone across, and you squeeze them shut. And then as the plate [00:01:30] comes around and the vacuum pulls it up, it only fills that one, giving you that approximate 60-inch spacing. We put ours about 60 inches apart this way and then 60 inches apart that way. Well, how do you do that? You only use row 1, 3, and 5. That [00:01:45] gives you, on a 30-inch space planter, 60 inches crossways, or I guess I would say horizontal. And then vertical, we did it because, with the plates like that, they’re a little close at every four.

Next time we do it, [00:02:00] I might go at 5. You get them about 60 inches apart going in the row that way. That way, you don’t get an exact grid, but you get approximate the spacing with one guy doing it. I’ve seen other people, where they go and actually sit and drop the seed down through. That’s not any fun in my book. [00:02:15] On the vacuum, we run about six pounds, so there’s a vacuum holding those seeds against there that’s right to brush it off. I’m not running any fertilizers on this particular field. This is high organic matter, extremely [00:02:30] fertile soil. It does really, really well, if we can keep the weeks under control and we can keep it from flooding.

Then you use the row marker right over there. That marks the row, but you don’t do it like you did in the corn maze video, where I lined the hood ornament on. You line your left front tire up each time. [00:02:45] So every time you come around, you put your left front tire on the row marker. That’s why I have the bucket up. It gives me a little bit more visibility there cause I’m doing something a little bit different. But this is how were planting pumpkins at Maize Valley today. [00:03:00] These varieties should come ripe end of September, first part of October, in time for the fall activity area and that kind of stuff.

I’m gonna move over. This is our you-pick patch here. We’ll bring the wagon rides out to this patch out here, [00:03:15] unload people. They can go and pick their own pumpkin with their family or however they would like to do it. And then we just have them pay for it at the tractor, each driver. In the back, I’m gonna go put in some pie pumpkins for Marlboro Madness. That’s that little red thing way up there. That’s our pumpkin [00:03:30] cannon.

We do a lot of different cool stuff in the fall. I plant a special pumpkin for the pumpkin cannon. I don’t want it any larger than 8 inches. I don’t want it any smaller than 6 inches. But we sit in the ridge, and we shoot over there to the Christmas trees. That’s Moore’s Tree farm next door. They’re really cool [00:03:45] about it. It’s about a half a mile we shoot them, as the pumpkin flies. So once again, thank you for stopping by and talking about pumpkins at Maize Valley. It’s never to early to plan your group outing out here. Take care. [00:03:59]

Looking for a Real Nice Christmas Tree? Check out our Neighbors to the East!

Friday, November 29th, 2013

People often ask us when they are out at our place, “Are those your trees?” as they point to the Eastern edge of our farm. No we say but the folks that own them are awesome. It is Moore’s Christmas Tree and Dayliliy Farm and we always suggest that people make the journey back out to the Marlboro/Hartville area to find that perfect tree.

Just the start of your selection!

Just the start of your selection!

The Moore family is a great bunch of folks. They really have a great sense of humor. In fact a few years back Dave Moore was out tagging trees in the fall. I launched a pumpkin and really got a hold of it. The tree field is over a half mile away. My cell phone rang and it was Dave, he said the last one landed about 35 feet from him and in a real relaxed and calm voice asked if I could “back it down a bit”, I obliged him. The next year they put up the following…….

Moore's Target

Moore's Target

We try and work together best we can throughout the year. For some of our Cross Country and extreme races we run on the farm we often use part of Moore’s farm as they have a good hill to challenge the runners on. But the day after Thanksgiving they have the perfect setting to come and harvest the perfect tree. You can wander their farm and have a variety of ways to get your favorite tree. Once you pic the tree you like you tear off the bottom part of the tag they have put on the tree. It has the trees price and a matching number so you get the right tree once it is cut.

Two piece tag

Each tree has a tag on it with its price.

Once you have found the tree you like you can cut it yourself or tear the tag off, go to the shed and pay for it and have Moore’s cut it. After it is cut you bring the tree to the shaker if you like.

They can Shake your tree to clean it up.

They will Shake out all the birds nests and dead needles

After the Shaker you can have it “net wrapped” or sort of bagged so it is easy to transport and get in the door at home.

Wrapping the tree

Wrapping the tree

After they wrap it they can also drill a hole in the center bottom of the tree if you have a tree stand that has a spear up the center. This is a huge help if you have ever tried to drill that yourself.

The parking lot is nearby so it is easy to get to your vehicle.

The parking lot is nearby so it is easy to get to your vehicle.

They do much like we do, they have created a great place for families to gather and experience a day on the farm, instead of pumpkins it is a Christmas tree.

Finding time for family fun

Finding time for family fun

So look for this sign just about one half mile East of our place on the same side of the road.

Moore's sign on the North side of 6 St. Rt. 619

Moore's sign on the North side of 6 St. Rt. 619

Oh and don’t forget to stop by and see us after you have walked around out in the cold! We always have some HOT Soup on the stove and a whole bunch of other menu items to warm you up! Keep in mind we are closed on Sundays.

Many great menu items to choose from

Many great menu items to choose from

A quick recap of the 2013 “Growing Season”

Tuesday, November 12th, 2013

“Fall 2013” is just about done for us! It has been a long time since I sat down behind the keyboard to make a blog post. I left you back on March 8th 2012, a lot happened since then. That year we had a bumper grape crop and bust of a corn maze. In 2013 we had just the opposite. If you watch the video I posted from the last post those grape buds made it just fine, then the fears I had in 2012 hit us in 2013 and we lost over 95% of our grape crop. The good news is the corn maze had the best crop ever which made for an awesome maze and a overall great “Fall”!

I took this picture of a full moon rising over they vineyard Friday May 28th as I left the corn maze field after working ground to get ready to plant it the next day.

Bad Moon Rising

Bad Moon Rising

That was not a welcome sight to me knowing what a sky can do like that when High pressure weather patterns arrive in late May. I figured we’d have a bad frost but no idea HOW bad. When my wife left the winery at 11:30pm that night there was already a light frost on the window of her vehicle.

Grape vines morning after a freeze

Grape vines morning after a freeze

The feeling a farmer gets when they look at a crop like in the one in the picture above is hard to describe. There are a lot easier ways to “make a living” but I wouldn’t trade what I do for anything. You just sorta learn things like this happen and you try and maintain a “long view” and find the positive. My father in law also lost 17 acres of sweet corn that night, but he took a gamble on trying to put some corn out in “low ground” that grows awesome crops and got burned.

Close up of "fried" grape vines

Close up of "fried" grape vines

The “Big Picture” you just keep telling yourself and keep on swimming as Dory would say (aka Finding Nemo). That same day I took the pictures of the fried grapes I loaded the corn planter and got busy planting the 2013 corn maze. We had already started getting fall campfire/corn maze reservations back in April and I needed to start getting ready.

Loading the Corn Planter

Loading the Corn Planter

I like to plant the corn a bit later than you normally would so that it stays green as long as possible into the fall season for purposes of the maze. This worked well this year and I will get back to that with future blog posts just on how we do the corn maze.

Looking over the hood while planting corn

Looking over the hood while planting corn

The corn maze growing season really had its ups and downs. I have done a lot of work to the corn maze field and it paid off this year. We fixed some drainage problems and have been on a steady annual program of applying cow manure to help with both fertility and organic matter.

But the sun came up each and every morning!

But the sun came up each and every morning!

But the sun came up each and every morning! One of the reasons I do what I do is this is my view from my “office”. People work all year to get to a “place like this”, I live it everyday. Besides all the “normal” stuff we do we also embarked on a other special projects designed to make our fall destination a one of kind place and over this winter I’ll try and review the year both in projects and all the special events we do.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoy your trip to our farm as I cover some of the things we do.

Spring time in the Vineyard

Thursday, March 8th, 2012

Greetings from farmer Bill at Maize Valley!  We are located in Northeast Ohio near the small town of Hartville, Ohio.  It has been a very mild winter and spring looks to be the same so far.

A rainy day in the vineyard

A rainy day in the vineyard

At Maize Valley we say we make great wine fun and have a vintage for all the seasons of your life. To get great Ohio Wine we have to grow the crop first and that starts early in the year. Our vineyard and grapes are a big part of the local fresh produce we grow on the farm.

50 plus degrees, too warm for March 8th

50 plus degrees, too warm for March 8th

Back in the day we got started our Corn Maze, Pumpkin Picking, Hay rides and oh my has it grown. On March 17th we celebrate the 7th anniversary of our winery. But this year the temps are a bit warm for early March. We’ll keep you posted but temps are supposed to be in the 60’s next week as well and that is not good.

No SNOW 4 U!

No SNOW 4 U!

Now don’t get me wrong, I ain’t a big fan of snow unless I’m on a pair of ski’s, but it has been wet and not too cold this winter. If it stays this warm too long the grapes will wake up and we could get a early bud break. That is when the buds come out of their protective winter coverings in part of the vine cane and start to get ready to grow. Not so good if a frost comes along and freezes them off.

Canes waiting to be pruned

Canes waiting to be pruned

So for now we’ll keep an eye on them a not get in to big a hurry to prune in case we need more of the cane to keep more buds.

 

Wordless Wednesday

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
Winter time Field Drain Tile Work

Winter time Field Drain Tile Work

Vineyard news! Loooooookin’ GooD!

Friday, August 19th, 2011

This post written by Bill Bakan the Fun TSAR from Maize Valley Farm Market and Winery.

Rounding Third and heading home

Rounding Third and heading home

Well it has been an interesting year down on the farm. Some good some bad. Bottom line we are still in there swinging! It was a long cold winter, I had to push way too much snow. That gave way to a cool wet spring with not many breaks to get and early field work done.

Vineyard views

Vineyard views

We grow about 40-50 different crops and so we just kept planting what we could when we could. Good news was the rain and cloud cover did keep the late frosts away that often threaten the grape buds towards the later part of May. I hate to have a clear night on that last full moon in May, that is what can give us trouble.

Long view

Long view

So now we are heading down the home stretch and just have to finish strong. We need to keep the birds from trying to destory our best crop yet. We also have to keep an eye out for late season pathogens sneaking in and trying to spoil the party at the end. The Japanese Beetles have not been too big an issue this year which we count as a good thing too.

We are about 2-3 weeks away from starting harvest with some varities as much as 4-6 weeks till they mature. Then we start the fun part of turning our harvest into a product. Yea that is a bit of work but I always laugh when some of our winery owner peers think growing grapes and running a winery is a lot of work.

I just smile and say….So you have never milked cows, have you? 🙂

From the Fields to the Table!

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

Lunch Time!

Lunch time!


Lunch time for everyone! Hey everyone it’s Cara, I could have just made something out of the freezer but why do that when we have fresh produce from grandpa right out the back door!
So how did I do it? Well, the sweet corn was cooked in the oven! Yup, throw it in there husk and all! At about 350, let it cook for 35 to 40 minutes. It is the BEST and ONLY way to cook your sweet corn. However, be careful when it comes out, it’s going to be much hotter than you think, but the little silks come right off!
The potatoes were very easy as well, just cut them up! And then I threw in some shallots, green peppers, and yellow summer squash, then I added some olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper! Just let them cook untill they’re nice and brown.
It’s such a simple meal! And it’s made with all the fresh produce that Grandpa grows! Try it and enjoy!

Nothing saz “Summer” like a Ruby Red Raspberry @Maize Valley!

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
Red n Ripe!

Red n Ripe!

Last years crop of Red Raspberries just recently found its way into the bottle in the winery but it’s story didn’t start there. There was a great deal of work that went into getting that rich red goodness into that glass carrier of pleasure.

Red Raspberry Beds

Red Raspberry Beds

Well the snow might still be on the ground but we are getting ready for those long hot daz of summer! 🙂
Along with all the “good-for-you” vegi’s we grow at Maize Valley we also grow fruit. One of the most sexy fruits out there has to Red Raspberries. Especially when Todd my brother-in-law and our wine maker balances the sugar with the acidity and makes our Red Rasperry wine.

Visiting Relatives

Visiting Relatives

Like most things on the farm Rasperries take a great deal of work. The first years we pruned the berries we used a chain saw and walked down the rows all bent over and such swinging the saw back and forth. We then graduated to a weed eater with a metal saw blade on it. This was better but still not a whole lot of fun. Now we thing we got it down! I bought this 40 year old sickle bar mower last fall and what was old is now new again.

Oh, yea more winter??? Well take THIS we R planting @Maize Valley!

Friday, March 4th, 2011
Mater's movin' on!

Mater's movin' on!

At Maize Valley yes we say “We Make Great Wine…FUN!!” But we also still grow a whole bunch of stuff besides just grapes and make wine. There are five family members currently involved in our farm. Todd makes the wine, Michelle runs the store, Bill is the “Fun TSAR” and does stuff like this blog, Donna handles the banking and running and all “that” kind of stuff and Kay grows the vegi’s.

Tomatoes waiting for a new home

Tomatoes waiting for a new home

These tomatoes should hit be ready end of May or so we are planning on and have flavor like a field rippened fruit should have growing in the soil. It is really tough competing with the imported tomatoes from the South. We try and grow a great local product early that we can sell at farmers’ markets and sell in our market and also serve in our entree’s in our Winery Cafe’.

Come on little guy, U can do it!

Come on little guy, U can do it!

There are also Asian Greens, Spinach, Lettuce and Radishes in this greenhouse.

We have tried a variety of early growing techniques over the years. Some have worked better than others. One year we tried to cover melons with a “row cover” that covered the beds in the field. That worked great till two years of back to back wind storms pretty much gave us the counties largest kite.

Wine, Food and more, what we R busy with at Maize Valley

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
Making rasied beds in the new greenhouse

Making rasied beds in the new greenhouse

Getting ready to put some of the early tomatoes in the soil.

Equipment usually only found out in the field in the greenhouse

Equipment usually only found out in the field in the greenhouse

I won’t write too much here as the video at the end of this post really shows how this machine works. So if you catch this blog on face book the face book notes feature usually cuts off the You Tube video, be sure and follow up and go to www.ohiowineandmore to see the entire blog post.

Long view of the raised bed

Long view of the raised bed

The crops grown in this greenhouse and our others get sold at area farmers’ markets, thru a local modified CSA group up in Cleveland, at our farm market and in some of the meals we serve in our winery cafe’ and market.

J.D. 2630 with plastic mulch bedder

J.D. 2630 with plastic mulch bedder

At Maize Valley we are many things. My wife family have made a living with the land here in Marlboro township since the 1800’s. We grow about 52 different crops on about 700 acres we are a small farm anymore. But we think it is our diversity that keeps us in the game and keeps us strong. From Corn Mazes to Cabernet, from Garlic to Greenbeans, 1/2 marathons to Merlot, come and see why Maize Valley IS the Place To BE! 🙂