Large Mammals
Nothing has quite the same potential to cause damage to a garden as a creature that can walk around, has an appetite at least as big as a human's and possesses at least some basic higher cognitive ability. Dogs, cows, deer and moose therefore are all very major concerns. Though we haven't suffered any losses from produce being eaten as of yet, Jackie and Granite manage to trample at least a few small plants just about every time they visit our garden, so we've taken to keeping them out as much as we are able to. For keeping the wild critters out, we've spent the last few days putting up an electric fence around the perimeter, which will stop the tramplers at least, and hopefully be enough to discourage anything from exploring our vegetables and discovering how tasty they are.
Insects
We've been pretty fortunate not to have too many major insects pests, because they are much harder to control than big animals. So far, the only one we've had any trouble with is the cabbage worm, a small green caterpillar that likes to gnaw holes in our broccoli and cauliflower. We're taking a pretty straightforward approach: when we see them, we pick them off. It should be noted however, that there are plenty of insects that are a much bigger problem for us, the farmers, then for our crops, such as black flies, horse flies and mosquitos.
Weeds
On a farm our size, weed control is actually fairly simple. We've been pulling weeds out by hand when they become big enough to be a problem and letting them compost. I'm actually hesitant to label the weeds a foe, because they can do a lot of good. The small, immature weeds that grow on the sides of our rows help to stabilize the soil, and the composted weeds will be good for the soil once they break down and release the nutrients they've stored. There are a few exceptions however. Along the stone wall on the west side of our field is a lush crop of poison ivy that doesn't help us in any way, and the lingering grass roots in the soil that keep shooting up new blades despite all of our best efforts are really kind of uncalled for at this point.
Environmental Factors
In addition to living foes, we have a number of inanimate ones as well. Weather is the main one. The hot stretch we had a couple weeks ago made working outside at times impossible, so it cut into our work time in a pretty critical period. Many of the cold weather plants also suffered from heat canker, a condition where the stem is constricted at the base due to the soil being too hot, during this period. Since we farm in New England, variable weather is simply a fact we have to accept, as is having an endless supply of glacial debris in our field. We have pulled perhaps a quarter ton of small to mid sized rocks out of the ground in the process of tilling and cultivating the soil. We've been using these to fill our drainage ditch.
I hope this current post doesn't sound too pessimistic. While listing together all the negative forces we're dealing with might make it seem like we're up against a lot, none of these by themselves has been to hard on us. We continue farming and dealing with the challenges as they come up, and so far it's working pretty well.
-Dan
