84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 18, 1998 On Being a Farm Wife (and other hazards) Joyce Bupp The Early Girls weren't But the Big Girls might be Either way, the garden has not yet yielded up one single ripe tomato Despite the slow and some times stilted start of our garden, July's magic wands of heat and moisture have waved across the veggie patch to wreak a trans formation A senes of circumstances involving of family house guests, day trips, and overnight busi ness meetings combined recent ly to divert my attention from anv thought of vegetable culti vation to more pressing issues Like cuddling precious grand sons Knowing that stretch of the calendar would offer more important things than' "pid dling" around the patch, I had it planted, mulched, and weeded as much as possible well ahead As was the season, though, the garden was horrendously late getting planted to begin with, due to the springs which opened in the adjoining field with the plentiful ground water supplies Tomato plants started in the greenhouse in late March were aging rapidly in mid-May, while alternately drowning and drying Maintenance Free Railings For Porches, Decks or Balconies We have the expertise to design & create a system just to fit your need. 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"Cow Capital of the First Frontier" Delaware Memorial Bridge in Salem County MAY 23 THRU SEPTEMBER Every Saturday Night ★ ★ 7:30 Rain or Shine Admission $lO Adults ★ ★ $5 Children 12 and under Free Parking ★ ★ ★Refreshment Stands Group Rates Available: Call 609-769-3200 out at their semi-shaded, hard enmg-off spot on the patio I like to start my own tomato plants, especially certain varieties that I've never seen for sale any where as seedlings, then supple ment them from our local gar den centers Usually, even that isn't necessary, since my Mom inevitably will have more than she can use and is overwhelm ingly generous in sharing any thing she has with her family With spring's delay in planti ng, the tomato seedlings looked so pathetic in mid-May that I finally tucked them into a tem porary home in the flower bor der Transplanting tomatoes generally makes them sprout new roots and become more vig orous I hoped it would work on these poor babies By the time our low-lying garden finally dried enough to cultivate, my envy was deep for other gardens already sporting vigorous onions, foot-high peas and lacy carrot foliage In a two day frenzy, the garden was planted, mulched and marked Reuse of a couple of very large pieces of heavy bunker-silo plas tic cover with planting holes still usable from last year greatly hastened the process Finally a home for the frustrated tomato plants. Only one tomato crop failure has ever blighted my record and I have a culprit on which to blame it the manure pile our son constructed in the garden the intensely-snowy winter he was home following college With nowhere to move boxstall manure on a daily basis due to heavy snow cover, the garden next to the field road sported an awesome bedding manure stock pile by spring. Only one spot in the garden suffered any after effect, a small stretch of tomato row where some acidic liquid from the pile had puddled dur ing the storage Those plants didn't die, but threatened to all summer, and bore little fruit. Mr record is now further tomato blighted For some rea son, perhaps the harsh weather treatment of the seedlings and the lateness with which they were finally planted into the ground, about half of them died Nearly a total loss was an exper imental hybrid, named Olympic, a freebie sent a few years ago with a seed mail order There may be one stalk that survived, likely reason I've never seen this variety offered anywhere Faring better were my Heinz canning variety and a few of the Early Girls The Long Keepers never made it to the re-trans plant stage Luckily there were more than enough of some of the hardier varieties to replace the losers And the garden itself supplied the healthiest of all tomato stalks, several volun teers happily poking up in spots from the asparagus patch to the raspberries They joined the pack I broke down and purchased a few more Early Girls and some Quality and Value * Post Frame Buildings * Agricultural, Residential, Commercial, Equestrian * Customized for your needs big sister Big Girls. Friend Ann shipped me some"stone" tomato plants, a meaty-type we anx iously await to try. And Mom, predictably, donated her extra Rutgers, more than I needed with the overflow further donat ed to the neighbors. Cornfield In Shape Of PARADISE (Lancaster Co.) The next frontier of family fun en tertainment is coming back to Paradise. The Amazing Maize Maze™ returned to Cherry-Crest Farm for the third year in a row and opened its stalks to the world on Friday, July 17 at 10 a.m. The day featured the 2nd Annual Fel lowship Challenge, a chance for non-profit organizations to win money to fund education or family assistance programs. The 4.77-acre cornfield maze is entitled Catch the Rainbow. The maze is cut in the shape of Noah’s Ark and boasts more than 27,000 marigolds and petunias, which form a 1000-foot rainbow. Cherry-Crest Farm is located east of Lancaster, at 150 Cherry Hill Road, Paradise. The maze will be open to the public until Saturday October 10. Maze hours are 10 a.m. to dusk Tuesday through Saturday in July and August and Friday and Saturday only starting September 8. Admis sion prices are $7 for adults 12 and over, $4 for ages 6to 11; and free for kids 5 and under. ‘The maze enables us to com bine agriculture, tourism, and the universal desire to have a good time,” said Jack Coleman, owner of Cherry-Crest Farm. “We are proud to present this original art form on our land and pleased that we can support a worthy cause by Call Today For Your Free Brochure 800-544-9464 Noah’s Ark Opens TT f —CLOSED SUNDAYS, NEW YEAR, EASTER MONDAY, ASCENSION DAY, WHIT MONDAY, OCT. 11, THANKSGIVING, FVINITIIE CHRISTMAS & DECEMBER 26TH FISHER’S FURNITURE, INC. NEW AND USED FURNITURE USED COAL & WOOD HEATERS COUNTRY FURNITURE & ANTIQUES BUS. HRS, BOX 57 MON -THURS. B-5 1129 GEORGETOWN RD FRI, 8-8, SAT. 8-12 BART, PA 17503 CONESTOGA Buildings Inc. 202 Orlan Road, New Holland, PA 17557 717-354-2613 Fax: 717-355-9170 First moment I had last weekend found me fleeing to the garden, to be greeted by some lovely, green Early Girl fruits We should be picking a fresh tomato or two within the week Once I find them among the weeds. participating in the Fellowship Challenge.” The Amazing Maize Maze™ is much more than just a labyrinth. The journey through the cornfield includes music, a script and inter active audience activities. Chil dren may attack it like a 3-D Nin tendo, seniors enjoy a walk through yesteryear, corporate exe cutives come to develop team building or problem solving skill and everyone else comes for a good time. Winners are scored by a formula that considers how long it takes to assemble a map of the maze, find the hidden questions, and of course, find the exit. Since 1993, the Amazing Maize Maze™ has been getting thou sands of people lost across the United States. The company’s first cornfield maze made it into the Guinness Book of World Re cords. This summer there will be six Amazing Maize Mazes in the United States, encompassing over 25 acres of cornfields. ' The maze at Cherry-Crest Farm is the longest running Amazing Maize Maze and the most success ful. Last year, 40,000 people came to Cherry-Crest Farm to experi ence this new form of agratain ment. Besides the maze, Cherry- Crest Farm offers much to do, in cluding a petting farm, a picnic area, a wagon ride, and an educa tional tour of their Dairy Farm.
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