Farm Report December 2021

November and December 2021

November is still a busy time in the fields. The south side of the B4 field was planted in June with an open-pollinated heirloom corn called “Bloody Butcher.” Aptly named for its deep red to burgundy colored kernels, Bloody Butcher is a dent corn developed in Virginia in the 1840s. The farm committee was pleased with the results, as the stalks grew to approximately 12 feet and produced large, fat cobs laden with its namesake kernels. As October faded, the opportunity to plant a winter crop would not be around for long, so the farm committee got busy planting Winter Rye directly into the dried, standing Bloody Butcher stalks. It was a challenge to plant the rye into the soil at the correct depth. In addition to the standing corn, we also had to plant through the dense growth of Foxtail Millet which returns each year from past farm committee plantings.