7/5/9
As expected, we had very few blackberries; we picked every two days and 
our peak was about 1/2 gallon.  The FlordaKing variety was the only 
peach to produce well, though we got a few Deltas and LaFelcianas.  
Peaches are finished for the year.  My current peach planting is 
clearly in decline due to oak/mushroom root rot; more than half the 
trees are dead or near death.
Tomatoes, too, have been a disappointment; we've been picking several 
weeks and are not getting even 1/2 bushel per pick.  Even at this late 
date, we have a lot of green tomatoes and the production could improve. 
We've been picking a lot of squash for a month or more.  Tatume, 
zucchini, Magda, and yellow.  Watermelon and cantaloupe are doing well 
but are not close to producing.  Same for peas.  Okra IS starting to 
produce and I expect to be overwhelmed in the next few weeks.  Eggplant 
and peppers are doing well and producing well, though sun scald is 
getting most of the peppers.
My potato crop was a failure; that's the third year in a row for few 
potatoes.  The replacement blackberry planting also failed, so we will 
not have berries next year.  I think the problem on both the potatoes 
and berries was an over application of turkey litter and mushroom 
waste.  I put around 10 yards of each on less than an acre before I 
planted berries and potatoes.  Previously, I have used around two yards 
per acre and gotten good results.
We've had only about four inches of rain this year and that's on top of 
an extremely dry year last year.  We are losing many of our native 
trees, apparently to lack of water.
I haven't been able to give the asparagus any attention since I stopped 
picking.  I'm sure it is suffering from lack of water and grasshoppers.
I am keeping the annual crops pretty well watered.  The down side to 
that is the lush growth attracts every plant eating animal in the area: 
grasshoppers, rabbits, deer.  When melons start to ripen, I expect many 
coyotes also.

4/26/9
The asparagus is very nearly finished.  The other good news is that it 
did far better than expected; 300-400 pounds all together.  Recent 
rains of 3" over the past two weeks have done a world of good for all 
crops.  I am keeping the asparagus cultivated and plan to get some 
grass and nut sedge herbicides on it as soon as I give up picking.  
Maybe even some fertilizer.
I just started picking FlordaKing peaches yesterday.  I had been 
noticing crows flying away whenever I drove by.  Stuck some scare eyes 
(plastic balls with eye graphics) up in the trees.
I've almost finished planting my nightshade transplants: tomatoes, 
several types of peppers, and two types of eggplant.  The first planted 
tomatoes are doing well and have quite a bit of fruit.  We had a record 
late freeze round about April 10.  It didn't get any FlordaKings, which 
were already sized up.  Got some un-covered squash.  The few tomatoes I 
had out, I covered.
Old blackberries look very poor as expected; they are just now blooming 
a little.
New blackberries are not well up yet.  I suspect something in the 
mushroom waste which I applied generously pre-plant.
My new market representative is sticking with it.  Last year, my wife 
and I did the Saturday market.  This year, I hope to get her to help 
more with the harvesting.
We've been selling asparagus, green onions, chard, spinach, green 
garlic, and broccoli at the market.  Next week, peaches and maybe 
zucchini as well.

2/28/9
I have the new blackberry patch planted, it is on the "old" side of 
the road.  That is, not far from the big barn.  Light production 
expected to commence in May 2010.
We SHOULD be picking asparagus about now.  The asparagus patches 
received almost no attention last year and they suffered greatly from 
lack of water.  I estimate we've gotten around 10 inches of rain in the 
past 12 months.  Also, grasshoppers took a liking to my newest 
asparagus patch, though they ignored an older patch only a hundred 
yards away.  Last year, several months after we stopped picking, there 
was almost no asparagus to be found in the new patch; the grasshoppers 
ate essentially all of it.
We have mostly skipped the Sunset Valley market during the winter.  
Recently, I got a new market representative and he has been doing 
Sunset Valley.  Sales have not been promising and we may be skipping 
markets when sales prospects or available crops seem poor.
Some pears and FlordaKing peaches are blooming.  Many other fruits are 
not far behind.
Right now, we have some spinach, senposai, arugula, green garlic, and 
broccoli.  Carrots, green onions, and some asparagus are coming soon.

Longer term, I continue to fade from the farming business.  Age 
encroaches.  Labor continues to be scarce, or high priced, or poor 
quality, or some combination.

Electric vehciles have been the target of my attention recently.  
Acquiring and operating an EV may be cheaper than farming.