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Welcome
to the 'Slackwire Ranch', home to Jason
(Jay) & Roberta (Bertie) Norskog for
most of sixteen years.
Small Plot Farming is a beautiful sight,
here under
the Big Sky of
North Central Montana~
Both
Bertie and Jay grew
up in this area of Montana and married over thirty
years ago.
After
a long stint in Alaska where Jay worked as an aviation inspector and
mechanic, the pair was able to purchase this ranch. Moving back to
Big Sky Country with their two children, Heidi and Perry, was a
dream come true.
Old Fashioned Hollyhocks |
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| It
seems Bertie
has always known how to garden, but Montana folks know that a bumper crop is
far less than a sure thing in this harsh, dry climate.
High PH,
hard pan
and clay are common soil challenges facing Montana gardeners. In
addition, most areas only can boast about 6" of top soil (at the most).
Occasional grasshopper infestations, extreme wind, hail storms and heat are
other tribulations that plague small plot farms in Montana. |
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Bertie's niece, Baylee,
peeks out
from
behind deep green corn stalks |
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Central
Montana's dry climate produces only about 14" of rain annually on average.
To top that off, most of the well water here is highly alkaline, which damages
plants when allowed to get on the foliage.
Bertie and Jay
chose their farm plot wisely though; located in one of the rare sandy loam areas to be found
here. Adding lots of organic material each year also helps to create a
welcoming seed bed. |
| Bertie's
brother, Wade (who is also my husband), hauls cow manure from our ranch
to the Slackwire in the fall. Tilling the manure in with his
tractor before the snow flies, Jay helps Bertie ready the plot for
seeding in the Spring. |
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Bertie sets out on a mission to harvest
produce for neighbors
and family whenever they stop in~ |
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Bertie
flood irrigates her garden with the well water, being careful to keep it off of
the plant's leaves. This supplements the minimal rainfall to make her
small plot farm flourish. Another difficulty she faces is that water can only be
pumped for short periods of time due to the very small underground stream that
feeds the well. Running the water for 20-30 minutes at a time, then
turning it off for another half hour as the well fills back up, solves the problem.
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"I just plant whatever I
have in my bucket!"
Plantings change each season and are decided
on with a unique approach. "I just plant whatever I have in my bucket!",
says Bertie, who stores her seeds in a recycled ice-cream container.
Bertie & Jay have a lot of
friends and they all enjoy the bounty of their small plot farm at harvest time.
Some of us pass along seeds to Bertie that we don't plan to use and they
go right into her 'seed bucket' and then into the ground come planting
time. She is a very frugal gardener~waste not, want not!
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Jay takes
responsibility
for the 'spud' patch, which is a large section of the small plot
farm; watering carefully and checking for bugs.
Bertie makes the best Peas & New Potatoes in Cream Sauce that Jay really enjoys
during that brief time in mid-summer. |
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Dried peppers from the
previous year
hang behind
freshly picked garden delights |
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"Snow
Peas
do really well here", says Bertie, who makes sure they are growing in the
garden each year. Jay loves peas of any kind and the snow peas eliminate
the hassle of shelling. |
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"Early Girl Tomatoes make huge plants, but
don't produce many fruit", Bertie tells us. "The best one for me
is Prairie Fire. The plants are small, but you get more tomatoes
than foliage with that one."
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One of Bertie's favorite corn varieties is
Kandy Korn, which friends and family
agree with whole-heartedly. Kandy Korn has a longer growing season, which
can be difficult in zone 3. Bertie tries to get it in the ground as early
as possible, without rotting the seed, in order to treat everyone to the
sweetest corn in Big Sky Country.
We look
forward to Bertie's corn every season. It is such a treat and is
made especially flavorsome when we know how much time and effort she has
put into it's success. This summer, Bertie had to re-plant all of
her corn, as the unusually cold & wet spring rotted the seeds of her
first attempt. We are lucky to benefit from Bertie's perseverance! |
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The Slackwire ranch is in
gardening zone 3,
which adds another dimension to the challenge here. Growing seasons
are short and careful planning is necessary to ensure a plentiful
harvest from a small plot farm. |
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Zone 3: -30� to -20� F |
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Zone 4: -20� to -10� F |
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Zone 5: -10� to 0� F |
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Zone 6: 0� to 10� F |
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Zone 7: 10� to 20� F |
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Zone 8: 20� to 30� F |
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Zone 9: 30� to 40� F |
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Zone 10: Above 40� F |
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Range of Average
Annual Temperatures Zones
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In
Montana, winters are cold as the zone chart shows above. Montanans can
tell you though, that -40 or -50 degrees F is not unheard of.
Summers can be as hot as winters are cold
with temperatures reaching above 100 degrees F at times. The nights are
almost invariably cool and pleasant though. Humidity normally is very low
in the dry air, which makes the heat not as oppressive.
Severe storms of several types can occur, but
the most damaging are hail storms which cause crop and property damage.
The occurrence of these storms is mainly in July and August; more infrequently
in June and September.
The sun begins to rise at around 4:30 am
during the longest days of the Montana summer and isn't completely set until
10:00 pm. This gives plants lengthy growing time, which helps to offset
the fact that frost free days only number about 120-140.
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All who live in the area and have the
pleasure of walking through Bertie's small plot farm agree; it is a small
miracle that something this beautiful and plentiful can survive
Montana's rugged environment.
A Montana
'Horned Toad'
has it
made,
living in
Bertie's backyard bird bath |
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| It
can all be accredited to the hard work of Bertie and her family.
She lovingly attends to her patch of earth, anticipating the masses of
fresh produce she will delight her friends and loved ones with.
And of those, she has many.
Notice the white mineral build up
around the edges of the birdbath above. Most of the well water in
this area leaves this residue after it has evaporated making it
detrimental to a plant when allowed to sit on it's foliage. It
also reeks havoc on the soil, adding salt where PH levels are already
high. Bertie really has the gardener's touch; not many here have
the results she maintains in such difficult conditions. |
Remembering the words of her father, Bertie
smiles with satisfaction. She had told him about her plan to implement a
small plot farm to help feed her family while on the Slackwire. "Good luck
with that", he said, "it aint gonna happen in this country!" Those words
were all in good fun, but the day Pop saw Bertie's accomplishment growing before him, he was more than
willing to say, "Well, I'll be darned!"
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Me
(right) and three of our children take pleasure spending time in Bertie's small plot farm. |
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Bertie's Peppers thrive in
Montana's summer climate |
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Thanks
for the memories Bertie! |
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Dustin & Baylee pose with their
new friend, Horned Toad.
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Page Contents:
Bertie Knows
How To Garden
Bertie's Vegetable Planting Guide
Montana's Climate Zone
Harvesting Vegetables is a
Family Affair
Triumph Amidst Adversity
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Organic weed control or Hand weeding is a good (though laborious) way to reclaim
your garden; and, contrary to popular myth, hand weeding can be enjoyable. You
can weed while bending, kneeling, squatting, or sitting, which will give you an
almost eye-level view of the plants and soil. And when you pull a grassy weed
that is robbing a seedling of water and nutrients, or even threatening to
strangle it, you are performing an act of kindness that is sure to reward you
with healthier plants and a more fruitful harvest. |
| Corn |
Kohlrabi |
| Cucumber |
Cantaloupe |
| Onions |
Green Beans |
| Potatoes |
Zuchinni |
| Watermelon |
Kale |
| Radishes |
Peas |
| Snow Peas |
Marigolds |
| Bachelor Buttons |
Red Poppy |
| Daisy/wild mix |
Peppers |
| 4 O'clocks |
Tomatoes |
| Normally,
Bertie plants quite a few different varieties of squash~Spaghetti,
Acorn, Hubbard, etc. This year, those seeds weren't in the
bucket! I'll have to see if I can find her some for next year! |
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Kale
was a new addition to the
small plot
farm this year. A friend brought the seedlings to the Slackwire
for planting. |
These are
some
great items
from
Amazon.com
 We hope you
have enjoyed our tour of the small plot farm at the Slackwire Ranch!
Jay & Bertie
were super gracious to give us a glimpse of their lives here.
Their two
children are now grown up, but love to come back to the ranch whenever
they get a chance.
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