Finishing off the potato planting. Sherry is a second year CSA member, Brian a regular customer at the farmers’ market. They both approached me to get into the field for a bit, and it fit with the People Year on this tiny farm. It’s fun and it’s tricky. Each little step away from the ultra simple model of just me and the field brings on more considerations along with whatever the improvement—in this case, the basic pleasure of sharing work that’s fun to do! More »
Conall, the all-new organic grower, starting from scratch as our first full-season, full-timer, waters in transplants. Today we set out three more beds of brassicas—so far, there’s cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bok choi—prepared beds for a dozen more crops, set up the irrigation pump for the season, cleaned out the winter storage area of the barn, turned the composting windrow….and more. Still, it’s the rush-to-get-it-in-get-it-done time of the year, and the days never seem long enough (although, they’re getting longer!!).
Added a new section to the garden plot today, with a helping hand from Bob, his tractor and a moldboard plow. The moldboard turns the top few inches almost completely over. It’s very effective for breaking up sod, and it’s also sort of an old school approach. Apparently, some farms moldboard once or twice a season, but as a regular practice, it’s not great for the soil and has somewhat fallen from favor in recent years. Here, it’s a one-time plowing that gets the job done!
The first day of fieldwork! Organizing hoses, picking up rocks. The ground is still quite wet, so we stayed on the paths, especially with the tiny tractor. (The Brothers are back volunteering, which is great!)
Looking a tad paramilitary, brothers I met at the market (they’re studying at the nearby environmental/forestry college) pitch in to clean out the greenhouse and loosen up the soil. The space, used for seedlings in spring and early summer, tends to fill up with odds and ends, and weeds, as the season progresses. Last spring, I tried growing early lettuce in here to get a jump on the weather. This year, an even earlier start is planned. Getting the place sorted and ready to go ahead of sked is great. On the tiny farm, nothing could be better for fieldwork than plentiful, like-minded labor. Especially, volunteers!
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