Curly and flat-leaf parsley and some sage in the greenhouse.
Spring
Buildings
The Barn, with the Milkhouse nestled in a corner, and the Drive Shed on the left. These classic farm buildings don’t have all that much to do with small veggie farming, you can only use so much space, but they do come in handy. And they’re easy on the eyes…
Early lettuce expands
Lettuce started indoors weeks ago, transplanted to the unheated greenhouse (hot days, cold nights), and now finally kicking in with expansive growth. It’s Simpson Elite upfront, Granada (red) and Sierra in the middle, and Two Stars in back (and Optima just out of sight).
Rototilling
Tilling in compost with the trusty Kubota compact tractor. Frequent tilling eventually pounds the soil to dust, and driving the tractor over the garden beds compacts the soil, neither of which are good when taken to extremes. Most things in moderation are just fine (except, of course, SYNTHETIC CHEMICALS on the organic farm), and the tractor saves a ton of time.
Opening soon!
The new farm stand, still under construction, should be open around June. It’s built mainly of rough-cut cedar from a local independent sawmill, with some old fence boards recycled as flooring.
Pond and barrel
This spring-fed pond was dug out last year from what was only a slightly soggy low end of the field. It holds around 30-40,000 gallons of water for not so rainy days. The barrel acts as a float, holding in position, suspended above the muck on the bottom, a plastic intake pipe that leads to the pump.
Thin green lines
Notice those lovely, hazy green lines. The first signs of direct seeded crops is always on your mind. You can’t cultivate the soil for weeds until you know where your veggies are. If germination is slow—because of cool weather, dry conditions, or both—the weeds can easily get ahead of you before you’ve seen anything at all.