The Farmer’s Note Blog seems to be heading in a simpler direction. So much energy has been elsewhere and the philosophical side of the writing will take a back seat until inspiration strikes. Here is physically what we have been up to on the farm this week.
Moisture. Two days of overcast weather and frequent thunderstorms have created ripe opportunities for planting and maintenance. We side dressed our garlic with an organic all-purpose fertilizer yesterday. This will hopefully give the bulbs a push as they await their first irrigation.
A spontaneous call to the ditch rider and the ditch will be flowing flowing soon! With rain in the forecast and water arriving this weekend I headed out the door to plant our first round of carrots and beets last night. These are two crops we have had success and challenges growing. This is the year we hit them! Three varieties of each met the soil last night just before a steady rain all evening. The bed prep was great, the timing was right, now we wait and see what germinates.
Our high tunnel has been the focal point of the year. Ample tomato plants are setting their first fruits and are receiving initial trellising. Each of these plants will climb up a string throughout the season to maximize the square footage of the structure. Cucumbers as well are putting on their first fruits and are steadily growing upwards.
The challenge right now is weed pressure. Spring weeds are vicious and determined to grow, but staying on top of them now will help us later. The thistle and bindweed is especially present this year. Some of our bindweed has been cut several times and continues to grow back.
As a trial to limit this intense weed pressure we are going to experiment with some no-till techniques this season. A cover crop of winter rye will be sickle mown to the ground and left as a mulch. Once cut, we plan to tarp the beds and terminate both the rye and weeds. After being covered for a few weeks we will transplant fall crops into the stubble. I do not expect this to take complete care of the weed pressure, but I am thinking it will be less. Given this trial’s promise, I imagine we will expand these practices to other areas of the farm.
Mother’s Day weekend brings on the next level in the farm business, sales. This past week we spent ample energy in the farm stand, bringing new life to the old barn. A fresh coat of pain, a deep clean, and we are ready to open. I am very excited to be working with several new vendors this year and broadening the store’s offerings.
We would love to see a bunch of gardeners come through this weekend and load up on plants. The opportunity for people to grow gardens is massive! I recently learned that the lawn is America’s 3rd largest monoculture, spanning 40 million acres in the United States. In comparison vegetable farms cover about 4.5 million acres nationwide. Imagine the potential of gardening to not only produce food, but establish community connections as well. A slight reframing shows the abundance of the natural world.
Looking ahead we a continuing to plant weekly, though the farm is filling up. Farmer’s markets start soon along with our CSA. While our field crops are growing slowly I have faith the tempo of the year will pick up. Summer crops are next as soil temperatures warm and the weather breaks open towards solstice.
Till next week Folks!