The greenhouse has never looked better. The warm humid air provides sanctuary for everyone. Step inside on a sunny 40 degree winter morning into an 80 degree spring day inside peels back my cheeks to a smile.
Yesterday, Mary was helping Ari stand on a potting table as he chewed a kale leaf (each bite comes with a small grimace). From my vantage It was all green leading up them, a house full of life.
Choosing a life intertwined with the propagation of more life pulled me towards farming. The process of growth and decay wrapped around natural cycles feels pure in a way other modern tasks do not. To see my family involved with this process adds to the beauty and potency.
Each seed is no longer for me. They carry more weight now as the family grows. The days have become a juggle between business, family, and personal tasks.
The greenhouse is very diverse with many projects. The largest being our annual planting of alliums. Over 10,000 onions and leeks are unfurling on warm sunny days. Cell trays will house them for 8 weeks until getting planted outside in April. Open flats are fast to sow, but lack consistency in onion size and take more time when planting. I am glad we spent the extra time in February filling flats, dropping 1 seed per cell, so April will go faster.
Cucumbers, summer squash, tomatoes, lettuce, basil, and parsley are all germinating or growing in preparation for precious early rounds. The tomatoes have been the biggest worry of the greenhouse because we started them before our systems were dialed. Reacquainting from winter to spring and re-learning our growing practices takes time.
Pea shoots are an early season wholesale staple. With the Farm Stand closed and no weekly markets, wholesale pea shoots are becoming a growing source of cash flow. I start new trays every week that mature in 3 weeks. These large green patches add texture to the greenhouse and their quick turnover makes them a delicious addition. The soil is emptied from the spent flats and will break down to eventually fill pots of herbs, flowers, and veggie starts with the added carbon from pea roots.
As we increase our trays the dividing wall moves back. We have about 25% more space to grow into before we encounter early spring crops. Rounds of arugula and radishes were planted back in January and have been maturing.
Coming up marks our the largest growth of nursery plants. Bunching greens, celery, bi-weekly rounds of lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, cucurbits, flowers, herbs, and fall crops have yet to meet the dirt. These next couple months are huge for providing the cast to star in this year’s garden.
I am finding myself grateful for an extended winter season. In past years I had already planted peas by now! The continuous blankets of snowfall and cold nights help the farm rest and give us time to get everything in order for a great season. Yet, a change of season is right around the corner.
Spring is a moment of birth. The days grow and leaves spread wide to catch the sun. With a growing family it sometimes feels like we are all seeing the change of season with fresh eyes. The awe and wonder at growing a tiny human, and the responsibility to turn these plants into income provide motivation.
I try and take a lesson from winter, to move slowly through this process. Carefully and intentionally sow the seeds of another season. Committed to progress and refinement.
Farm News
I am making some changes to this portion of the blog. Usually, I would bring up the CSA or seeds we have for sale. This marketing specific material feels inauthentic to the initial mission of Farmer’s Notes. This space was created to provide a direct connection, behind the scenes, of the farm and my life. Not to try and sell anything besides writing.
If you are interested in receiving shorter farm updates and information click the link below for the Folks Farm specific newsletter (it is still a decent read).
I love your writing. Thank you for all you do.