Hello Everyone,
Well I just don't know where to start we have been so busy at the farm This is the busiest time of the year for us. Life is bursting at the seems of our greenhouse!! The plugs are massive. The cabbage, Kohlrabi, Bok Choi, etc...Looks Amazing and is Huge! We had them outside today to harden them off for them to go into the ground. They have to be introduced to the outside slowly. This process is called hardening them off. This weather has everything pushed up a few weeks. We should be starting the C.S.A. The first week of June!!!Yippeee!!! Today we finished up with the potatoes, they are all in the ground. The potatoes went in the ground flawlessly! We have a very special planter from Italy that plants them for us. You can see pictures of it on facebook! We cut the potato's a while ago. We put in around three acres in just a few hours time. Their are many steps to prepping field, but the planting itself does not take too long. The weather has been great. The farm has been totally disced and field is ready to go. We just have to rototill but we don't do that until we pull the plastic. Our tiller makes the ground feel like a down pillow. So far we have had an exceptional spring for the farm. As said before we are way ahead of schedule with our chores because we have had so many opportunities to work outside. The garlic still looks amazing and I can't wait to harvest it to see how it turned out. All of the pepper & tomato flats and all of the veggie plugs for that matter look great. We have actually had trouble keeping the greenhouses cool enough if you can believe that. If anyone is confused about the farm perks for members I posted a blog on it tonight. Also I have not sent out the orientation letter yet because the printers put the wrong address on the membership card, but they will be coming soon. So no worries! The store is ready to go and we are now open during the day so if you want to stop out and meet us or see the progress of the farm please do. Actually the store is packed to the brim with locally made goods. If you eat Beef I have heard our is exceptionally good:) At this point of the year we are approaching 500 flats in the greenhouse. They start to go out like wildfire though. We are so close to putting plants in the ground! Our transplanter which is my hands is ready to go. We have 40k or more plants that we plant for our members. Hopefully this membership base grows to 150 so my sweat, blood, and tears are all worth it. We are trending upwards with last year having roughly 100 members. Also the onions starts for this year are in and they will be planted in the plastic. We have found with experience that onions typically grow better in plastic which is a more controlled environment then bare dirt. The onions that are in the bare dirt we will only use for their greens which are excellent in stir-fry. This afternoon I set up the wash station. This consists of a 16ft vegetable washing line, + two custom made tables we made for cabbage and brussels. So that ends is up and operational. We have checked all the refrigeration units and have performed a soft-opening. The cooler is ready to be filled to the brim with chemical free veggies. The bee's have also been enjoying this weather they are everywhere around the farm. Especially in the greenhouses pollinating our hanging baskets. They are truly miracle workers in nature's ecosystem. Also If you have any questions feel free to stop by the farm and ask! I can't stress enough how much we encourage our members to get to know where their food is coming from. I almost forgot that we ordered out 500 tree's for the shelter-belt on the farm. They should be here sometime soon. If anyone want's to help drop me an email they are only 16-24 inches tall so It is a quick flick of the spade.
I am sure I am forgetting A bunch! Although I am still rattling from the tractor So,
Until Next Time
Chris
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