Thank you to all of those who came out to our open house and plant sale. Despite the fickle spring weather we had quite a good turnout. The music was great and the pizza's were hot out of the oven all day. The bisquits & gravy did not suck.
The weather's been quite a bit cooler this year and I don't think folks are working in their gardens as much as they were trhis time last year. Sales were off just a bit from last year. Maybe we'll do another one soon? I don't know, It's an awful lot a work. I went to bed at 7:00 PM that night and did'nt get up til 7:00 AM the next morning! Thats a lot of sleep for me as those of you who follow my blog regularly will know.
Farmes market starts this Saturday. We will be having starts at the market. For produce we'll have greens, radishes, turnips, bok choi, onions, broccoli and brasing mix. Hopefully the weather's going to get sunny and warm one of these days. Things are just kind of sitting there right now. Come on sunnnn!
I;m not sure what we're doing here today? we still hav'nt put those strawberries in so that just may be our project d'jour.
Time to get to work.
Farmer John
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Things That Run
Alright! All four tractors are running. This is a rare moment around here folks. Hold your breath and count to ten. If nothing breaks it should be OK for a least a couple of weeks. Im moving equipment and tractors to my satelite farm plots. this week. Trying to at least have some implementation at each site so I dont have to haul as much stuff around. Brilliant if I can keep them running, thankfully my mechanic Cap'n Barb loves to work on old equipment. We've also been busy re-setting up water pumps and laying drip tapes. It's hard to believe we are already irrigating. Thats the way it goes, wet wet wet then the palnts need the moisture. Water is key. I say it every year but this has been a tough spring. I'm looking around and wondering what we are going to have for market. I'm hoping things kick in here real quick and have a major growth spurt. before the first of May. I can tell you everyone I know who is a grower is ready for some warmer weather.
PLANT SALE AND OPEN HOUSE.
Saturday, 4/24 we will be hosting our annual plant sale and open house. We have a beautiful selection of veggie and flower starts ready to be planted. I'll have the pizza oven fired up and be offering a few other baked goods, maybe even some good 'ol bisquits & gravy for the early comers. Doors open at 9:00 and we'll go till 5:00 I'm hoping we'll have a little live music this year too. Hope to see you here. This is the kick off to our selling season. Come celebrate with us and get us off to a good start.
This was a big week for transplanting. Our new field at Stonebridge dried enough to prep and we have been busy seeding and transplanting. So far we have in cabbage, broccoli, onions, chard and kale. Strawberry starts are here and we may have them in by monday. Three 225' beds, three rows per bed at 8" spacing should be about 3,000 plants. We also have 10 beds direct sown to various greens, beets, carrots, radishes and turnips. We 'll have a couple more beds for transplants and then the remainder of this one acre field will be planted into potatoes. perhaps next week. It looks beautiful.
We are in the greenhouses alot this time of year. Basically potting up starts into bigger pots that are destined for market or transplant. It's just about time for us to sow winter and summer squash and cucumbers. We start ours in 4" pots and they get transplanted around mid to late May. Going big on winter squash this year. Look for us in the fall for a harvest fest.
That's all for now, I'm going to slip outside for dawn patrol.
Keep well,
J
PLANT SALE AND OPEN HOUSE.
Saturday, 4/24 we will be hosting our annual plant sale and open house. We have a beautiful selection of veggie and flower starts ready to be planted. I'll have the pizza oven fired up and be offering a few other baked goods, maybe even some good 'ol bisquits & gravy for the early comers. Doors open at 9:00 and we'll go till 5:00 I'm hoping we'll have a little live music this year too. Hope to see you here. This is the kick off to our selling season. Come celebrate with us and get us off to a good start.
This was a big week for transplanting. Our new field at Stonebridge dried enough to prep and we have been busy seeding and transplanting. So far we have in cabbage, broccoli, onions, chard and kale. Strawberry starts are here and we may have them in by monday. Three 225' beds, three rows per bed at 8" spacing should be about 3,000 plants. We also have 10 beds direct sown to various greens, beets, carrots, radishes and turnips. We 'll have a couple more beds for transplants and then the remainder of this one acre field will be planted into potatoes. perhaps next week. It looks beautiful.
We are in the greenhouses alot this time of year. Basically potting up starts into bigger pots that are destined for market or transplant. It's just about time for us to sow winter and summer squash and cucumbers. We start ours in 4" pots and they get transplanted around mid to late May. Going big on winter squash this year. Look for us in the fall for a harvest fest.
That's all for now, I'm going to slip outside for dawn patrol.
Keep well,
J
Friday, April 9, 2010
A seriously kick ass day
Alright so things havn't been exactly ideal in the weather dept but despite that, we are getting some things in the ground. Our friends from Doe Bay Resort came over yesterday and layed down a steady beat of transplanting, sowing and potting up. We got more down in one day that we would have done in a week and had a great time to boot. Awesome! Thank you friends.
We transplanted two beds of sugar snap peas and direct sowed another four beds as well as four beds of favas. We also transplanted a 150 ft bed of salad greens and potted up several flats of tomatoes and a few artichokes. Nice, It feels so great to get things in the ground. It's still cold and windy and we even had a hail storm yesterday but these are all hardy plants and should do fine. We'll be putting in more just as soon as space comes up.
We'll also keep sowing in flats in the prop house. It's time for more lettuce, broccoli. artichokes, basil, onions, peppers and a few other things that I'm sure have slipped my mind. We could start sunflowers now and very soon we'll be sowing winter and summer squash and corn. I normally sow corn in flats even though they say you cant. It works fine and gives us a good jump. I also sow it direct in the field as the soil temp comes up. We grow Hookers Black or at least thats what I think it is. We got the seeds from sydney Coffelt of Coffelts farm. She's been growing it for many years. Great corn. Short stalk and always produces. Pretty colors too. Starts out yellow, turns purple, then black.
I have not looked at the forecast yet but hopefully it's calling for warm and dry? We'll be seriously busy very soon .
All the best.
Farmer John
We transplanted two beds of sugar snap peas and direct sowed another four beds as well as four beds of favas. We also transplanted a 150 ft bed of salad greens and potted up several flats of tomatoes and a few artichokes. Nice, It feels so great to get things in the ground. It's still cold and windy and we even had a hail storm yesterday but these are all hardy plants and should do fine. We'll be putting in more just as soon as space comes up.
We'll also keep sowing in flats in the prop house. It's time for more lettuce, broccoli. artichokes, basil, onions, peppers and a few other things that I'm sure have slipped my mind. We could start sunflowers now and very soon we'll be sowing winter and summer squash and corn. I normally sow corn in flats even though they say you cant. It works fine and gives us a good jump. I also sow it direct in the field as the soil temp comes up. We grow Hookers Black or at least thats what I think it is. We got the seeds from sydney Coffelt of Coffelts farm. She's been growing it for many years. Great corn. Short stalk and always produces. Pretty colors too. Starts out yellow, turns purple, then black.
I have not looked at the forecast yet but hopefully it's calling for warm and dry? We'll be seriously busy very soon .
All the best.
Farmer John
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Spring Has Yet To Sproing
It's 39 degrees and raining sideways. The forecast is calling for mixed snow and rain with ice pellets. That's a new one for me. We've been flumoxed for weeks now with getting into the fields. Finally, yesterday, in the frigid driving rain I was able to at least make a few passes on one of our new field and shape a few beds at the home farm. I still need to lime and fertilze though and now it's wet again so I just have to wait a bit longer. We have been able to get a few things in he ground and I did direct sow a few beds a couple of weeks ago but Theres just not much happening. The ground is cold and dank and just not condusive to growing. It'll turn soon though and we'll be on our way. First market is in a month.
We have been harvesting a few things from the farm. We have some beautiful radishes on right now and the Japanese turnips will be on next week. Salad grren are gorgeous but in short supply as they are all coming from the greenhouse's. Actually the first round is done and we are flipping beds and transplanting with new greens on a rotating schedule. Tomatoes will soon be occupying that space but for now they are content in their own pots containers and enjoying the warmth of the grow lighs. They could go in the ground right now and we may pop in a few but it's pretty cold still, my intuition is to wait a bit longer.
Fortunately we have been able to make a little space by transplanting but generally speaking we are busting a the seams. The greenhouses are full with flats and as we begin potting things up into bigger pots, one flat turns into three so it can get out of hand quick. It seems I can never have enough table space.
Despite the cool weather things are looking great. In all honesty this weather pattern is completely normal and something we deal with every year. As farmers with deadlines we sometimes become impatient or frustrated when the weather does'nt cooperate. It is what it is, you can't fight it, better to just chill. In a couple of weeks it will be a faded memory.
Our annual plant sale is coming upon us quickly, Saturday April 24th 9:00 til 5:00 Good times, plants, pizza, music, it's all good.
Take care friends,
Farmer John
We have been harvesting a few things from the farm. We have some beautiful radishes on right now and the Japanese turnips will be on next week. Salad grren are gorgeous but in short supply as they are all coming from the greenhouse's. Actually the first round is done and we are flipping beds and transplanting with new greens on a rotating schedule. Tomatoes will soon be occupying that space but for now they are content in their own pots containers and enjoying the warmth of the grow lighs. They could go in the ground right now and we may pop in a few but it's pretty cold still, my intuition is to wait a bit longer.
Fortunately we have been able to make a little space by transplanting but generally speaking we are busting a the seams. The greenhouses are full with flats and as we begin potting things up into bigger pots, one flat turns into three so it can get out of hand quick. It seems I can never have enough table space.
Despite the cool weather things are looking great. In all honesty this weather pattern is completely normal and something we deal with every year. As farmers with deadlines we sometimes become impatient or frustrated when the weather does'nt cooperate. It is what it is, you can't fight it, better to just chill. In a couple of weeks it will be a faded memory.
Our annual plant sale is coming upon us quickly, Saturday April 24th 9:00 til 5:00 Good times, plants, pizza, music, it's all good.
Take care friends,
Farmer John
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