Snow

It's snowing...if you can call it that. Us west coasters don't really have a clue to what snow is compared to the east. Normally by this time of year, our threat of snow is greatly diminished but I've seen it snow in May too. They're calling for a few inches but the real issue will be the low temps (teens) and the high winds coming out of the fraser river valley. Brrr. Honestly I'm just not in the mood. (whiny west coaster!) We'll be on hold for any outdoor projects for a few days. That's OK we have stuff we can do inside.

We've started constructing our new hoophouse, we'll pick back up when the weather gets better. It should go fast. We'll move on to the fencing project right after we finish the hoophouse. It's going to be a busy month, in addidtion to our infrastructure expansion, we'll be busy in the greenhouse growing starts for the field as well as plant for sale. We'll keep you posted for our annual open house/plant sale in April.

We have our prop house full of newly sown trays right now. Things are germinating and coming to life. Soon it will be lush and verdant. It's about time for us to move into a larger prop house. We need about twice as much space as we have right now. Maybe next year.

That's about all there is going on for now. A slight lull in the action. Enjoy the snow!

Farmer John

Rock and Roll

It's mid Feb and we're off and running. Within a couple of days we'll have our prophouse filled with flats of newly sown seeds. This first sowing is all hearty type stuff. Lots of brassicas, lettuce, spinach and chard. We might even kick out a few flats of flowers. We do have a few beds of direct sown greens in one of our other hoophouse's that are just popping up. Shortly we'll be sowing tomatoes and peppers. I like to wait a bit longer on those so they don't get leggy before it's time to put them in. We have an empty 100 ft greenhouse to plant this week as well. Just need to finish the bed prep and we can get it planted. We normally use this house for toms but are not doing so this year. We'll probably grow some peas and perhaps fava beans in there along with some small quantities of a few other things.

It's good to get going again. Patience tends to run low this time of year and we're all antsy to get growing even though we know sometimes waiting is the best solution. Weather is fickle at best and the intensity of the sun is still low but growing each day. We're gaining 3 minutes of day right now. Things will start growing quite fast once we get a litlle sun energy happening.

Outdoor planting on the heartiest crops can begin for us as soon as things dry out a bit more. We have beds ready to go for peas, favas and a few rows of early potatoes as well as some greens like spinach and arugula. Our garlic is all up and looks awesome. We have a few things that made it over-winter but are pretty beat up. Hopefully we'll see those things rebound and put on some growth. After a harsh winter like we had they may just bolt, it' s too early to tell.

Anyway, lots going on, time to get the kids up and ready for school. more to come soon.

keep well,

Farmer John

Taking Stock

Goodbye lazy month of January, Hello February.... Welcome to 2011. Yesterday was Imbolc, half way between winter slostice and the spring equinox, the celtic beginning of spring. I consider it at least that but also it's the end of the that 12 week period in which not much happens. If you will notice, things are just beginning to grow again, albeit slowly, but this changes rapidly as the suns intensity increases. Imbolc signals the time when we tie up loose ends. We welcome the coming light in anticipation of another growing season. Soon the real spring begins and we'll be sideways busy. So in real terms... sharpen your tools now boy.

Ahh tools, the quest continues. Finally found the cultivating tools I've bee searching for that fit on my old Farmall Super A. Great news, this stuff is getting hard to find and the tractor is worthless to me without it. So we'll finally have a second cultivating tractor in the field this year. Also finally purchasing a tine weeder. This ones been on my list for awhile now. We'll be able to cultivate "in row" between the plants with this one if it works properly. Also a great tool for stale bed farming, where we prep the beds prior to planting and let them set for a few days then run a tine weeder, rotary hoe or flame weeder through prior to planting. We can wipe out the first flush of weeds that way. We can also blind cultivate with the same tool. Blind cultivating is hitting the bed just before the seeded crop comes up. These are techiniques that can save us vast amounts of time and labor if done properly at the right time. My tool wish list is long and always getting longer. Alot of things we can find used but some things are either very specific or in high demand and therefore sell quick when they do come up. You have to be quick on the draw and having a pocket full of cash does'nt hurt either. Some tools on the list now are a manure/compost spreader, potato harvester, disc harrow, basket weeder and my big rotovator is on it's last leg and needs to be replaced as well. We need a van too.

We're just starting to sow this week. The freezing temps set us back a couple of days but nothing worth noting. Very soon we'll have the hoophouse's full of starts destined for the field. Lots of other projects getting ready to happen as well and we have some system uprgrades and maintenance as always. So really for us, winter is over and we are firmly on the road to another year of growing. I'm pretty fired up about it and looking forward to big year. I have some lofty goals set for the farm this year, perhaps a little too lofty but I'm hopeful to hit the mark. As long as we do our best, grow nice produce, pay our bills, and put a little in the bank I'll be happy.

The weather is looking like it's going to gives us a break here. We should be dry enough in a few days to at least work our dry spots and get some beds prepped to plant out our earliest crops of peas, favas and hardy greens. Usually you're better off to wait a bit but we'll see what it looks like. Regardless, I can't wait to drag some steel through the fields. Can't ever get enough of that.

Thank you to those of you whom have renewed your CSA memberships. We really appreciate and need your support. Please keep them coming, it's our only source of farm income until we start the market in May.

Thanks all and keep well,

Farmer John

Back To Business

Holidays are over and were at the first Monday of the new year and it's back to business as usual. Contrary to what you may think, January is actually a very busy month for us. Mostly planning and setting up for the up coming season. Seed orders are being compiled and will soon be submitted. We're getting ready to fence in a new section so we'll be planning and ordering materials for that as well as ordering and installing a new greenhouse. Still looking for one more person to work on the farm this year. We have a little more ground under cultivation this year. We'll most likely be a little short on labor but we can probably get by. I'll just have to work a little harder this year. That's OK. I'm getting fat anyway and could use the exersise. Lots of other projects happening too. Still repairing flood damage and other maintenance chores along with cleaning up some outdoor storm damage stuff.

Once February hits we're pretty much working full time again. Not only working on infrastructure but actually sowing seed in flats in the greenhouse that are destined for transplant into the field and doing some field work in our drier spots. Coming into the season well prepared and with a clean conscious of not having alot of un-finished projects hanging over your head gets us off on the right path for having a successful year.

2010 actually turned out to be our best year ever and it feels like we're on the right track. My goal for this year is to up our volume, increase fertility and reduce our overhead. Pretty much the same goal as always. Make this year better than the last.

Stay tuned in. Lots of good stuff happening this year.

Keep well,

Farmer John

Bring on the light

Happy solstice! Always a good feeling to know we're on the "right" side when the days are turning longer. As with most farmer types I know, we generally acknowledge this to be mid-winter even though ofiicially it has only just begun. In about six weeks, we'll be back full force seeding in the prop house and getting ground ready to plant as it dries out enough to work.

Time to kick back now and rest if you can. I'm working on chores around the farm right now. Flood damage repair and lots of clean up and organizing. One project always leads to another. Feels good. I guess getting more organized will be one of my resolutions. Regardless it gives me something to do right now during the down time. Too much time sett'n round taint no good.

Thinking about farm plans and cruising seed catalogs. Always looking for something new and fun to grow. We'll be placing orders soon. This is a good time to reserve your potato seed and strawberry slips. We have a pretty good reserve of seed on hand. Probably don't need to order too much. That's a good thing for sure. First order will be for tomatoes. I promise I'll cut back my selection every year but I never seem to be able to. I know my favorites though. We do sell plant starts in the spring so I have a nice selection for that but there's really about 12 varieties that work for me. I do want to grow more romas this year as I have been using them to make my own tomato paste. It's the most wonderful stuff I've ever tasted. Tomatoes are my totem vegetable. I like to wait til late Feb and into early March to start mine. You get a happier, better timed plant. We normally can't put toms out until the end of May and having a big ol leggy plant by then is not really what you're looking for. I do know of one farm in Skagit that plants toms the day after Christmas. They normally have ripe toms on the vine in May! Very impressive and very high input operation. I prefer to grow within the natural season. It just makes more sense to me. I only eat them when the're in season except for the ones I put up. There is no going back to crappy store bought toms after you've had the best.

Sometimes I do sow salad greens at christmas if I have the space. You can wait and sow later and still wind up with the same harvest date. We shoot for March 1st but normally it's not till mid March before our first cut.

Still have some bulbs to get in the ground. Daffodils, garlic and shallots. It's getting later than optimal but probably OK. This is the first time I've done daffs so I'm not really sure.

Happy Holidays to all,

Farmer John

Flood!

What's a farmer do in the winter? Well, these days we're dealing with flood damage. Not as one would expect from the torrential rains we have recently experienced but rather from a faulty plumbing installation on a bathtub. Extensive damage upstairs and down but we have a handle on it. Call it a forced remodel. At this point the plumber is denying any responsibility, we'll see if he comes around. From the sounds of it, I doubt it. Other islanders have been awesome. Thank you's to Joe Goodrich of Rainbow Carpet and Upholstery care for the Gratis inspection, assesment and reccomendations and to John and Katie Curlett of Northstar Drywall for their generous offer to put us back together. This is perfect example of islanders helping islanders. This is not really what I was hoping to be dealing with right now and certainly not in my financial best interest. The joy's of home ownership.

What we should be doing, besides resting, is putting together next years plan. I have most of it in my head but need to transfer some solid plans to paper. I'll be the first one to admit I'm not always the best at this. It's an important step even though plans often change mid stream due to uncontrollable situations. Having a map to start from is always a good thing. I've been thinking alot about varieties, "what are we going to grow?" We'll add some things that did well and drop a few that didn't work out so good. In particular, I'm thinking about our shoulder seasons, especially fall/winter. This is the time of year to think. I think about everything that will make us better. I'm not afraid to implement change or try new techniques as long as they have been well thought out. There's always more than one way to skin a cat and getting stuck in your ways can set you back in the long run.

Despite our flooding set back, I'm still excited for next year. Basically the plan is simple; Grow more food!

Keep well,

Farmer John