What's  been going on!

February 23, 2023

Not lots of news to share yet with my shareholders, but the onions are just germinating under the grow lights, and I have some slow to germinate flowers (lobelia) that I love in 3/4" blocks and they are just beginning to be visible...the seed is much smaller than the dot on the i here.  They are what Ben Hartman would call muda--not necessary work,-- that is, work that doesn't advance the mission.  And yet, they will be gorgeous at the edges and draw pollinators and add some color for the En plein air drawing and painting event--planned for July 22nd (open to any one who is interested).

My planting plan is still evolving, as I reckon with the apparent need for much direct seeding, given limitations of my own infrastructure to nurture transplants and the prohibitively high cost of having someone else produce my seedlings for me. (Or perhaps, Sara, just needs to reckon with the front porch holding lots of seedlings again this year!)

Beauregard sweet potatoes are in pots, half covered in soil, to grow the slips (sprouts that will then be placed in water to root) to be planted in mid May.  Sweet potatoes, it turns out, are not a potato, but rather a morning glory, which kind of makes sense looking at the leaves. They were such a delight last year.  I didn't invest a lot of money in growing them ($10 of organic sweet potato) and my hope is to get  20-30 slips from that, and maybe, hopefully, around 100 lbs of sweet potatoes out of that. (I'm putting it here, to see...I have no idea what yield to predict.  Last year, I grew them unfenced and the deer ate all the greens--it was just my own optimism and curiosity that caused me to stick a fork in the ground and see if there were any and find about 30 lbs of them.  Hopefully with fencing, I'll get a better read on what is possible.)

My bulk order from NOFA arrives March 11th, with the Vermont Compost Company's Fort Vee mix--just in time to get a large seeding effort going.  My friend, Kami, needed to reclaim her soil blockers (she'd let me use them for my whole first year), but my daughter gave me a Johnny's gift certificate that made it no trouble at all to purchase my own.  Soil blocks are the best!!!  I can't wait.  The sleet and ice is on the ground, but it won't be long now...

December 10, 2022

What a strange year. Yesterday was 58 degrees!  The ground has been wet and soft, so I've mostly being staying out of the field.  Yesterday I went to turn the compost, however, and  the warm weather and maybe the IMOs I've added (I've collected mycellium from the woods on cooked grain in a wood box and added) have really helped it break down quickly.  I see lots of white strands growing in it, and I'm torn between the desire to introduce oxygen and to leave the mycellium undisturbed. Yesterday, I turned it--Oxygen won out.  There could be two yards of it  when finished.  Getting good active piles built in several locations will be a big help to building fertility and limiting the cost of my inputs.  I'd love to have access to sufficient raw materials to be making most of my own compost in a few the next few years. I've added two bins about 6 feet in diameter each to contain the leaves and raw materials I have managed to acquire in my little Honda Fit. Thanks to all who donated bags of leaves!!

 I am thrilled to report that CSA shares are now sold out for 2023 and all members provided some specifics of what they would like to have growing and in their share next year.  

I'm just at the beginning of planning the beds and plantings, with a view to greater density in each row and to a more consistent succession.  I've got to figure out how to get shade, so I can produce lettuce and other tender greens more reliably.  Last year's method of interplanting among taller plants can work for some things, but I will need a much greater volume of lettuce and greens generally.

I built  a rack on the south side of the shed for hardening off seedlings and used some storm windows I collected, as the top.  The temperature gets WAY to0 hot in there, so I am going to remove the plastic that is on the sides (and possibly go with something breathable for light frost protection, but less build-up of heat).  I think that it will be a good help to me as I have to manage many more that the 8 flats I can fit under grow lights at a time.   In this off season, I'll aim to provide an update once per month, and communication directly to CSA members will ramp up in early spring to keep you informed of progress and when food is available.  

Wishing you all some time outside in these dark days of the year! We're almost to solstice!

November 12, 2022  

300 cloves of garlic are in and 100 feet of spinach planted for overwintering. Strawberries just got their straw mulch covering and two full leaf bins breaking down several neighbors leaves for next year's paths, and the beds are green with a living cover of oats and field peas, which will (assuming it gets cold enough) winter kill and form an easy to work with mulch right in place for next spring.  So promising to see!!

September 14, 2022

I'm learning that there are at least two jobs to running a farm--the business/communications side (meh!) and the exciting time in the field with incredible bugs and birds, butterflies and the amazing growth that has been happening all season. I was keeping up pretty well, but when I went away for 3 days to the best wedding ever!!, all hell broke loose.  They were 3 hot days in late August, and I came home to burned seedlings (duh!), wilted cucumber plants, which had been soooo abundant and lovely when they were getting daily water,  tomatoes overgrown and busting out everywhere and the ocean of zucchini that just kept coming until I finally took them out to make room for other things.  (A new thing to me since I've been reading/learning some things is the idea of terminating the plant without removing the roots--so the root that has all that nutrition stored up in it decomposes in place without disturbing the soil structure.  New transplants just go in around it and benefit from what it can offer.)

The last couple weeks have finally resulted in lots of  green beans-- a kind of fancy, super thin, haricots vert.  And I've been digging fingerling potatoes Russian Banana Fingerlings that did so well...I think I got around a 10:1 return on planting those by mass. Although they are expensive to buy, they are really nice in a meal.

The Annina eggplant has been a joy to see in the field and to touch and eat as well...the textures, colors, smells and flavors of this variety are so lovely. I find, though, that many people do not want eggplant (it's really good!) but the few who do have been enjoying this type a lot.  One friend said about the Annina variety, "It's great because it's really pretty AND really great flavor and texture."

I have been opening the new section, and I need to get a cover crop planted this week-- winter-killed field peas and oats is my preference, but I don't have enough of it to do the whole thing that way.  I will use a variety of things, including section (foot path areas) in white clover, crimson clover and possibly, if I'm feeling reckless a section of rye and vetch (which I understand take more to terminate at the right time).

Thoughts of next year's CSA are exciting as people who have seen the farm have expressed interest in a share (and in supporting my efforts, which I deeply appreciate!)  I will send out the CSA form to anyone who signs up to receive emails from me.  In  Year 1 of the CSA, I want to under-promise and over-deliver, so that shares will definitely be a good value for the cost.  Because I'm not expert at this yet, I am going to aim for a shorter season...ending early in September. Let me know if you are interested in a CSAS share for summer 2023.

August 17, 2022

Well, when it rains, it...I can't remember--it's been so long since it rained. Thanks to RainFlo Irrigation, I've been able to keep things alive.  The plants are crunchy though--it's dry and this river bottom/sand/silt doesn't seem to absorb water...it holds it on top, but once it finds a way through, it just goes.  It does seem to work well for some plants, but it's different than the rich organic matter I associate with abundant growth.

Jul 21, 2022

Yesterday, one whole, intertwined row of tomatoes fell over after heavy rains.  I've been pruning, but clearly not enough.  The thing about rescuing them was that it was almost impossible to do alone.  I could barely lift them enough to get them back up in position, let alone stabilize them while figuring out the work around.  I managed something that tethered them to some other row to hold them in position long enough to prop them up.   But in the evening Sara lended her hands, and with one to hold and one to get new posts set it was much more doable.

Today sales out front totaled $1, but I got a call from a friend asking if I could deliver to her house, and I did, and she paid me for this week and next, making the day's haul $46 bucks  for a season total of $189, People!  That's doing better than before, but I think change is coming as the tomatoes and eggplants come around and I have onions, basil, and parsley to go with them.  And I was able to contribute maybe 10 lbs of squash to the food distribution for this morning too, so that was nice to feel that it can be used.

I started eight flats of fall plantings early this week thinking they wouldn't germinate until after my weekend trip, but they are already up! Conditions must have been just right.  Now we'll see how  well I can get them ready to go in and prepare a good place for them all.  Cabbages, broccoli, kales and collards, brussel sprouts and a fresh flat of chard.  I'm hoping I can keep producing well beyond September.

July 14, 2022

I finally got ground turned and my first planting of a cover crop...oats in one 30" 50' row.  I wonder if it will germinate in this heat.  What I can find about it is that oats are  planted as cover throughout the season.  Yesterday, I pulled back a silage tarp and jumped a bit at the snake I found under it (that was a HOT place to hang out!).  Moving a silage tarp is such a messy, heavy job...definitely better for two people. 

My deer fence has apparently closed the rodents in (not really, it's not very solid at the bottom).  I keep seeing critters running from  row to row as I move through...and that explains, perhaps, who is taking tomatoes off the plant and leaving them in the row.

I am just starting plants for fall, and I'm commandeering the basement as a germination place because it is not going well to germinate in the field.  Too relentlessly hot and not protected out there.  I am still peeking down in to my very hale broccoli plants that have NO heads of broccoli and hoping something will shift.  I'm going to try  a new planting for fall and hope it goes better in cooler temperatures...the balance of when to start them and when they will  have to go in the field (at what temperature) stumps me a bit.  I'm looking forward to the NOFA conference in early August when perhaps I'll be surrounded by people who know the answers to my many questions!!

A fairly good showing at this morning's market ($20 dollars...or $0.06/hour).  And then I made pickles with all the cucumbers left and zucchini boats for dinner and blanched and froze the extra kale.

I am hoping tomatoes will get some interest, and they are about to start coming.

July 12, 2022

Lock the car doors! The summer squash is out of control .  Who thought nine plants could result in so much squash?!  (clearly not me)   Zucchini too is putting out little squash that seem to grow  in a matter of hours!  I finally put up a deer fence after finding too many green tomatos in the pathways with bite marks out of them. I think that will mean my green bean plantings will have a fighting chance now.  It's not deer proof,  but there are such easier pickings for the deer that hopefully, they won't jump the 6 ft of fence...I tried to make it look taller, by stringing some rope along the top.

 This morning's joy was 8 ripe sungolds that I munched for my breakfast as I was watering some new plantings before this 90 degree day. Yes, I usually water in the evenings, but I have some oats planted and I'm hoping they can stay a bit wet today and germinate even though it's so hot.  I am eating a carrot as I type, and this is the food that makes homegrown vegetables soooo worth it. A store carrot does not compare!  Nor, I have been noting, does store lettuce.  My lettuce right out of the garden is so mild and refreshing...not bitter, not covered in chemicals.  This is an organic operation, in case that is not clear.

I think my late start this spring might explain why my row of brassicas is struggling so much.  It's really been pretty hot.  The broccoli has no heads at all yet, though the plants are growing and seem healthy.  They are only 1 foot apart, which may not be enough.   With a fall planting, I will try to add more space between. They have had plenty of compost and water.

Lettuces and chard growing next to strawberries are doing really well, and there seems to be room for the runners to extend the daughter plants out between them. The eggplants are looking robust and healthy and are just about to flower. The tomatoes are full and green on the plants and I keep looking for a blush of red to show me they are coming. 

Onions began bulbing just after the solstice as I read that they would;  I need to plant more scallions, which have been delicious--sweet and flavorful.

June 22, 2022

Well, tomorrow morning, Thursday, 7 - 9am , 157 Nonotuck Street,  is my first sale of veggies from a (very makeshift) stand in my front yard.  I am hoping for as much foot and bike traffic for customers as possible...really hoping to get a very local exchange of food going.  Tomorrow, I'll have beets, chard, rapini (or raab), cilantro, basil, scallions, lettuce and some sugar snap peas.  Items will be $4, $3, or $2  and payment of cash or Venmo will be available.  

I am doing this early in the morning because I will harvest the same morning, and I don't want to have things sit out in the sun for too long...in the morning I have shade in the front.  Also, we get plenty of walkers past the house in the morning. 7 might be on the late side of that traffic though. 

It's good to get started!  We've been eating this food, and it is really good--all organically grown.  I'm glad to make it available, and I look forward to feedback to help me improve as I grow into this! Thanks for your support.

Jun 7, 2022   Thanks!

Whew! I'm exhausted and probably have some strain sprain going on in my wrist.  I turned a lot of dirt by hand, and probably moved  about 15 yards of wood chips and 5 yards of compost into the plot while moving about 5 yards of crab grass roots (and possibly a morning glory vine root?) out of the plot.  I've had lots of adventures and challenges, mostly physical, some mental, one financial, over the past 7 weeks. It's hard to believe that's all the time that I've had here so far....so many hours already.  We laugh and joke while eating a  plateful of beet greens that they'd have to be priced at $12/bowl, even if you didn't pay any labor costs at all.  Start up is expensive.  My sister reminded me of the story, "A friend asks a farmer if he really is doing what he wants. He says, What would you do if you had a million dollars?  and the farmer replies, I'd farm 'til it was all gone!  That sounds about right...throwing money at it, with my jaw dropping as the expenses mount--and having the time of my life out in the field each morning and evening.

But the story today is about thanks and  how many people have given help and moral support to this project, and I have sooooo many people to thank over just the first 7 weeks.  If I hadn't been so exhausted, I would have kept a log, so I wouldn't miss anyone, but I certainly will miss some; Please forgive me. Well, to begin, all the folks at GFN  made this possible  and I am so grateful that they were willing to lease a 1/4 acre to me;  Steve Ferguson (who I now refer to, hopefully, as my water guy) helped me get my water hooked up and working, which was absolutely transformational in what I could do out there in the relentless sun of Straw Hat Farm;  Tony and Roisin of Song Sparrow Farm for encouragement, sharing what they are doing, and the occasional loan of a seeder; Nate at Crimson& Clover for the use of his van to get a load of straw; Ollie, Kami, Ben and everyone at Mountain View Farm for sharing their leftover seeds with me, so I am experimenting with much more variety than I otherwise could; Shaker, for encouragement and advice and pointing out all the foragable food available onsite;   Fred for the visits and advice and friendly conversation,  Kami at Mountain View farm for the loan of books and her soil blocks (for the whole year!), Suna of Flowerwork Farm for free flowing ideas and comraderie and a can-do spirit, as well as patiently enduring my black water line right through her plot. Ellena Baum showing me how to work the BCS--which I am not really ready to control yet and helping me get my hands on some wire cutters when I needed them; Michael Skillicorn, in addition to all his official roles, occasionally swoops in on his tractor and takes a load of my weed/root pile out of the plot, which is great.;  Kevin Larkin kindly brings me wood chips as often as I ask, and I've never even met him!! We just text. 

 And then there are the friends who stop by while I'm working--big thanks to Darcie Sweeney who came and turned soil by hand, helping with bed formation AND who brought me 5 bags of leaves;  Deanna, who came and turned ground with me for one long session and has since stopped by to either visit or work for 10 minutes between other things, just to visit, which is nice; Luna Greenwood who helped me layout the hose; Luka Greenwood, who helped haul shed pieces out to the plot; Melissa Leonhardt, who lent her trailer and her time to helping move the shed pieces (pallet sections) out to the plot; Erin Fanning, who helped me make a tomato trellis  AND who, after a session of work came back the next day with two comfy chairs so there was a place to rest in the plot!! (much valued and used);  Tusi, who visits and  recently sent me some grass clippings to help me get going on building my compost pile; Paul at CEEDS who allowed me to scavenge the burn pile on one of his projects to pull out some poles for stakes and fence posts; Xian Xiu Xie, who comes by and helps weed or water while her son plays soccer across the way; Frances Jubilee for the logo and for coming out in her overalls to weed and water on a recent visit home; and of course, there is Sara, without whom....she has encouraged me, not stressed about the incredible cost of time, energy and money that this is taking from me, but ALSO she spent a whole weekend with me assembling the shed on site, plus the time we took offsite to make it happen. She has turned dirt, pulled out that incredibly frustrating root for something like two days...she has time in the saddle on this project!! And the other day, she brought me breakfast out to the plot, which I ate in one of the blue chairs.  And she lets me take some of our home compost  AND our home wheelbarrow out to the project, now that I'm all out of what I could buy!

Sole proprietorship doesn't quite accurately represent the business model, since 20 people helping is not sole...and since I have not sold a dime's worth of food yet, as proprietorshop implies!  I'll get there, though.  This first year is about getting set up--start up and learning. and  I am so grateful for this rare and wonderful opportunity!