Ready for this Change

Playing with plants during a Saturday evening break from farm work. Ever tire of lawn and its high maintenance requirements and minimal environmental benefits? Convert it into something else that gives back to nature by using native plants.

Last week was a productive and busy one. We finally managed to finish weeding the fall carrots, which were also cultivated for the 3rd time. Additional potatoes were dug. Finished fields were sown with a cover crop mix of buckwheat, oats, and winter wheat. Field space was readied for our two new caterpillar tunnels. Because we're locating these at the bottom of a field with our heaviest soil and poorest drainage and at the bottom of the hill, we had to grade and create waterways while elevating the plots for the tunnels. (Interestingly, this soil type does extremely well in protected environments where moisture is controlled.) I had to prepare a similar site in the same field for our longer, bigger hoop tunnel in 2017 so this time was a bit easier and went a lot quicker. Before Friday's rain event we sowed fescue, perennial rye, and white clover in the waterways. Last week we also transplanted a lot of crops including arugula, head lettuce, romaine lettuce, endive, escarole, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, kale, beets, chard, and napa cabbage. We seeded the first crops for indoor fall and winter production including kale, head lettuce, lettuce mix, and chard. We also converted a grass area into a plot for a variety of native plants. And of course we also spent a lot of time harvesting, washing, and distributing shares. During this coming week we have more to seed, transplant, harvest, weed, clean up, maintain, and dismantle. Enjoy this weather!