grow grow grow

wow. i hope my lack of posts has shown just how busy we have been on the farm the past couple of months. this past week was the first week since late april when we have not had a market to prepare for and to go. that is eight months of preparing for and going to and cleaning up from markets. not to mention all the stuff inbetween - planting crops, maintaining them, harvesting, etc.

november definitely slows down, but there is still plenty of work to be done. we have markets once or twice a week (depending on the week). we have black plastic and drip tape to pull from the fields. we still have produce growing outside and need to keep it protected with hoops and clear plastic over it. we need to lay fresh black plastic and drip tape for early planting next march. we prepared the greenhouse for winter growing - sealed the outside to hold in heat, put heating mats, lights and fans inside. then i started flats of salad greens to grow for winter markets - mesclun mix, lettuce, arugula, cress, cilantro and swiss chard. these greens are not as hardy so they won't survive and grow outside all winter. however, we have plenty of greens outside under clear plastic that will survive and grow during the cold, dark, winter months - spinach, kale, collards and mustard greens. we planted about 30lbs of garlic in the field in november for next year and so far it is doing well. plus, november and december have been relatively warm months and have allowed many things in the fields to, not only survive, but continue to grow. there is head lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, swiss chard, broccoli raab, turnips, beets, carrots, parnips, daikon radishes, arugula and even some mesclun mix. preparing for markets these past two months has taken just as long as it does in the summer because we still have so much produce to sell. which is great - no point in going to winter markets with nothing to sell, but it is also tiring. we haven't had a break. and it is tiring working in the cold. no matter how many layers of clothes you have on, and i'm talking 3-4 layers on top and bottom, you get cold. your fingers don't do what you tell them because they are cold. your body gets tired because it is working so hard to stay warm. and then you have to wash the greens....in warmish then cold water. in and out of water...in the garage...in the cold.

there is no 'this season ends and the next begins.' it is continuous. like black plastic being laid now for spring. garlic being planted now for next year. plantings being done in september for the winter months. starting seeds in february and march for spring planting. farming is continuous. and more and more markets are going year round or extending their seasons. which then means farming is even more of a year round job. don't forget about your local farmers during the cold months. most of them are working hard to provide you with fresh, local produce in not so ideal growing and harvesting conditions.

weather

i don't think people understand how much the weather effects farming...and not only what is being farmed, but the farmers themselves. while much of our produce fields have irrigation, we still can only add more water as needed. we cannot control the sun. we cannot control too much rain. we cannot control the temperature. we cannot control the wind.

if there is too much rain, plants are at risk of just rotting away. mold and fungus are far more likely to be a problem on the plants. mold and fungus can quickly kill plants. and once a plant has it, it's done, there is no turning it around. we've been hit with a lot of rain this fall. it quickly wiped out summer squash plants, cucumbers, winter squash, tomatoes. however, turnips grew beautifully with all that rain.

no sun means no plant growth. plants require light to grow. remember photosynthesis that we all learned about in school? well, apply that knowledge here. in the fall, winter and spring when daylight hours are shorter, plants take longer to reach maturity and take longer to produce. clouds effect plant growth, too. we need to allow more time for plants to grow and mature when they are planted in the early spring and fall. if you have ever been to somewhere like scotland, when summer days can have up to 19 daylight hours, you will notice how beautiful and productive their gardens are. when we plant outside for winter production, we have to plant early enough in the fall to make sure plants reach a good maturity before the days become too short.

too much wind can be especially harmful to fruit trees and knocking fruit off the tree before it is ripe. it can also be hard on tomatoes. any tall-ish plant is at risk of being broken in the wind.

in extreme heat, like 90 degrees and greater, everything really just wants to wither away. the heat wilts plant leaves quickly. cooking greens (kale, collards, etc) don't do well in the summer heat. and everyone is under the impression that summer is for salads. well, not in this area of the country. salad greens practically don't grow at all in the summer heat and dryness. you want a big, beautiful, tasty head of lettuce? don't go looking at a local farmers market in july or august. heat causes head lettuce to go to seed very quickly, before the head has even gotten big enough to sell. and even if we cut small heads, the taste is likely to be bitter. tomato plants like heat and so does okra. i am not sure it can ever get too hot or too sunny for okra. we could have cut okra twice a day in july and august if we had the time...it grows that quickly in the heat and sun.

the farm was hit with two hurricanes this summer. we got a lot of water, but overall, the produce fields fared well. last year, in may, our farm was hit by hail. it was horrible. heads of lettuce were just torn to shreds. squash plant leaves had huge holes in them. tomato plants were just a single stalk. we couldn't attend market for a couple of weeks because we didn't have anything to sell. so what does that mean as a farm and a business? if we don't have product to sell, we don't make money. and unfortunately, not having product can be something completely out of our control...like the weather. but, in general, plants just want to grow. most of what we had in the field didn't die and continued to grow. that hail only set us back by a couple of weeks.

and what about the farmers? they don't sit inside and watch the rain fall or the sun bake. we are outside in the fields in all weather. if it decides to pour on a tuesday, a day we spend picking and packing for markets on wednesday, there is nothing we can do about it, but get wet. what choice do we have? if there is no product, there is no money to be made. the same does for working in the heat. if it is 90 plus degrees outside with high humidity, well you just better drink a lot of water because there is still work to be done outside. and snow...you are outside in your bare hands cutting spinach and kale. it is hard to use scissors when your hands are so cold, but harder with gloves on.

with it being october and markets still going on, but the temperatures definitely falling, i've gotten a lot of 'wow, you're still out here braving the cold.' well, what choice do i have? if i am not out here 'braving the cold,' i would have no chance of making any money. it is easy for a customer to say, 'oh, i'm not going to market today, it's raining,' but what about the farmer who has prepared for market, set up at market and who is standing at market for four hours in the rain?

as i have tried to make it clear with all my posts, farming is not easy. so much success and failure is really out of control of the farmer and in the hands of the weather. what went well this year, may not next year, simply because the weather is different. as a customer, don't be disappointed that there are less winter squash this year, be happy there are tons sweet potatoes. and next year will be different.

organic farming

i am a strong believer in organic farming. i buy organic foods whenever possible. i work on an organic farm. pesticides, spray, monsanto, chemicals are dirty words to me. however...i understand why some farmers think 'organic' is a joke.

i first became truly aware of organic versus conventional farming in college in an environmental class. we learned about soil erosion, runoff, pollution of the waterways, monocultures, desertification, soil quality, air quality...all in regards to farming. the very practices that were used to feed us, were in fact destroying our natural environment. that wasn't right to me. so i read more. i went to various lectures. i volunteered on an organic farm. i took more environmental classes. i talked with people.

conventional farming is bad. the same crop is planted year after year on the same ground. fertilizers are pumped into the soil since it is completely depleted on nutrients because the same crop is grown year after year. farmers grow the newest variety...the one that will produce more, more quickly, making native and traditional varieties more and more scarce. chemicals are sprayed to eliminate any kind of bug (good or bad), any fungus, any weed and any critter. no bugs equals no birds or other critters that eat bugs. no weeds equals no flowers for butterflies or bees. since one crop is planted year after year at the same time, there are times of the year when the ground is bare. bare ground is an invitation for soil erosion. and all those chemicals in the soil from the fertilizers and pesticides run into the waterways. conventional farmers have no problems. they see one, may it be weed or bug, they spray it, they go about their day. farmers grow massive quantities of the same looking stuff - huge green peppers...no spots, all the same size, all the same shade of green...so mass produced and perfect, you would think they were pictures from a seed catalog.

organic farming is good. there are no chemicals used. there is a large variety of produce grown. there are people working with the earth and their food. your neighborhood farmer is organic. everyone seems happy. the peppers are purple and the tomatoes are white on organic farms. hippies work on and run organic farms. there are lots of weeds, but they cause no problems. organic produce is more expensive because it is in demand. there are lots of bugs...good and bad. organic farms have flowers which invite beneficial insects. it is hard work for organic farmers. if you eat organic food, you will be healthier. organic farming is better for the environment and wildlife.

the above statements are true. well...to an extent. not all conventional farms are weedless. not all organic farms are full of weeds. not all conventional farms are monocultures. not all organic farms are run by hippies. certified organic farmers can spray chemicals just as much as conventional farmers, but, in theory, organic spray is safer. organic farmers are going to grow what sells, just like conventional farmers, whether it be red or white tomatoes, green or purple peppers. some farmers care more about the long term effects they have on their land and the surrounding areas than others, whether they are conventional farmers or not.

what i have learned from working on an organic farm... you better think twice before you make generalizations. you are not going to convince conventional farmers to change...and you can't 'preach' organic is the way to go - people need to figure it out for themselves. many conventional farmers only spray if and when necessary. why? because chemicals are expensive. organic doesn't mean chemical free. lime valley mill (where i work) is chemical free, but not certified organic. we spray N-O-T-H-I-N-G. so what does that mean for us, and others like us? our prices are generally higher because we work harder, longer hours with less results, less product and sometimes less quality of product. our prices are higher, not because we want to take advantage of people, but because our labor costs are truly more. we do what we can to avoid soil erosion and protect the nearby stream. we rotate crops and plant cover crops to keep the nutrients in the soil. we fertilize with manure, compost and fish guts. many good agricultural practices are also good environmental practices. we pull weeds by hand and unfortunately, pick bugs by hand when it is necessary. weeds can be helpful...their roots keep soil in place and can protect crops from bugs. not all bugs are bad...some bugs eat other bugs. a few grasshoppers won't kill a crop, but an army of harlequin bugs will. it can be amazing and impressive what produce you can grow organically. most of our vegetables and fruits are beautiful and of great quality. and what does a few chew marks actually do to a leaf swiss chard? nothing, except change the way it looks.

if we sprayed for weeds once a year, what would that do? would it have a serious effect on the weeds? would the crops do better? would the soil, water and air quality be effected? what would it do for our workload and sanity? in general, i think conventional farming has gotten out of hand. farmers aren't thinking about the consequences of their actions, they are thinking about making more money faster. they spray, spray, spray...whether they need to or not. if everyone only used chemicals as needed, at the lowest dosage, would chemicals be so bad in agriculture? and why is all the agricultural research time and money spent on coming up with the next chemical or the next hybrid to produce more and better? why can't research be spent on what works naturally? like, this type of corn does well in droughts and this type does well under wet conditions. so many farmers grow the same type and make the environment adapt to the crop, instead of using the crop best adapted to the environment.

the point is...know who grows your food and know the practices they use. some organic farms are just as 'bad' as conventional farms, and some conventional farms are not much worse than organic farms. know the consequences of your actions and know what, and who, you are supporting. and don't complain to a farmer about their 'high' prices. farming is labor intensive, no matter a farmer's approach. you want to complain about prices? then ask a grocery store how they can sell food for so cheap.

summer is over?!

in ways, it feels like summer is over. but just because summer is almost over, certainly doesn't mean the growing season is over. the kids go back to school in a couple of weeks, and with that, we lose all our extra help. however, our work isn't less, so it means longer hours for those of us who aren't going back to school...

yes, the last of the inside seed starts is finished. yes, corn and bean plantings are done. yes, we have started planting the fall crops, trying to keep them all together in the field for frost covering. yes, onions, garlic and potatoes have been dug/pulled out of the fields. however, all the crops that have been slowing down (kale, collards, swiss chard, lettuce) will soon be picking up again with new plantings and cooler temperatures. tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, summer squashes, melons, tomatillos, ground (husk) cherries, okra, cucumbers are in full swing and will be until frost hits them (which could not be until october or even november). we still have lots of corn and beans in the fields to pick. and winter squash...lots of winter squash still growing in the field. fall root crops (turnips, parsnips, beets, carrots) were just planted. we are hoping the salad beds will be back in production soon. (the summer heat and dryness knocked all the beds out for many weeks, they didn't even germinate in the field.) we just started selling leeks so there is probably still about 1800 leeks in the field to be pulled, sorted, washed, bunched and sold. garlic is almost completely cleaned and sorted. next to be cleaned, sorted and stored is the yellow and red onions. OH! did i mention red raspberries?! they are starting and oh, how sweet they are! apples and pears might be available soon, too.

of the four markets we attend, one ends in september, two end in october and one ends in november. however, as soon as they end, the winter markets start...two a month, the first and second saturdays of each month. there is also the three day craft show at the mill thanksgiving weekend that we have to set up for. (we also sell whatever produce we have and meat there.) and of course to justify doing winter markets, we need product to sell. that means planting beds outside of kale, collards, spinach and swiss chard in september and covering them with plastic in hopes the plants will last. last year, they produced well all winter. salad greens are grown in flats in the greenhouse, but those flats won't be planted until november if everything in the fields is still going well at that time. the holidays come and go. i spend most of my winter getting ready for markets, going to markets and planning the next growing season (though it feels funny saying that since the growing season never really ends). and before you know it the landis valley plant sale is here again and so is spring!

so not only is summer almost over, but so is fall and winter! well, not really, but my point is farming is not necessarily a seasonal job. farmers don't sit around and watch the snow fall. work doesn't just come to an end once 'the season' is over. because we keep the season going. cooking and salad greens are in high demand in the winter and we take the opportunity to deliver what the customer wants. we keep our business name familiar in people's minds so they remember us come spring. and if i didn't spend so much time planning things out (what to plant where and when), no one would have a clue what they were doing come spring and we wouldn't be able to get as done as we needed to.

so here's to fall days, picking lots of produce and planning for a successful winter.

heat

picture this -

your alarm goes off at 5.30am. you get ready for work and walk out your front door. the air hits you hard. it's already 80 degrees with high humidity at 6am. you get to work by 6.30 and by 6.45, you are out in the field. someone starts picking tomatoes, someone else is picking swiss chard and you start with collards, kale and cabbage. you are moving quickly to try and get as much picked as quickly as possible. you can feel the temperature rise and with that the beads of sweat form. mustard greens, summer squash, cucumbers are all picked and taken to the garage. you stay back to wash and pack up everything so far and send out the next team. after an hour and a half in the field, you come back with a shirt that is soaked through with sweat. you keep reminding yourself to drink water...days like this, you can't drink enough. the girls come back with red onions, peppers, eggplants, okra, tomatillos and husk (or ground) cherries. it's 10.30am and it feels like we have been here all day. we wash and pack everything. we all go back out and divide and conquer - two girls getting root crops (beets and turnips) and the other two getting herbs. while it doesn't feel like you are doing much, the sweat is just dripping off your face, rolling down your back and cleavage, pooling in your sunglasses. you all go back and bunch and count herbs. it's lunch time. someone has the idea that they should go to turkey hill and get slushies for everyone. sounds good to you. what a treat. you actually got cool sitting at lunch in the AC slurping your slushy, but that doesn't last long. after lunch you need to pick beans. unfortunately, or fortunately, the beans are producing very well. there are more beans than you have time to pick. so four of you pick one row of green beans, since you have leftover of the other varieties from wednesday. you barely pick a few plants and the sweat starts. of course the beans are in full afternoon sun, on probably the hottest day of the year. not only is it hot, it's humid. the air is thick and it is hard to take deep breaths. your shirt becomes soaked through again. no matter how many times you wipe off, you still feel the sweat running down your back, cleavage, nose, forehead. your arms and legs glisten with sweat. your face starts to hurt because you've rubbed it so many times with your shirt. your eyes begin to burn from sweat getting in them. your underwear are soaked, your pants are getting there. your feet are hot in your shoes. are we done yet?!

you come home and peel your clothes off. your black sports bra has white lines from all the salt you lost. your socks are stiff and crusty. your shirt stinks. you take your hair down and it's all wet underneath. imagine how much water you drank today and how much you lost through sweat. how many calories did your body burn just trying to keep itself cool? all you want to do is eat when you get home. eat, shower and drink more water.

such is the life of farmer. you can't not work because it's too hot or too cold. you don't pick produce, you don't have anything to sell, you don't make money, your farm/business doesn't survive. life doesn't stop because of the weather. you alter your schedule, like by coming in early, and make things as tolerable as possible, but in the long run, things just need to be done.

we all survived this past week. heat indexes were 110-115 degrees. it wasn't easy, but we all worked together and got done what needed to be done. this coming week looks a little bit cooler, but still in the 90s.

thank you to all the farmers out there who work in all weather conditions...we couldn't eat without you.

artichokes

one item you don't see very often, if at all, at farmers markets in lancaster county, is artichokes. and there is good reason for this...they are very difficult to grow in this region.

artichokes are perennials, but only in warmer regions. so in this region, it would be an annual, right? well...yes, except that the plants only start producing artichokes during their second season. so this poses a challenge, however not an impossibility. there are ways to trick the plants into thinking they are older than they actually are.

i started the seeds inside in february for these plants. once they were eight weeks old, it was time to give them a cold treatment, to make them think they were going through a winter. the cold treatment is 10-14 days of temperatures between 35-50 degrees. this is hard to do in march and april. it can get too cold at night and inside is too warm. we thought about putting them in the fridge, but without a light, they wouldn't grow. after several other thoughts, we decided to put them in the garage. they would be protected from frost, but would be as cool as we could get them. some nights, we had to bring them inside and some days were warmer than 50 degrees. the plants looked fairly healthy, but i didn't have high hopes that they would produce artichokes.

we planted them outside towards the end of april. i don't remember when, but one day walking through the field, i noticed something in the center of a couple of plants.....an artichoke! not every plant has produced, but most have. and while the artichokes are not the size of those from california, i still think it is a pretty big deal to have them at all. i get questioned a lot at market about whether they are locally grown. yes, they are. would you like to know how we grew them?!

now that we have them, we need to educate people on what to do with them so they sell better. i think people just aren't expecting to see them at market so they aren't mentally prepared to purchase them.

let's hope production goes just as well next year, if not better.

catch up

not only can i not keep up with my blog posts, i can't keep up with how quickly things grow on the farm. we start seeds in the front room of the farm house every week still. days later, like 3-4 days, plants are sprouting and they need to be moved under lights. a week or two later, the plants need to move to the greenhouse. in 2-3 weeks, the plants need to be planted outside. once the plants are planted in the field, they are on their own, but man, can things happen quickly. where did those weeds come from? what is eating the leaves - deer? flea beetles? groundhogs? it is ready to harvest already?! we just planted it! it is amazing how, in general, plants just want to grow. you can throw a lot of obstacles at them, but for the most part, they do well.

we have been having some trouble with a few crops this year. broccoli is minimal. the plants look good, but they are not producing heads very well. salad mix, arugula, cress and spinach are really not doing well. it could be the heat. it could be too much rain, then not enough. it could be the salad beds are missing something in their 'diet.' however, leaf lettuce is doing well. spring root crops (carrots, beets, turnips and radishes) are small and few, if any. no beets or carrots yet, small radishes and turnips. there is no purple broccoli because the plants were lost early on in the field, i believe due to ants doing something to their roots. germination rate of summer squash, cucumbers and melons was low in the field.

on the plus side - head lettuces are doing really well - all varieties - oakleaf, greenleaf, redleaf, romaine, red romaine and buttercrunch. cooking greens are also doing really well - swiss chard, kale (lacinato, russian and vates), mustard greens and collards. the herbs are also doing well and we are selling more than last year. herbs are very time consuming to prepare for market, so when they don't sell, it's a bummer. but this year, it has been well worth the time. the basils (genovese, purple and lemon) are doing especially well. the tomato plants look good and the new staking technique seems to be working well. there are LOTS of green tomatoes and we are hoping they will start turning this week. winter squash plants look great. leeks look good. the potato plants were covered with the colorado potato beetle a few weeks ago...the plants were practically striped down to the stems, but dale vacuumed them off. seemed to give the plants a chance to bounce back and we've been digging up lots of nice looking potatoes. asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries are done, but here come the black raspberries and sour cherries. garlic plants are going well, and so are the yellow and red onions. tomatillos and husk cherry plants are looking really good and will be ready in a few weeks. we harvested a few jalapeno peppers today...the rest will follow soon.

i haven't mentioned every crop we grow, but you get the idea. there are a lot of ups and downs. for now though, the ups are outweighing the downs.

in season

current produce we are harvesting on the farm -

rhubarb (winding down)

asparagus (winding down)

strawberries (winding down)

radishes (in 5 different colors)

tunips (in 4 different colors)

spring onions

mesclun mix (baby swiss chard added)

loose leaf lettuce

baby spinach

cress

arugula

endive

tatsoi

pac choi

mustard greens (2 varieties)

kale (3 varieties)

swiss chard

collards

head lettuce (redleaf, greenleaf, romaine, red romaine, butterhead, oakleaf)

broccoli

garlic scapes

potatoes (red skin)

peas (snap, snow and hull)

fresh herbs (peppermint, spearmint, apple mint, lemon balm, dill, genovese basil, purple basil, lemon basil, parsley, sage, chives, oregano, lavender, lemon thyme, thyme, savory, fennel)

to market, to market

i was afraid this would happen...once the season really got going, i wouldn't have the time or energy to keep up-to-date with my blog. posts will definitely be less frequent, but i will try to keep posting.

all four of the markets we attend have started for the season - quarryville growers market, eastern market, oakmont farmers market and millersville community market. each market is once a week...two on wednesday and two on saturday. that's a lot of markets, but if we don't go to markets, we don't sell products...and if we don't sell products, we don't make money and we wouldn't survive as a business.

going to market is easy, right? pick a bunch of stuff, throw it in the truck and off you go. yeah...not so much. it takes us (currently four people) ALL day tuesday to prepare for wednesday markets and ALL day friday to prepare for saturday markets. all day. we lose two days a week to getting ready for market where we could be planting and weeding and maintaining the plants in the field. then we lose two days a week going to market. that leaves me with thursday to get done everything that needs to get done. one day to maintain six acres of produce. yes, i have help. dale takes care of irrigation and cultivating. jeremy takes care of working up ground and planting peas, corn, beans. allyson takes care of e-mails and facebook and phone calls. but still, for me personally to only have one day a week to actually work in the field...that's not a lot of time.

so why does it take us all day to get ready for market? well, for one we have a lot of greens and quality is important to us. we harvest, double rinse, dry and bag all our greens. if we didn't bag our greens, they would wilt in the summer heat and wouldn't last once the customer bought them. since we are so diverse in the crops we grow, we can't just walk down the row and cut cut cut. we cut things here and there and over there. it takes time to figure out what is ready to harvest and how much to harvest. how much kale did we sell last week? how much do we pick this week? we can probably sell 6lbs, but if we don't pick more, the leaves will just get bigger. (we like to sell reasonable sized leaves, not trees, so it is still tender and manageable and has better flavor.) so think about washing and bagging 50 heads of lettuce. then add 25lbs of cooking greens. then add 12lbs of loose leaf lettuce and mesclun mix. everything gets harvested, picked over (yellow, brown, rotten leaves pulled), double rinsed in our sinks, dried, weighed and bagged. and that's just greens. we currently also have asparagus, rhubarb, radishes, strawberries, broccoli, garlic scapes, spring onions and fresh cut herbs. all of which are harvested, rinsed, dried, bunched and bagged. (strawberries are picked directly into quart containers and herbs are bunched and put into jars of water.) everything gets counted. we keep a record of what items and how much we take to market and then what comes back from market. we then know what sold, what to take the following week and how to better plan for next year. if we rarely sold endive this year, we wouldn't plant it next year.

so that's the produce. what else do we need for market? we need tables and table cloths. we need a pop-up (portable tent). we need weights for the pop-up in case of wind. we need wooden boxes and baskets to display our produce. we need price tags. we need plastic bags and quart/pint containers. we need coolers and ice packs to transport our produce and meat in. we need a scale to weigh the meat. we need a money box with lots of change. we need a truck to transport everything. and last, but not least, we need two people per market to work the stand.

going to market is not easy. it takes time and energy and work, but without market, our business wouldn't be very successful.

strawberries!

i feel like strawberries might be the most anticipated crop of the year. everyone asks when the strawberries will be ready. we picked our first 16 quarts yesterday and another 16 quarts today. by next week we'll be picking 40+ quarts at a time. our strawberry plants seem to produce well and don't have too many pest problems (a few nibbled berries here and there). they bring in good money early in the season. the variety we go with is, i believe, considered a backyard variety, a type a home gardener would grow. (sorry, i can't think of the variety.) these varieties tend to be more flavorful and sweeter, however, not as big. most farmers grow varieties for a larger size and greater quantity. but as with most produce that has been bred for size, quantity and uniformity, they lose their flavor. you don't want strawberries just to look good, they should taste good, too! as i pick, i get to munch, too. it is always frustrating to pick a beautiful strawberry and find it to be nibbled on the other side. however, i don't mind sharing my berries with the critters... :-)

looooong week

mother's day weekend was a VERY busy weekend for all of us at the farm. friday and saturday was the landis valley plant sale. saturday was also the last winter market at eastern market AND the opening day at quarryville growers market.

monday, tuesday and wednesday was spent getting everything ready for the weekend - last minute transplants, getting signs ready, getting final counts of plants, getting boxes ready for customers to use to carry their plants, making a list of everything that needed to go to the plant sale, finding tables and chairs and which ones were to go where, the list goes on. and let's not forget the plant sale is just a side thing...there is a farm to run! we also planted another 250lbs of potatoes, another 24lbs of spring onions, another planting of salad beds, the farm stand was opened for the season selling eggs and asparagus and seeds were started.

thursday morning we took three truckloads of plants and supplies (tables, chairs, tents, etc) to landis valley and set everything up. thursday afternoon we got ready for saturday markets. we picked, washed and packed spinach, kale, head lettuce, herbs, rhubarb, spring onions, mustard greens and asparagus. we usually do all that the day before market, but since we would be at landis valley all day friday, we had to prepare for market on thursday.

friday we were at the plant sale all day. when we first got there, there was last minute set up to do. then we just let stuff sell. some customers had some questions, but for the most part, they knew what they were looking for. there was a lot of time spent just restocking and reorganizing plants. we also sold our bird seed, wheat berries and wool. we sold a lot of plants, though our numbers were down from last year. there was four of us at the sale all day, including my mom who we bribed to help us. :-) that was one eleven hour day...

saturday...eleven hour day number 2... dale went to eastern market. my mom and i went to quarryville market. allyson and becca went to landis valley. eastern market was a very slow market day, not bringing in nearly what it had at other winter markets. quarryville market did pretty well. we sold just about all the produce we brought with us, plus a good bit of meat. after markets, we all went back to the plant sale. again the numbers were down a bit from last year, but still not bad. when the sale was almost over, it looked like a bad storm was on its way. we all moved very quickly to get things loaded up before the rain. we got back to the farm to unload all the plants and head home after a looooong week.

so this is spring

as a farmer, spring is not a time to sit on your ass and watch the grass grow...

spring is a time to put your plan into action. all that time i spent over the winter planning things out - what goes where and when - is now happening out in the fields. most things work out the way i planned, but some don't. i look things over and reevaluate, try another idea and move on. where does the first planting of sweet corn go? in the chicken slab field below the winter squash. and the second planting? the third? the fourth? oh shit, that won't fit there, how about in the farm stand field below the peas.

spring is a time for the ground to be worked up and prepared for planting. if the ground had a winter cover crop on it, the cover crop needs to be killed - mowed and tilled - and tilled many times. you do all this and then it rains...you try again. work the ground to dry it out and see if you can plant before if gets wet again.

spring is most definitely a time to plant...and plant some more...and plant again. and being a farm with four markets to go to throughout the regular season, we don't just plant something once, we plant many things every couple of weeks. 150 pounds of potatoes was planted the beginning of april. today another 250 pounds was planted. last week the first planting of sweet corn and snap beans was planted. they both will get planted every two weeks or so for four or five times. today was the third planting of spring onions, a third bunch of 24 pounds. i think we are on about the fourth planting of head lettuce. four varieties are planted every other week. today, i did the third planting of salad beds (lettuce blend, mesclun mix, spinach, arugula, rhubarb swiss chard, cress and cilantro). last week, the first planting of cucumbers (three varieties), melons (four varieties) and summer squash (let's say eight varieties) was planted. two more plantings of each will occur. all of these successive plantings allows us to have one product for longer. it also allows for some 'woops.' if one planting doesn't do well or something happens to it, there is likely to be another planting already in the works.

spring is a time to be a little stressed out. i say a little because no breakdowns have happened (yet), but there are times when it seems overwhelming. in particular, this week is a crazy one. this friday and saturday is the landis valley plant sale that i have mentioned before. all those plants i started in the 72 cell trays have been transplanted into 4" pots. we had extra onions and leeks so i plugged those into 4-packs to sell. signs have been made for each and every variety. saturday is also the last winter market at eastern market and the opening day at quarryville growers market. that's three places for us to be on saturday. we are set up to be in two places at once, but three?? plus, we barely have enough people to be in three places. but things are falling into place. equipment (tables, pop up canopies, table coverings, information sheets, etc) have been divided for the most part. workers have been recruited and placed.

spring is a time to start seeing all your hard work mean something. asparagus is doing really well. rhubarb plants look good and ready to harvest. strawberry plants look really good and full of blossoms. the first planting of spring onions will be ready to harvest for this weekend. spring root crops are growing. we will have broccoli raab for this weekend as well as head lettuce (romaine and a greenleaf). some kale will also be ready. cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower plants look really good. swiss chard is kind of lacking. salad beds are growing, but the flea beetles have already found the arugula and salad mix. anyone for hole-y salad?? peas are growing and potato plants have sprouted. perennial herbs are looking good - oregano, savory, lemon thyme, thyme. all the herbs i planted this spring are small, but still alive. there will also be spinach for the saturday markets - spinach from the plants we've been cutting off all winter. harvesting, washing and packing all this will somehow fit into the plan for this week. so will setting everything up at landis valley.

it will all get done and we will be successful and tired.

asparagus!

this week, we harvested our first spring crop - asparagus. even though asparagus is a perennial, it is still pretty exciting to see some results from all the hard work we do. now that it is here though, we have to cut it every other day. otherwise it gets too tall and will start going to seed, or flowering. when that happens, it tells the plant to shut down and it will stop producing. so we have to keep up with cutting it often. this also means the farm stand needs to be opened soon so we have somewhere to sell the asparagus, since regular markets haven't started yet. (though it was a nice surprise to be able to take 14 bunches of asparagus to a special winter market at oakmont last wednesday...and sell out.)

i cooked some last night and it is good. as with everything that is so fresh, it is so tender and flavorful.

busy busy busy

that's an understatement. i don't even know if i can remember all that we did this week, but i'll give it a go...

dale and i planted flats in the field...broccoli, purple broccoli, pac choi, tatsoi, dill, head lettuce and artichokes. more salad beds were planted (leaf lettuce, mesclun mix, rhubarb swiss chard, arugula and spinach). a second planting of spring onions and spring root crops (carrots, beets, turnips and radishes) was planted. another 100 (or was it 150?) raspberry plants were planted. second planting of peas was planted.

all those seeds i started for plants to sell at landis valley were repotted this week, from those small cells to 4" pots - tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and tomatillos. the parsley and basil plants are not ready to be transplanted yet. all the plants are still young, but the hope is that they will grow in these larger pots in the next three weeks before the sale. once i figure out the final numbers, i will post them. i had some poor germination with some varieties, unfortunately.

onions and leeks arrived this week. we receive them as very small plants. think of a leek, now downsize that by about 100 times. that is the size we receive them. the onions are slightly larger. we receive them as bare roots, basically...they are not in soil, but bunched together. we received 1800 leeks, 1800 walla walla onions, 1800 candy onions and 1800 red zeppelin onions. we will direct plant the onions in the field on plastic. the leeks will not be on plastic as they need to be 'hilled' (more or less buried) every few weeks throughout the season. the hilling is what creates the white part of a leek. since the leeks are so small, and in previous years they have pretty much gotten lost in the field, this year we are planting them in cells (slightly larger than the 72 cell trays) and waiting about a month before planting them outside. they should grow to a more manageable size in the cells, then we will plant them out.

we had a frost warning for thursday night. that kind of sucked because we had to spend a lot of time on thursday making sure all the plants that have been planted out were covered with clear plastic. then we had to spend a lot of time friday morning uncovering all the plastic rows. but, you neither take the time to protect your plants, or you risk losing everything you've done so far...

that is just about it for this week. i am not sure my 'to do' list will ever be finished. it seems like every time i cross one thing off, i add three more. but nonetheless, progress is being made and things are getting done. for the most part, plants in the fields look good and the things we have direct seeded are sprouting. before long, we will be harvesting for markets.

essex farm note

essex farm is a farm way up north in NY state. they do just about everything there. they send out a weekly newsletter of the farm's happenings. i don't believe they have a website, but you can find them on facebook at 'the dirty life,' which is a book written by kristin kimball about her transition to farm life. this newsletter caught my attention more than usual (copied exactly from her e-mail newsletter). it is how farm life, and life in general, goes sometimes. everything seems like it is going to shit...there is too much to do and not enough time, the weather isn't cooperating, people don't show up to help... but then things fall into place...the rain stops, the seedlings grow, the tractors work.

Week 15, 2011

Sometimes it goes like this. Your kids have colds and nobody has slept for two nights for the hacking but it’s Sunday and you’re going to sleep in for once because a person we’ll call Twinkie Malone has contracted to milk for you on Sundays in exchange for milk. Mark will do chores and you and the two runny-nosed kids will snuggle back in for a little more dear, dear sleep. But just as you drift off Mark comes in to say Twinkie has not shown up and you need to get up and pack the sick kids in their snowsuits and put them in the stroller so you can go out and milk the cows. The mood can now be described as extremely not happy and the kids pick up on it, especially the elder, who resists the snowsuit, kicks off the boots, declares that she needs breakfast before she goes out. This last bit, actually, is reasonable. So you butter a piece of bread for her and pour yourself a cup of cold coffee from yesterday’s pot, then look at the clock and hustle. Tears now from both small sets of eyes, to go with the streaming noses. But then they are both in the stroller, bread in one hand, mittens on all the others, and you’re rolling.

You get to the barn and recruit Jane to push the baby around, a tactic meant to occupy them both. You get the first cow’s udder prepped and you’ve just put the claw on her teats when the stroller rolls into the gutter. You run to rescue the baby and the cow kicks off the claw. You try again, employing the cats this time to entertain Jane, parking the besmirched baby in front of the milker, where you hope the suck-suck noise will soothe her. You feel guilty for raising your kids on a farm. When a cat scratches Jane, you mistakenly dump the milk into the already full milk can and half a cow’s production runs onto the floor. You yell for Mark in a voice that implies that it’s all his fault. He leaves his chores, notes the milk in the gutter, scoops up the kids, takes them to the milkhouse, and plops Miranda on the floor, where you can hear her crying herself to sleep. That’s when Zea takes note of your inattention and decides to kick you, landing a good one on the kneecap. Silent rage, not toward the cow but toward the Twinkie.

Something else is wrong, and you’re not quite sure what it is until you spy the cup of cold black coffee on the step to the loft. Caffeine should improve the attitude, which is spiraling fast. You milk Sis, your favorite, a descendent of good old Delia, inheritor of her sweet nature. You can hear Mark singing with Jane in the milkhouse now, cockles and mussels, Jane correcting her dad on the lyrics; Miranda is quiet, asleep. You take the claw off Sis and put your coffee cup under her. There is still some good hindmilk in the back teats and you grasp one warm and soft in your hand and strip it out. The rich milk hits the coffee and foams, a farmer cappuccino. You milk and milk until your coffee is both light and warm and you sip. Milk is different right out of the cow. Sweeter. Mixed with the coffee, it’s heaven. You feed the cows and drink your coffee. You stand still then and listen to the sound of the cows munching and your family singing and you silently thank Twinkie, thank the god of the she-cow, thank the twisted and bumpy road that brought you to this very moment, this perfect place.

And that is the news for this spring peepers! 15th week of 2011. Find us at 963-4613, kristin@kristinkimball.com, on twitter @k_kimball, or on the farm, any day but Sunday.

-Kristin & Mark Kimball

lambs lambs lambs

the sheep are done lambing. they have been for awhile, however, we had a late delivery a couple of weeks ago. this picture is of the newest addition and his mom. the ones who were born in january and february are getting big. they are all out in two different fields with their moms. the black ones are such a true black, they really stand out next to the green grass. there is always lots of baaing, moms calling their lambs or lambs calling their moms. in total, we had 9 ewes and 15 rams, 13 blacks and 11 whites. while the lambs will start being dinner in 6+ months, it is nice to enjoy their cuteness now.

rain, rain, go away

it has been a busy and frustrating week. it keeps raining. the fields are wet and muddy and hard to do much in. a lot needed to be done this week, but so much is weather dependent at this point. it is great once the rain stops, but fields need time to dry out, you can't just rush out there and do what needs to be done. you need several days in a row of no rain. and the nights are still getting into the 40s, so even if it is not raining, the temperatures aren't helping things to dry out.

so what did get done this week? the herb plugs arrived. perennial herbs are very hard to start from seed, and with everything we start from seed, they cost time and money. so we order herb plugs. they are similar to what our seedlings look like in the 72 cell tray, only smaller. once we get the plugs, they all need to be repotted or planted in the herb garden, and fairly quickly so they can start growing. they call them plugs because you fill a pot up with soil and literally just push, or 'plug,' the tiny plant into the soil. the majority of these will be taken to landis valley to sell (and those are the ones we repotted), but we are still growing and developing our own herb garden on the farm so many plants were for us (and planted directly into the herb garden). the herbs we received were chives, arp rosemary, fresh tarragon, lady lavender, greek oregano, lemon thyme, lemon verbena, fennel and fernleaf dill. (we are expecting to receive english thyme as well, but that variety had production issues and we won't receive it for a couple of weeks.) we potted 545 plants to take to landis valley and planted 115 plants for us in the herb garden. (our dill hasn't been planted yet because it is going in the big field on plastic where it is more likely to get the nutrients it needs.) we do not use plastic in the herb garden so we use another method to keep the weeds under control - cardboard and straw. we cover the garden with cardboard and then cover the cardboard with straw and then wet everything down. if everything was dry, it would just blow away. once the cardboard and straw start to degrade a little, they will stay in place. we can't just use straw because it wouldn't take long for the weeds to grow up through. but with the cardboard under the straw, the weeds will be kept under control for most of the season. once all the weed protection is laid, we poke holes in it to plant the herb seedlings. parsley and 3 types of basil will also be planted in the herb garden throughout the season, but for the most part the herb garden is done. cutting and preparing fresh cut herbs for market is time consuming and kind of a pain in the butt, but people do seem to appreciate.

we planted 25lbs of french fingerling potatoes, the first planting of fingerlings. about 8 rows of black plastic were laid in the main produce field. there is more that needs to be laid, but that is all time and weather allowed for. i planted 3 more flats of lettuce in the field. all of the coolers were scrubbed well. (we have about 20 coolers and they are not the easier things in the world to clean.) they have been collecting a lot of dust and dirt over the winter. (we pack all our produce and meat in coolers to take to market.) more lettuce seeds were started. the asparagus to up...we might be able to cut it for market this week. some of the strawberry plants have buds. much of the garage was cleaned out. we use the garage during the regular season to sort through, wash and pack our produce. we have a big commercial size double sink we use to rinse greens.

so despite the rain, a lot was accomplished this week. some outdoor plantings are falling behind because of the weather, but not much we can do about that. there will be a lot of projects to do inside next week, mainly repotting the seedlings i started for landis valley.

this little piggy went to market

okay, i finally got one right, though a bit delayed. market last weekend was a good day. not as good money wise as other winter markets, but still a lot of regulars, all the greens we took with us sold and there were many individual customers spending a lot all at once. still worth the trip to havertown for the afternoon. and at least the sun was shining.

this little piggy had spinach

i also cut a lot of spinach today for market on saturday. this is the spinach that was planted last september outside and has been growing and cut from all winter. spinach is one of very few greens that will not only survive the winter, but also continue to grow even once cut. (we also have kale that was planted in september and has survived the winter, but once it was cut in october/november, it didn't regrow until warmer temperatures and sunnier days arrived.) we usually sell baby/small spinach assuming people will use it in salads. that we bag at a quarter pound. but this spinach is getting pretty big, so i bagged it at half a pound. this is assuming people will cook it and since you lose so much volume when cooking, you need more to start with. it is definitely still tender enough and tasty enough to eat raw, but the leaves are pretty big. so out of that huge mound on the table in the picture, i got 19 half pound bags (nine and a half pounds). spinach is a good seller at market and i don't believe i will come back with any leftover.

this little piggy had lettuce

all the root crops and the salad beds were planted on thursday, a good amount of planting done.

today i got ready for the oakmont winter market that will be on saturday (tomorrow). the weather is suppose to be low 60s with some sun, so it should be a good turn out. in the picture is a pile of baby lettuce. this was growing in the greenhouse, but has been moved just outside the greenhouse and gets put under plastic as necessary. after cutting it, washing it and bagging it there was a little extra that i ate tonight. so good...so small and tender and colorful.

all greens are cut, with scissors mostly, put into a dish pan/tub and washed. washed means double rinsed in two sinks filled with water - one sink is luke warm water, the second sink is cold water. the idea is that the warm water allows the greens to take in water, while the cold water closes them up so they retain that water...both temperatures allowing the greens to look fresh and stay fresh. but once the greens get so wet, we must dry them out a bit, otherwise they would just rot. so we put them into a mesh laundry bag and put them in the washing machine on spin cycle. yes, the washing machine. it acts as a big salad spinner. all the excess water is spun off and the greens come out ready for packing. all greens are weighed (different weights are applied to different greens) and bagged. in a time when so many people are trying to get away from using plastic bags, we use a lot. but we haven't found a better way to keep our greens fresh. especially in the heat of the summer, at market the greens would just wither to nothing. we use several different sizes of bags so the product fits in the bag, with little wasted space.

the baby lettuce in the picture was bagged at an eighth of a pound and all that lettuce in the picture gave me 12 bags of that size - one and a half pounds. and we do charge more for lettuce so small. you need a lot to fill a bag than if it were allowed to grow larger. hey, if whole foods can charge more for baby/micro greens, so can we! :-)

now it's spring

despite the slightly cooler than normal temperatures, i truly feel it is spring. on monday, dale and i planted eleven flats of plants. eleven flats times 72 plants per flat is...792 plants. granted some flats have empty cells because the seeds didn't germinate, but nonetheless, a lot of plants were planted. we planted three flats of swiss chard, one flat of collards, one flat of cauliflower, four flats of head lettuce and two flats of cabbage. (please note - every flat is a different variety. for example, the swiss chard varieties were northern lights, virgo and rhubarb.) that took us all day. and now that they are outside exposed to all the elements, we had to make sure every row we planted in had hoops, clear plastic for covering and weights to hold down the plastic. we are still having some nights in the 30s and we have to protect the plants as much as possible. if we waited until there was no more risk of freezing and frost (about mid-may in this area), we would never have enough produce to sell at our markets, all of which begin sometime in may.

today, was another big planting day. dale and i planted four flats - two flats of kale, one flat of broccoli and one flat of cauliflower. and again, had to make sure there was enough plastic covering and and weights for everything. then we planted 24 pounds of spring onions. we plant spring onions from spring onions, as opposed to starting them from seed in the field.

on the schedule for tomorrow is - plant the rest of the spring root crops, which will be direct seeded in the field. the root crops include - carrots (red, white, orange, purple), turnips (gold, white, purple and white, red), beets (purple, gold, red, white) and radishes (red, white, gold, pink, purple). three pounds of shallots are also on the schedule. (shallots are also planted from shallots, not seed.) hopefully the ground will not be too wet to plant salad beds. salad beds are direct seeded in the field and used to plant the lettuce blend, mesclun mix, cilantro, cress, spinach, arugula and rhubarb swiss chard (for salad mixes to add some color). (spinach will switch to amaranth greens in the summer, since spinach doesn't like the heat.) this will be the first planting of the season for salad beds, though they will be planted every other week throughout the year. the beds are about four feet wide and every planting will be about 90 feet long.

that sounds like a lot of planting, and it is, but it is only the beginning...

potatoes!

200lbs of potatoes were planted this afternoon - 150lbs of red norland and 50lbs of superior. it was a bit chilly out there, but at least the sun was shining.

a day in the life of a farmer

tuesday -

watered the seed starts in the front room and the flats of lettuce and other salad greens in the greenhouse

planted outside in field 1 flat (72 plants) of red russian kale and 1 flat gypsy broccoli, and 5 thornless blackberry plants

continued cleaning out trays from last year for reuse this year

started seeds for landis valley plant sale - 146 tomato plants consisting of 7 varieties

left early to deliver meat to the caterer for a fundraising event on saturday

wednesday -

watered front room and greenhouse

moved flats around in the front room to make room for more seed starts

started seeds for landis valley - 320 tomato plants consisting of 17 varieties (all different from tuesday), 40 tomatillo plants consisting of 2 varieties, parsley, genovese basil, bravo cabbage, de cicco broccoli, graffiti cauliflower (purple variety), snow crown cauliflower, red russian, lacinato and vates kales

seed starts to be planted on farm - green wave and red giant mustards, green magic broccoli, violet queen cauliflower (purple broccoli), savoy and bravo cabbages, pac choi and escarole (1 flat each), 157 tomato plants consisting of 20 varieties

thursday -

watered front room and greenhouse

picked, washed and packed greens for fundraising event on saturday

salad mix - consisting of lettuce blend, mesculin mix and baby swiss chard (from greenhouse), baby spinach and baby lacinato kale (from back garden) - 12lbs

red russian kale (from back garden) - 2lbs

savannah mustard greens (from back garden) - just under 8lbs

cut 100lbs of red norland potatoes to be planted next week (we, and most farms, grow potatoes from potatoes, not seed. we buy potatoes and cut them into smaller pieces, about the size of an egg. each piece must have at least one sprout. the seed potatoes are cut several days before planting so the cut sides can dry out a bit making it less likely for them to rot in the field once planted.)

friday -

watered front room and greenhouse

delivered greens from yesterday to caterer

picked, washed and packed 2lbs of arugula from the greenhouse for a different fundraising event on saturday

sprayed the washed trays with bleach to disinfect them for use this year (lots of diseases and fungus can survive in the plastic pots and trays. we do not reuse pots or the 72 cell flats, but we do try to reuse the trays the pots and cells sit in. to help reduce the risk of disease, we wash them out to get rid of any debris (old soil, leaves, etc) and then spray them with bleach and let them dry in the sun.)

the plants that have been growing outside all winter and the plants that have been planted so far this year, are covered with clear plastic to protect them from wind, cold, frost, etc. we hold down the plastic with plastic milk or iced tea jugs that we fill with water. this works fairly well, but if it is really windy or the ground is too uneven for the jugs to rest in place well, it doesn't work. we discussed ways of fixing this problem and for now have decided to tie the jugs together. we'll see how well this works.

we still have an aphid problem in the greenhouse and this is becoming more and more of a problem because i need the space to put the new sprouting seed starts. after cutting everything for the events on saturday, i went through all the flats in the greenhouse. i got rid of the ones that were too infected with bugs. (the chickens got those flats because they like to scratch around in the dirt and peck at the plants.) i sprayed the mildly infected flats with an insecticidal soap (made from plant oils and animal fats, harmless to the plant, people and beneficial insects, like our ladybugs). i moved all the flats that i thought were worth keeping, outside the greenhouse under plastic. i took everything out of the greenhouse that didn't need to be there (fans, extension cords, cardboard, etc), turned off the heat and opened up the door and sides. i am hoping the colder temperatures over the weekend will help kill whatever is left in there.

cut 50 more pounds of red norland potatoes and 50lbs of superior potatoes

that was my week in a nutshell.

playing in the dirt

my mom always used to say, 'i'm going out to play in the dirt,' when she was going out to work in her gardens. well, that is what i need today. the first outdoor planting happened today (besides peas). peas are planted by seed in the field by a seed planter and the guys take care of that. today was the first planting i did outside...transplanting some of the plants i grew from seed inside. i planted black seeded simpson lettuce, coastal star romaine lettuce and broccoli raab - one flat (72 plants) of each. it was a nice day to plant, pretty sunny and in the 50s. the soil was wet, but not terribly muddy. the black plastic was laid in the fall (remember we plant on black plastic to help control the weeds...it also helps warm up the soil in the spring so things can be planted out early), so it would be ready to plant early this year. hoops and clear plastic are now over the plants to protect them from cold nights and frost. if the days get really warm, we'll have to uncover the plants so it doesn't get too hot under there (the hoops and plastic recreate a greenhouse effect). now that the planting outside has started, it will only continue until well into the fall. here we go!

landis valley

i've talked a bit about how much money i've been spending to get the farm ready for the upcoming growing season. buying seeds is probably the biggest draw of money right now, however, supplies add up quickly, too. farms have a lot of money going out this time of year and, even with our successful winter markets, not a whole lot coming in. one thing lime valley mill started doing a few years ago was sell plants. plants are sold fairly early in the spring when there isn't a lot of produce to be sold yet. it is a way for us to make a good chuck of money early in the season.

the money is nice, but it also makes for a lot more work when things are starting to pick up on the farm anyway. we start almost all the plants we sell from seed, adding to the fullness of the front seed starting room. we then have to transplant all those plants (that were started in those small cells that i mentioned in the previous post) into four inch pots for sale. tags have to be made up for each plant so people know what they bought when they bring it home. extra supplies (pots, tags, trays, soil, etc) have to be purchased for all the sale plants. when i talked about working on the plan for this year, planning for landis valley herb and garden sale was a part of that. i looked at what we took last year - what sold, what didn't, what new varieties should we bring, how many, when should seeds be started, when should the plants be transplanted, etc. the sale is a two day event, plus one day before to bring all the plants to the location and set up. so there goes three days...plus all the time planning, planting and transplanting. most of the herbs we sell, we don't start from seed, but purchase small plants (kind of like our plants in the small cells). many herbs don't start well from seed for the 'home gardener' and it is easier and more cost effective to buy them in. once we get them, we have to transplant them into four inch pots, as well.

despite the extra work, it is worth it. the boost in income helps the farm. a lot of people attend this event and it is a great way for us to get our name out there and what we mostly sell (produce and meat) and where we sell those items. we try a lot of varieties of vegetables and sometimes they just don't work out for us. this is a way to use up any extra seeds we have around that we won't use. and at the end of the day, it is amazing to see all those plants we take (this year it will be about 2000 plants, i believe) sell. as simple as that.

this year will be a little more of a challenge though. the landis valley sale is the friday and saturday of mother's day weekend. saturday is also the winter market at eastern market. saturday is also the opening day for the quarryville market. we have committed to going to all three events, though the details are still to be worked out. here's to everyone coming out of that weekend alive. :-)

seed starts

things are moving along in the seed starting department. i thought i would post a picture so you have a better idea of what is going on. i've mentioned 'flats' before and how each flat has 72 cells and each cell has one seed that will become one plant. well, this picture gives you a visual of what i mean. the picture was taken in the front room of the house we use for work purposes. all seed starting takes place in this room. this is where all the lights and heat mats are set up. this flat is probably one of the types of kale we grow, though at this stage, many varieties look alike. seed starts will continue every week well into the summer so we are sure to have enough product for markets.