We want to send out a warm and sunny spring HELLO! along with a farm update to keep you in the loop.
We had to wait a bit longer for spring than we are used to but what a beautiful way to usher in June! We are really enjoying the weather this week. It's perfect weeding weather after all (warm, but not too warm with a steady drying breeze so all the fine root filaments dry up once they've been upturned) and also pretty good planting weather. That pretty much sums it up - it is all about planting, weeding and keeping up with weekend markets right now.
We are very grateful to have a group of staff that have all worked on our farm before, so there isn't a lot of training needed and that sure makes it easier on us! We feel very lucky to have such a great crew! Jose Juan and Juan Carlos are both here from Mexico, and Tishawni and Zu are both locals that have become an integral part of the farm. Tishawni is taking advantage of an apprenticeship position on our farm under the auspices of Young Agrarians, an organization that encourages young people to get into farming.
Weeding some newly planted kale and Swiss chard
Many of you know Jenny's dad, Roy, from the Uproot Food Collective pickup location. He and Jenny's mom have taken on the task of getting some sheep for our farm. We asked them to help us with it because they are so resourceful, and about a week later, fencing was up, sheep were acquired, and a small shelter was built. We wanted to take advantage of the healthy pasture growing all around our first plot of no-till beds and the sheep will help keep it mowed for us.
Roy and Grace (Jenny's folks) placing fencing for the sheep.
This brings us to news of our no-till plots. We had great success in getting them planted this year, and the crops in them (mainly onions & leeks, along with some Brussels sprouts, and winter squash) are looking fantastic. In between the row crops, we have planted some dwarf peas as ground cover (these are annuals - we want them to last for a single season) and in the pathways between each bed we have seeded clover (these are perennial and we want them to come back year after year, but not spread). James had to do some significant modifications to our transplanter to get it to work in these new beds and was nervous until he saw it functioning as he'd hoped! He took our brand new machine and cut it down the middle and added a whole new section that he constructed - all those hours of helping his own dad in the machine shop as a kid are paying off!
We are enjoying decreased weed pressure in the new plots as well as a sense of aliveness with all the ground covers surrounding and in between the beds. We remain hopeful about the positive changes no-till will bring to our farm. This is the season that will give us the information we need to forge ahead with it or not!
The first year of no-till! Look closely to see the peas coming up between the onions.
There are only 6 weeks left before the first week of deliveries. We are really looking forward to our local season of abundance and hope you are too! Thank you for taking part in our farm this year and trusting us to grow your veggies this summer!
I'd like to let you know the best way to contact me (Jenny) for when you have questions or issues with your farm share. Email is the most effective way hands down. Sometimes I get Instagram DMs or messages on Facebook, and while I will eventually get those, email is the most consistent and reliable way to connect with me. I will be checking emails every morning for farm box messages. If there are urgent matters that can't wait till the morning, then please call me at 780-447-3025.
Have a wonderful spring everyone! Yours truly, Jenny and James
