Down on the Farm

Tomatoes and basil

Tomatoes, basil, cucumbers and zucchini. This is all growing in greenhouse number 1. Henry and I knocked over a tray of cabbage and so we decided not to venture further damage in greeenhouse 2, and the intermittent rain and mud kept us from going up top, but there is a lot going on all over.

Peter was just up top covering stuff in the dark because it was 40 at 8:00 p.m., so we were worried about freezing. It probably won't though.

We just got back from the market meeting for the Waitsfield market. We are getting two spaces this year!! Now instead of having another vendor between us and Red Hen, we will be right next to them!!

Also we got a kickin CSA ad in the Valley Reporter!! We lucked out with great placement -- page three!! -- and they gave us free color!! There is a photo of the veggie basket in the ad, and it looks so vibrant and good. Even I forget how bright the colors are in summer. We already got one call from it. If you are visiting this site because you saw the ad in the Valley Reporter, welcome!!! Here's the link to the information on the CSA.. Please call or email with questions!

Localvores rock

Localvore leader and Old Shaw Farm supporter Robin McDermott in the New York Times this week talking about the joys of eating local!! Link here. Go Robin!!!

The Times is just freaking out over eating local this week, running, by my count, three articles related to the topic! Which is awesome. Another great Michael Pollan article urging us to recognize that the Farm Bill is our national food policy and, as such, we should demand that it be re-written to better reflect what we want our food policy to be. "[T]he “farm bill” is a misnomer; in truth, it is a food bill and so needs to be rewritten with the interests of eaters placed first. Yes, there are eaters who think it in their interest that food just be as cheap as possible, no matter how poor the quality. But there are many more who recognize the real cost of artificially cheap food — to their health, to the land, to the animals, to the public purse. At a minimum, these eaters want a bill that aligns agricultural policy with our public-health and environmental values, one with incentives to produce food cleanly, sustainably and humanely."

An article about how the Prince of Wales cares deeply about local food systems. "We no more want to live in anonymous concrete blocks that are just like anywhere else in the world than we want to eat anonymous junk food that can be bought anywhere."

Though I think my favorite quote was Robin's. “There are a lot of people here who call themselves yokelvores,” Ms. McDermott said. “They get their food from within 100 feet of their homes — homesteaders who have their own cows, chickens and grow their own vegetables. They consider people like us as Johnny-come-latelies.” You have to be pretty cool to be this aww pshaw while being interviewed by the New York Times.

Thanks to CSAer Susan Houle for emailing me about the articles!!!!

More warm weather

It was in the 70s today. And windy. Things are drying out fast. The only downside is that some of the tomatoes haven't been trellised yet, and its been so warm we've had to roll up the sides of the houses, so its been a bit breezy for them. But I am not complaining. Definitely not complaining.

That dirty white mound in the background by Henry? That's snow.

Only in VT

We get all kinds of weather/climate stuff here in Vermont, sometimes in the same day. Here is Wavy, playing in a snowbank, in short sleeves, with the sides of the greenhouse rolled up for ventilation because it was so warm (in the 60s) and sunny today.

And yesterday I went to another farm to pick up a new piece of equipment -- a barrel washer. The barrel washer will make washing root crops and potatoes a breeze, and will really really cut back on washroom labor. But making the journey to the farm where I picked it up took me over the Green Mountains. It was sunny and in the 60s when I left Peacham, but up around the top Killington and Pico, it was in the 40s and there was still a foot of snow on the ground. It looked like Pico was closed but I think people were still skiiing up at the top of Killington. Too much.

Wavy pretending to take a shower in the new barrel washer

So I hope everyone enjoys the beautiful weather. It is a little tough for us because with all the snow and cold we have had we are about 3 weeks behind on our season, so now we have like 6 weeks of work in the next 3 weeks -- but at least it is beautiful out while we try to catch up!

Moving fast

The snow is almost gone.

The peas that the kids planted in the hoophouses up top are up.

Garlic is poking up through the hay mulch.

Things are moving so fast I had to post tonight or the photos (from yesterday) would be hopelessly out of date. This afternoon I saw tulips poking up in flower beds that were covered with snow two days ago.

More seedling photos

Onions.

Salad turnips

Sun gold cherry tomatoes.

Sweet peppers.

Beet seedlings

Snow yesterday, crazy windy today, even windier tonight. As bleak as things look now, I suspect that between the strong spring sun and the good spring winds, it won't be long now till the fields are dry enough to plant.

Sea of seedlings

The greenhouse is full to bursting.

Wavy's cosmos had to go on the ground, but its doing well.

The first wave of tomatoes have been trellised and are starting to bud.

The weather

It looks like the midwest and east coast are still getting the same cold weather. Normally we have highs in the 50s this time of year, but we have been stuck in the 20s and low 30s for the last 10 days, with more of the same to come for the next week. Plus, the forecast calls for another snow storm on Thursday. And the foot of snow we got last week is still on the ground.

To give you some perspective, every winter we draw up a schedule for the season. Things can get hectic in the summer around here, so it is helpful to have a plan written out beforehand, even if we have to make adjustments along the way. For next week, the week of April 15, the schedule says "Prep beds for potatoes, peas, and early greens." I don't think that is going to happen! First the snow needs to melt, and then the ground needs to dry out, and at this rate I don't think that will happen by next week.

But weather is one of the wonderful challenges of this biz. And as a weather nut, I love watching the weather and trying to figure out how to work with it. Our friend and fellow farmer Richard talks about how it is our job to take what the planet gives us for free -- sun, rain, soil, bugs, microbes, critters, our hands and backs and heads -- and to turn it into food with the least amount of inputs. So this week we are going to try to figure out how to squeeze some more stuff into our greenhouses and hoophouses so that we have some veggies for our first markets in May. Since necessity is the mother of invention, perhaps we will stumble across some ideas that will help us in future years as well.

In the meantime, enjoy the spring skiiing!

Tomatoes growing

Tomatoes are looking good.

Snow

While I generally try to avoid complaining about the weather, even I make an exception this time of year. It feels like everywhere else is blooming, beautiful spring and we go from mud to this slushy, sticky mess. I think everyone I spoke to this morning was crabby. The generally crabby ones were extra crabby, and even the usually upbeat folks were crabby. It was a crabbiness convention. Which actually cheered me up, I thought, its not just me, everyone feels crabby this time of year.

It looks to be gray and sleety for the next few days, but it can't last. The ground under the snow is still soft and muddy. Pretty soon the hills will turn their technicolor green. I love that.

Veggie farming is good for you!

For those of you who haven't worked on a veggie farm before, there is really no way to explain how dirty you get. When we hire people who haven't worked on veggie farms before, we suggest they go spend $20 at Goodwill on a couple of farm outfits that will get totally trashed over the course of the season. And as the season grinds on, dirt gets everywhere -- in the car, permanently under your fingers, in the house, in the truck, in your teeth, etc.

I don't mean to complain. One of the reasons we like veggie farming is because we like getting dirty and playing in the mud. But now it turns out that the mud is good for you! More dirt and mud for everyone!

Hmmm, maybe we should start charging people to work here as some sort of health retreat . . .

Opening day

So tonight is the start of the Major League Baseball season, and to celebrate around here, Wavy hit some snowballs off the batting T this morning.

Batter up!

We called this one a double.

Like we keep saying in these posts, "Spring will get here soon." Although we are supposed to get some more snow tonight . . .

In the meantime, the first greenhouse is planted out.

Stoop, plant, step . . . stoop, plant, step . .

This is actually a little late for us to be getting the first tomatoes in, but it has been a cold March, and we watched a video this winter that suggested that unless you have underground heating in your houses (we don't), the advantage of starting much before April 1 is marginal. So I guess we will see.