The summer rest goes by too fast, and again the new farming season is upon us. This will be our tenth anniversary of growing produce for our community. We had a great produce season last year. We added a few crops to the mix such as spinach, 'Kickoff' sweet corn, and mulberries. We struggled a bit with kale, eggplants, and beets. But over all I would rate our season as an "A". When I rate our crops, I generally mean how much did I plant and what did I harvest versus the expectation. We always have room for improvement to attain the coveted "A+". Maybe this year...
We already started the new journey by breaking ground in the eastern-most plot on the farm. The ground has rested for a few years with replenishing cover crops and shredded tree trimmings added to increase the organic mater and the biological activity in the soil.
The first crop that leads off our 10th season of vegetable farming is the sweet potato. We were a little late last year getting the plants in the ground, but this year we should be on time. We had early season drama of losing a box of plants in the mail. Then we received a replacement second shipment on the day before we left for a two week family vacation. Despite all that, I was able to hold the slips under a mist bed and plant them upon my return.
Next in line are the tomato, cabbage, pepper, and collard greens. These were planted in trays and should be placed in the field in about 30 days as seedlings.
We are looking forward to seeing all our old friends,and the new ones, in a few months. Here's to a great tenth season.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
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