Field Planting has begun!

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I am VERY busy this time of year.  Laying out the rotations, paying bills, lining up workers, getting equipment lined up and running, paying bills, watering seedlings, planting seedlings, direct seeding crops, cultivating, cleaning equipment, paying bills, weeding perennial weeds, moving perennials into perennial beds, ordering more supplies, ordering more seeds, paying bills, and on and on…..

 

Almost all of the small gardens in S. Lebanon have been planted with early crops, and cultivation has started up in W. Lebanon.  We will be plowing up in C. Lebanon soon.    We have been eating salads, green onions, jerusalem artichokes, the occasional carrot and parsnip, and garlic greens….  all volunteers or over wintered.  The more land under veggie production, the more random food that pops up each spring.  These early treats are good for the tired farmers. It helps us look forward to the big harvests!

 

Stay tuned!


JP

Tilling the S. Lebanon Garden

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Tilled some beds in the beautifull, warm weather today at the S. Lebanon Gardens. The W. Lebanon Field is really very wet… but should dry out soon enough. The Center Lebanon fields will have to wait a couple of weeks before we plow 4 acres up there… again due to the wet weather. But it IS still early– especially for opening new land. Two acres will be cover cropped two or three times throughout the year for weed and fertility management, and the other two acres will be cover cropped, then put into production. Things like Corn, beans, peas, edemmame, and late crops (winter squashes, pumpkins) will be up there becuase they can be grown in “new land”… whereas other things can’t due to pests that live in sod.

 

I hope that everyone is enjoying the weekend, and spending some time outside!!!

 

Seedlings growing, and the farm will begin to dry out

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A small part of the total farm seedlings are already growing (about 13,000) at the S. Lebanon farm. The three huge rainfall events have made the fields a little wet, but with 80 DEGREES on the way this weekend, it should help dry things out. The new Center Lebanon field will be plowed as soon as it’s dry enough, and the West Lebanon field has been greening up with crimson clover and winter rye to help build soil fertility, and protect the soil from the hard rains. I’m excited to meet new Summer CSA shareholders, and welcome back the many that have returned from 2009. I am also excited to be attending the Portsmouth Farmers’ Market every Saturday from 8:am-1:pm starting in May. If you have any questions about the CSA, don’t hesitate to call and ask.

 

Looking forward to spring,

Jordan Pike

Two Toad Farm