The greenhouse has already been filled and emptied a few times this spring!
I can't believe that CSA boxes are right around the corner - first deliveries are next week!! So much has transformed on the farm since my last newsletter, and we're so excited for the bountiful season to begin! Read on for lots of farm updates.
Our crew has been back to working full time and we've been getting so much done - we're so lucky to have folks returning for their second or third seasons. We've been planting up a storm to get lots of delicious food ready for you! We have radishes, turnips, spinach, fennel, lettuce, radicchio, scallions, bok choi, kale, collards, celery, sugar snap peas and potatoes in the ground! Our winter crops are out of the tunnels and replaced with green beans and tomatoes! Coming up next is our first round of summer squash, zucchini and cherry tomatoes.
We have a new toy on the farm! It's called a water wheel transplanter. One person drives the tractor while two people sit on the implement and put plants into the ground. The yellow wheels have dull spikes on them that punch a hole in the ground and fill it with water so that the plant has a nice place to grow in the ground. It makes transplanting much quicker and much more comfortable on our bodies - we've coveted this implement for many years and are so happy to have it on the farm now!
We've had great fun at our plant sales this season - thanks to everyone who ordered plants! You can still order plants for pick up at the farm on Saturdays for the next few weeks - check out our Plant Sales page for the link to the plant store and ordering directions.
Another exciting development on the farm is that we are in the process of becoming Certified Naturally Grown. This is a peer-to-peer certification that's very similar to organic certification but with a few key differences. It requires farmers to us only OMRI approved herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers, just like the National Organic Program. We're still using the exact same growing practices that we did while were certified organic (2018 - 2021) with one key difference.
We decided to pursue this certification instead of becoming certified organic again largely because it allows us to continue using biodegradable plastic mulch instead of the non-biodegradable stuff that fills up trash bag after trash bag. We love using less plastic and spending less energy on clean up! We also resonate with the peer-to-peer certification model - another farmer will complete our certification instead of a third party auditor. We value the transparency of the certification process and that it helps us to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability to our customers. Please let us know if you have any questions about CNG - we're excited to talk about it!
If you’re thinking about signing up for a CSA share this season, make sure to join before this Friday 5/20 so that you don’t miss any boxes! We’d so love to feed you this year!