It's been awhile since I have written a post. But I have to be honest and say that at this time of the year, I am way past busy. I am teaching school, running a home life and starting to get into farming. So that leaves little energy and sometimes time, to sit down and write a posting.
That doesn't mean, however, that my mind is not on keeping my readers updated. It has been a very freaky Spring as you know. Dad and I have been slowly doing what needs to be done but the weather continues to play a part in what we do. Such is the life of a farm.
Since I last posted, we have planted all the peas, most of the onion sets and started with the potatoes. The carrots and beets have refused to germinate which has me concerned but it's a tough call this early in the Spring. I think the key is keeping them moist which has been a chore because the wind blows every day over at the farm and things keep drying out.
The lettuce that we planted and have a tunnel over is looking beautiful. The drip line we installed is working out and there is no complaints there. The garlic is also holding its own and looks good at this point.
We planted a different variety of potato called a King Charles. It is a nice all-purpose potato that we will trial and see how it grows, sells, etc. We are also trialing for Johnny's Seeds a couple of onion varieties that they are thinking about selling. These onions are storage onions. We will be planting them this weekend. I'll let you know about their progress as we go along.
I am concerned that some of my CSA customers have not renewed their subscriptions yet. I hate to bug people but I would like to know if they are going to renew because now is the time we need the start up money. I'm probably going to be disappointed by some of the customers who won't renew, but things being the way they are with money, I can understand.
I have been working with Virtua Health Systems on having farm markets at their various campuses and this is a very promising venture. They are excited to have us come aboard and we are looking forward to opening up new avenues for new customers.
The Russian Banana potatoes are on their way from Colorado and we will be planting them this weekend. These are a big seller for us and Dad and I enjoy raising them as they are prolific and not a fuss.
Finally, the seedlings of lettuce and spinach have been working out in the little greenhouse hut I have built. We had a temporary set back about two weeks ago when a strong wind pushed over the tops and I had to rebuild them. But now things are back on track and they are growing just fine. This weekend we will start the tomatoes in seedling trays. I was able to find a variety I thought people stopped selling - a green dragon as we call it. It is a long plum-like tomato that is very tasty. We are excited that Seed Savers Exchange had seed available.
So that is the long and short it for now. I have been out every night until I can't see any more prepping the beds and getting ready for planting. It is a joyous occasion to be out there as the World gets ready for bed. By the time I get home and shower, it is also my bed time. I settle into my nice warm bed and read a good book. I am currently reading George Washington Carver's environmental biography. It is very interesting read of a man who gets credit for illuminating the many uses of peanuts but for little else but was truly a visionary in understanding how the cultivated and uncultivated plants of nature are closely related to one another.
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