Now that things are growing in the greenhouse, it feels like the farm is ramping up fast. While the seedlings grow, we’re also trying to squeeze in a few more team meetings to make sure our new team members get trained up and check in with each other as we work on projects. One of our conversation topics of late has been reducing and replacing the plastic packaging we had to adopt for Covid protocols as much as possible, and making sure quality isn’t compromised. (From left to right: Sara Zoe, Kate, Mekala, Jenna, Amber. Karl took the picture.)
The snow had melted. Our fields are really wet, but it’s nice to see the soil. We have 5 acres of fields, most of which are on top of the hill. We’ll be checking on our cover crops, using tarps to suppress weeds, and trying to wait patiently.
Peas! We purchased a new tool and system this year called the Paper Pot Transplanter. This is a whole system of seeding and transplanting that we hope will work well for greens and lettuces in particular. We plant a LOT of lettuce every. single. week. and this tool could potentially really help us maximize our time and efforts. We have many trials going on in the paper pot honeycombs right now, and these peas are just so cute! We’re pretty obsessed with checking their growth every day. We’ll be planting them into the Hoop Coop (one of the small hoop houses) as a very early spring trial. Fingers crossed.
2021’s first Microgreens are happily growing! These quick growers won’t be far off. They will be heading to Veggie-GO when they’re ready. We can’t wait to chow down on these for the fresh flavor and powerful nutrition. We definitely get Popeye vibes when our salads are filled with micros.
Can you see our concentration faces? Kate trained Jenna, Mekala, Sara Zoe, and Karl on onion seeding. There’s a lot of farm tasks that require this kind of intense concentration – a lot of that is because we are counting and paying attention to so many details at the same time, while trying to move quickly and efficiently. (Ed note: Kate is an AMAZING teacher! We are profoundly lucky to be learning from her. – Farm Crew)
With so many seedlings started in the Greenhouse, we know we’re going to need more protected space to move some of them into very very soon. Karl, Amber, and Mekala set up the benches in the Little House. These benches are designed to let us grow greens underneath, with the greens irrigated as we water the seedlings above them.
Can you see the temperature on the gauge behind Kate? It reads 85! Regulating our Greenhouse temperatures is always on our minds – the plants are just like Goldilocks and like us to keep the temperatures between 40-80. We open the doors wide in the sunshine and time the closing of the doors to keep in the day’s warmth for the evening.
The Plant Sale continues – many seedlings have sold out already! – and we still have a great selection of seeds for your garden. We have just a few CSA shares and Greens shares left, and Farm Store Credit shares as well. You can find more info about our plant sale and csa shares on our online store.