Farm Update...

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve gotten into the field, prepped the soil, planted some spring cover crops, and have gotten the first round of plantings of cold hearty crops like carrots, spinach, potatoes, salad mix and more in the ground.

Mar is back on the farm for another season, and taking to the tractor like a pro, and pretty much doing all the farm work. Whew. Thank the gods, otherwise nothing would get done around here! I am so happy Mar is back!!

The rest of the crew is delayed, due to Covid related travel restrictions. Again this year I hired 2 crew through the Ohio Program (through which Marisol and Ellina came last season). The Ohio Program matches farms with applicants who have received their education in areas or agriculture, and takes care of the logistics of J1 visas and other issues. I was so happy to have Marisol and Ellina here (and miss them! I miss being called Jefé!! “Good Morning Jefé”), so I went through the Program again. This year Justina and Kelvin should be coming mid May, from Guana and Kenya respectively. If there are more travel delays, plan b’s are being hatched. But I hope that is all the delay that we get.

Once we get off and running here, a local couple, Molly and Chris, will be on board with harvest and with the markets. Tiffany is also slated to lead up Midtown Market again! And boy will we need all their help! This season is going to be one big experiment that will require more logistics than a usual market season. It’ll go though.

As we get out into the fields and make our rounds, I am reminded about just how horrible last season was. I kind of forgot? Not really forgot. I still felt it in my bones. But I did my best to trudge forward, a joyful wounded foot soldier. Last season was like an ice cold shower that you sing through, just to convince yourself that it’s all okay. What was the issue? The crew was great! We brought beautiful produce to the markets and the CSA boxes! It was the weather. Always raining. It prevented us from getting anything for the good sake of the farm itself done in the second half of the season. No cover crops. No field prep. Nothing. Indeed, it was one of the reasons that I decided not to do our regular shares this season and focus on the markets. I couldn’t honestly take peoples money on that scale and feel good about our chances of success for that set up.

But also as we get out into the field, making up for lost time from last years horrible farmer freakout inducing weather, I feel good about the set up this year and our ability to bring the goods for you all. The spring has been relatively nice, some of what we planted is already popping, and things are pretty much on track.

If this shift to market focus sticks into the future, then it’ll allow us to be more of a year round farm as well. Time will tell, but we’re going to take a hard stab at having a lot of crops to over winter, so that at this time next year, we’ll have a full market table of spinach, onions, leeks, garlic scallions, parsnips, and whatever else can survive these winters all ready to go.

For this spring though, last year pushes it’s power still. But, give us a few more weeks. We’ll be off and running, and we won’t look back.