Things at the farm have been humming along smoothly. This time of year can be overwhelming, with a seemingly endless list of tasks, but it's also a reassuring time when everything falls into place. Over the past few weeks we've built a hoop house and road out to our further fields (for farm visits). We've tilled three acres and are in the process of planting it by hand. The biggest challenge this time of year is trying to plan wisely. It can seem like a puzzle, trying to fit all of the crops onto the space we have, but eventually it works out with a little math and sometimes a little extra tilling. So far we've planted:
- Carrots, Beets, Radishes (by seed)
- Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage (get planted as seedlings and are started inside)
- Onions, Scallions, Leeks (onions and leeks get started inside, and the scallions are perennials)
- Kale, Spinach (by seed)
- Dahlias, Gladiolas, Zinnias (bulbs, zinnias by seed)
- Peas, Beans (go right in the ground)
This week we harvested lettuce, radishes, kale, chard, and spinach. Beets are on the way. Our tomato, eggplant, and pepper seedlings are enormous and are waiting patiently in the shade at the edge of the fields to go into the ground. Clare has been out working hard every day putting in long, long days. I am looking forward to joining her full time when I wrap up teaching on the 20th. Fortunately, Clare's had great help from Kayleigh and Yona, who will be working with us this summer. We've also been lucky to have lots of extra help of our friend Jim. Clare will write the next blog to fill in any gaps I've missed, since she's been out in the thick of it. For now, here are some of her great photos from a few weeks ago to give you all an idea of what's happening:
Yona puts together our new Earthway seeder from Johnny's. It saves a lot of time and plants more accurately than we can.
Kayleigh transplants tomato seedlings into larger containers. 
Planting in early May. 
Yona and Dave building the hoop house with salvaged lumber.
Stay tuned for more, and please leave comments if you have any questions about anything!
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