Springtime Chores
Its spring! Kind-of…
As we come out of what are likely our last colder evenings (we are supposed to see lows in the 30s overnight starting Sunday), our work on the farm continues. Warm-weather seeds have been started indoors as we are succession planting cool weather crops, in hopes of a continuous harvest of greens for the next 8 - 10 weeks. Keeping an eye on those soil temperatures is critical at this point. Once those soil temps start to stabilize in the low 60s, warm weather plants can go right out. Today, the soil temperature in the high tunnel finally reached 61F, so im direct seeding our high tunnel cucumbers, beans and cherry tomatoes. These guys will go in with the peas, kale, broccoli and spinach that will be maturing in about 2 weeks or so. When those come out, we will follow with some radish and then cover crop everything except the rows with our warm weather plantings.
Earth Day Event
The 22nd of April marks Earth Day, globally and we are holding our very first Earth Day celebration right on the farm. You can check out the schedule of activities over on the Fowl Play Farm website and our Facebook page.
We are focusing most of our attention on soil primarily, because thats the focus of the farm! We love utilizing the relationship that plants and animals have with soil, to such an extent as to grow out all of the small things that you really dont get a chance to see. Did you know that healthy soil has a very distinct smell? You’ll have the opportunity to smell soil from different parts of the farm - and youll even have the chance to smell some compost to compare!
We will also talk about what regenerative farming means as Farmer Brett takes you on a tour of our planting beds and our silvopasture. You'll see a huglekulture mound in action, learn how you can make one yourself, meet the livestock, and take self-guided walks around the farm space.
Favorite Spring Seeds
What are your favorite spring seeds? They can be food or fun! Lots of spring bulbs are already pushing up, and in some funnier locations, spring flowers are already in abundance, filling the brown and gray landscape with vibrant color and texture. Most cold-weather crops can be direct sown outside now, or transplants that have been hardened off can go straight into your planting beds. Young plants will need a little protection over the next few nights as we are dipping into the low 30s, so consider a thick, protective mulch, some sort of plastic or fabric cover - or delaying planting seedlings out until later in the week when our overnight lows warm up so you wont have to worry about frost protection. You can let us know in the comments some of your favorite, cold weather seeds and tell us when you start them, and your technique - and most importantly, WHY that are your favorites!
Amanda and I hope that you have an amazing week ahead. All the best
Farmer Brett
