pictures-long overdue

It has been a busy busy Spring for us on the farm! I don't remember being this tired last year... but I do romanticize the past, which, I think, makes me perfectly suited for farming. By only thinking positively about last season, I am able to charge full steam ahead into the unknown of another year. Facing the weather, the biting flies, the sore muscles and sunburns. I embrace it all and feel nothing but lucky to do this everyday.

Our first week of harvests and markets are behind us and we could not have asked for a warmer embrace from our Downtown Market friends. It was so great to see you all again and we are looking forward to another great year!  We are also so happy we joined the Regional Market and look forward to our early Saturday mornings!
We have added a new section to our website: Daily Harvest Newsletter, which we will update every Sunday evening to let you know what we will be harvesting for markets that week. Included, will also be some recipe links to get you thinking about ways to use up the harvest and prepare some delicious dinners.

Now for a week in pictures:

Mulching Winter Squash

We finally got the onions weeded!

We're Growing!

The garlic paid a premium for this view!

Tomatoes are enjoying their new field, we are enjoying the extra space!

The good and bad of garden bugs

As a beginning farmer, working on land that was planted to corn for many years I am constantly trying to build and replenish the soil. And we are also working very hard to encourage biodiversity on the farm. Just by growing a diversity of crops, we are easily enhancing the wildlife and insect activity on the farm. But we know we need to do more so we leave large sections of the fields uncultivated to allow for beneficial insects, snakes, birds and other critters to find homes. We plant companion plants to attract the types of insects we prefer, and that prey on the insects we farmers call pests.

One such pest that has given us a bit of heartache the last couple weeks is the Cucumber Beetle (shown here in stripes, but also comes in spots). It wiped out our first planting of cucumbers by infecting them with bacterial wilt as it fed on the young seedlings. This bacteria that lives in the gut of the beetles kills young plants instantly, making it necessary to remove plants to help control the beetles. We were very sad to see our first planting of cucumbers go but have successfully gotten 2 more plantings in and with the help of floating row cover have not seen another cucumber beetle. It is our goal for the farm to grow healthy soil that produce healthy plants that can stand up to and even deter insect damage, as pests typically only attack stressed or unhealthy plants. We are also growing companion plants that will attract beneficial insects to feed on our pests. Once the cucumber beetles were spotted I immediately planted catnip, dill, cilantro, fennel, mizuna, and crimson clover to attract the soldier beetle and other beneficial insects that prey on the beetle eggs and larvae.  In just a couple months we will be enjoying a delicious cucumber salad feeling like all our efforts were worth it!