Managing ecologies

So much of my work on the farm is not spent tending to the crops that will be the bountiful end reward to that labor, but instead is spent managing the relationships between all life on the farm. My job is to choose the seed and then give it a fighting chance. And fight it must! So many forces are aiming against that chosen seed: other competitive seeds racing our young plant for nutrients, space, light, and water; pests that seem to focus their attention only on our future harvests, and lack of rain to germinate our seed are a few examples of what we are up against.

But my bag of tricks is pretty impressive and our seeds usually triumph.

This is a picture of early Arugula and Mustard seedings under row cover. These young leaves if left uncovered would quickly find themselves dotted with tiny holes, evidence of feedings of the persistent flea beetle. If the pressure is strong enough, the plants could be set back considerably or we could have complete crop failure. This lightweight, floating row cover sits atop the plants as they grow protecting them from insects as well as offering minimal frost protection.

When April showers are nowhere to be found, you can find me on the farm laying irrigation. The seeds can't germinate without sufficient water and putting plants into the ground without watering them in will result in transplant shock and crop failure (seeing a trend?) This is an example of the drip tape irrigation connections to allow me to irrigate sections of the field at a time.

The drip line spool propped on the wheel barrel for easy unwinding.  The first 100' of drip tape being laid out...with many many many more to follow.

This is the drip emitter. Spaced every 8" for even watering of crops. Laying the line close to each row conserves water and reduces wed growth by only putting it where it is needed.

Going into the barn this evening I noticed the chickens have made a fine roosting spot for themselves. Not where it was expected, but a safe distance from the curious dogs down below. They seem very happy and active in their new home.

Seeding begins!

This has been a busy Spring on the farm. Getting everything ready for the season, pulling out equipment and sharpening tools. I have also started seeding outside and this past weekend got the first generation of peas in the ground. Sugar Snap fans...get ready! I use this nifty tool for most of my direct seeding on the farm. It's an Earthway Precision Seeder, and can be outfitted with different sized seeder plates to accommodate a variety of seed sizes and spacing.

 Driving it down the bed, the front opens up a furrow in the soil, drops the correct amount of seeds and then covers them with loose soil before the back wheel drives over the furrow tamping the soil in place.

Unfortunately the soil is too try to germinate most of the seeds I have laid down. I will be setting up the irrigation system soon. This is strange for April, which is typically too wet and I worry about seeds rotting in the wet, cool soil.
 The seeding in the greenhouse continues as well. We will be transplanting into the fields soon, so check back for more pictures.

Soil prep continues...

Farmers focus a lot of attention and care on their soil. We read about it, talk about it, research it. We obsess over it really. The life in the soil and the care we put into ensuring the optimum conditions to support this life is integral to the farm. As I mentioned before, tilling aggressively has negative impacts on the soil and the rototiller is one of the worst culprits. It acts as it sounds; rotating tines tear through the top few inches of soil, pulverizing it into tiny pieces so what's left is the softest, finest soil surface. For the microbial, organic health of the soil its terrible. These tiny particles lead to compaction which results in poor drainage, lack of oxygen, and loss of beneficial microbes.

But, for the plants which get planted into newly tilled beds, life is good. The soil presses firmly against seeds for proper germination and the transplanted, young seedlings are coddled into their teens by soft, caring soils.
There are few alternatives to this useful tool on small farms.

Tonight I tilled up beds that will soon be planted to sugar snap and snow peas. I rented a tractor and tiller from a local farm supply shop and took a while to re-orient myself with how best to operate it...

                                ...mainly, how to drive straight so I would end up with straight beds.

Well, I'm still learning. 

As I was driving, I remembered what a farmer in Maryland said lovingly of his intern as she created incredibly crooked rows, "She never did anything straight in her whole life, why would she start now". Ha!

I have loads of rocks to pick this weekend and plenty of seeds to put in the ground over the next few weeks. If you are interested in coming out to the farm to help out, just email me at farmer@dailyharvestfarm.com.