Wild Things Farm

Wintertime sure is hard on us CSA gardeners.  Sure, there are lots of chores to be done around the farm and there is a little extra time to rest and recuperate from the insanity of "the season", but there's nothing like the smell of fresh earth or tomato vines once they're brushed against.

This year I tried something in the greenhouse that I hadn't done before.  I potted up 6 tomato plants in really big pots later in the season so that they were blooming by cool weather in the greenhouse.  So far, without heat, I've harvested 8 tomatoes, with the last 3 being harvested yesterday! 

On really cold, windy wintry days the greenhouse soars above 80 degrees and it's a really neat feeling to be inside and warm, but still outside, well sort of.  It's connected to the shop, so I can stay warm while working on projects in the shop.  Maybe next year I'll have some other crops in there with the tomatoes.....that's one thing I love about gardening; there's always next year (good Lord willing and the creek don't rise anyway).

Happy New Year, Everybody!

This time of year is full of mixed feelings; glad to not be rushed by picking and delivering every week, but still pushed to get chores done before really cold weather sets in.  The urgency of picking and packing is gone and most veggie farmers can relax a little--well, as soon as the pumps are weatherized, stakes, posts, and wires are all out of the garden and stored, and garden beds properly "put to bed" for the winter.

This season a few different concepts of winterizing gardens are being explored.  A winter cover crop of winter rye has been planted in the newest strawberry patch to be harvested early next year and cut down and applied as mulch next spring.  Large quantities of leaves are being used both as soil amendments (tilled in) and as mulch in the garden areas to amend soil and suppress weeds.  Black plastic is being used in the blackberry patch to keep weeds at bay, although an effective method of keeping the plastic attached to the ground is yet to be discovered.  The newest addition to the critter patrol, a Catahoula dog named Reuben, likes to crawl under the plastic looking for critters--he pulls the staples out in the meantime and the wind blows the plastic around.....

An orchard including apple, peach, and pear trees is being developed this fall, as well as blueberry plants are being incorporated into the growing areas.  Got to plan for the future!

Stay warm and active!

Now that the season is winding down the CSA farmer can stop and take a little breath.....just a little one because there are still stakes to pull and store, wires to roll up, beds to mulch and plant with cover crops, drip tape to roll up (that was a waste of time this year!), pumps to winterize...blah, blah, blah.  I was working in the gardens the other day and realized that cleaning up after a season of growing is kind of like cleaning up after a New Year's Eve party!

Even though this year was a "washout" as far as the rainfall went, most of the crops still did well.  Tomatoes, carrots, and spinach were the worst fatalities of the year, but green beans, potatoes and eggplant did exceptionally well.

The website for the farm has been re-vamped and moved to a new host to make updates simpler for the farmer.  A blog page is included in the website to keep members and visitors up-to-date on what's happening at the farm. 

Also, during these past few weeks preparations for the future have been made; more strawberry plants, cranberry plants, and asparagus plants have been added to the thornless blackberries and rhubarb to provide members a variety of fruits and perennial veggies to round out their shares in future deliveries.

This past winter I celebrated the Winter Solstice with what I hope to be a new tradition:  canning tomatoes.  Yep, that's right.  I love December 21, just because to me it's hope during the dead of winter that warmer weather is on the way as the days begin to get a tad bit longer each day.  During the summer frenzy of picking and packing CSA shares, the extra tomatoes that aren't really pretty get thrown into big bags and tossed into the freezer.  When I have a few minutes to spare, such as in the winter, I take them out of the freezer, pop them into hot water for a few minutes, and the skin slips off really nice.  They are still too frozen to cut up into chunks, but a half hour or so in the sink will get them to a decent "mushy" stage so they can be chunked up, put in the pot, then canned.  It's kind of a "deja vu" of summer on a dreary winter day.

This year I'm so thankful that I have a job I love!  After 25 years in Facility Management and the last 18 as a Facility Manager, being a CSA farmer is awesome.  Each time I get to witness Bluejays chasing a Hawk, a calf being born, a Green Heron stalking the pond, or simply play with my dogs during a quick break from gardening, I'm thankful.  I'm thankful for all the members who believed in me enough to go through the first year of this new endeavor, and the ones who have pledged to support the farm next season.  I'm thankful for friends who have helped and supported in getting the house and farm to the point it is now.   If you're lucky enough to have good friends, take care of them and nurture your relationships because you never know when you're going to need them. 

Take time this season to be thankful for local farmers who work really hard to provide good quality, fresh produce for you and your families.  During these trouble economic times, support your local CSA and enjoy a season's bounty of healthy, fresh vegetables.  May God Bless each and every one of you.