Painted Pony Ranch Micro-farm

The rains have come.  These days remind me of the weather in Ohio where for 9 months out of the year we lived in the clouds it seemed.  The temperatures here are, however, several degrees warmer.  Our share subscription campaign is underway and we are pleased with the number of inquiries we have already had.  It makes me even more anxious to get started.

But, with the rain and the chill, it is a time to sit, look at seed catalogs and contemplate the possibilities of spring and the new growing season.  We have a lot of plans for this year and I am anxious to see how many of them I can complete.  Seems like the list grows longer with each passing day.

Yesterday a reporter on television said that there was snow
in 49 of our 50 states.  The only state without snow was Florida.  Even Hawaii had snow.  The snow and the freezing rain and sleet that preceded it coupled with several nights with the temperatures in
the low 20’s has, I am afraid, just about done in my winter garden
experiment.  It was not doing too well to begin with.  My sugar snap peas had come up pretty good but the kale, spinach and lettuce were very spotty and everything was growing very slowly.  I covered everything with plastic when the temperatures were forecast to fall
near or below freezing.  However, vegetable production, at least the kind I was attempting doesn’t appear feasible here.  Guess I’ll just have to be a little more patient.

Things are in high gear though for this spring’s garden.  Planting schedules and plans have been made and the ground is being prepared.  I am trying a “CSA” approach this year.  CSA stands for Consumer Supported Agriculture.  It is a unique partnership
approach between the customer and the farmer. 

Through the CSA approach, the farmer obtains financing for the year’s production by selling subscriptions to his produce – either by month, season or year – and the customer receives priority treatment in receiving fresh farm products.  Further, the customer is encouraged to visit the farm and see how his food is being grown. 

This will be a new experience for me and I am looking forward to it.