Our indoor farming space is now operational. The tomatoes have been planted. The drip lines are run. The trellis strings are hung. Now we need the plants to grow and produce fruit. I’m looking forward to seeing how this experiment works!
Why is it that some expressions that use the same words in the same order can have the opposite meaning? I realized this earlier this week during one of the recent storms. During the storm our power went out. We were living off the grid, if only temporarily. Then I thought to myself: why does the expression “Living off the grid” mean living without the resources provided by the grid but “Living off your parents” means using your parents’ resources for your survival? Shouldn’t it be when you leave home you are living off your parents? I suppose many people continue to live off their parents long after they leave home. Then there is “living off the land”. If you are “living off the land” aren’t you really living ON the land? We’re not living in floating Jetson style houses when we are living off the land are we? Living off the land is like living off your parents and unlike living off the grid though I suspect many who live off the grid also live off the land. I suppose one could even be living off the land, the grid and their parents all at the same time. How awesome would that be?
And speaking of opposites, we are currently looking for the opposite of irrigation. Prior to Thursday we were moving sprinklers around to keep the transplants alive. Not only was there no rain – we got less than a tenth of an inch the weekend prior when the cities got a deluge of rain – but the air was so dry that the little amount of moisture in the soil was evaporating quickly. When we put in the new transplants the dry soil would wick away the moisture from the transplant’s root ball and leave the transplant in a weakened state. So irrigation was necessary.
But not so anymore. Now we need some dry weather to allow us back in the fields. It seems that many Springs this happens. We get a week or two of wet weather that provides the ideal growing environment for weeds yet prevents us from doing anything about them. When we finally get back into the field it looks more like a lawn than a farm. Makes for some tough hoeing.
Announcements
Our current guesstimate for the start of the season is Wednesday, June 13th. That is nine days earlier than last season. We’ll make the final determination around the first of June. I will send out an email with more information at that time.
We are still taking orders for all products except for herb six packs and eggs. Let me know if you want to add fruit, cheese, meat, flowers or winter share to your order.
Wednesday and Thursday on-farm pick-up days are sold out. We still have room on Mondays and Fridays.
Drop sites in Shoreview, Eagan and St. Paul near 3M are almost full (I think each has one spot left).
Just a quick reminder that payment is due at the end of May for all products unless other arrangements have been made.
Referrals
Send your friends our way and make sure they write your name on the order form. We’ll credit your account $25 for each new member who signs up! Thank you for all your support!
I think that is all for now. Time for me to go back to living on the edge.