It’s been a while since I last updated everyone on the activities here at the farm. But before I do, here are a couple of announcements:
We are still taking orders for the 2018 season. Renewals have been fantastic so thank you all for rejoining! Recruiting new members isn’t going quite so well so please continue to spread the word! Facebook and NextDoor have been successful in the past. Tell your neighbors, your colleagues and your two friends. Have them put your name in the “Where did you hear about us?” box on the order and we will credit your account $25. Thanks for spreading the word!
Payment for 2018 shares is due this month unless you are on a payment plan. Please send in payment as soon as possible.
We are taking orders for all our other add-on shares, e.g. Fruit, Meat, Cheese, etc. If you plan to purchase these delicious add-ons please do so soon. Help small, sustainable farmers!
Farm News
A lot has happened since my last newsletter. I’ve purchased seeds, planted a bunch of them, replanted a bunch of them, and will continue to plant more until the snow melts and the ground thaws. “Hey wait, why did you have to ‘replant’ a bunch of them?”, you may be asking. Apparently the most recent resident in our greenhouse had a hankerin’ for beet, cauliflower and cabbage seed hotdish. The day after I planted these crops in the greenhouse I noticed that the soil in many of the cells in the planting trays was disturbed. I’ve seen this before. A long time ago in a greenhouse far, far away (actually it is the same greenhouse) after I had planted watermelon seeds I saw the same disturbance in the force, er, soil. So I constructed a death star, er, large cage that I could enclose the trays in until they germinated. This was successful.
Over the years the disturbance waxed and waned but was generally limited to the larger seed crops like watermelons and squash. So we used the cage for these crops to save the resistance, er, seeds. I believe it was last season that I noticed the problem with eggplant and pepper seeds. These are pretty small seeds so I was surprised that a mouse would bother them. But it did. So into the cage they went.
Then this year a mouse went after the beet, cauliflower and cabbage seeds. These are small seeds as well so I don’t understand the appeal. And besides, how does it know there are seeds in these cells? Must be able to smell them or something. Anyway, I tried a number of remedies — including cats that seemed entirely uninterested — and finally found one that resulted in success. Suffice it to say that I no longer have this problem and hopefully it is solved for the remainder of the season.
Other than planting in the greenhouse I am just waiting for the snow to melt. It is a tough job but someone has to do it.
As always, do not hesitate to contact me with questions, comments, suggestions, jokes, etc.