It has been a while since I last wrote. Probably has something to do with not having anything to say. The month of February is basically planning the season, ordering the seeds and recruiting members – none of which is complete. But March brings a new level of farm work. Monday is Opening Day 2010.
But before I get into the Opening Day discussion here are a few announcements:
1 – VeggieShare payments are due at the end of the month.
2 – There is still time to purchase some of the other great shares – Meat, Egg, Cheese, Coffee, Flower and Winter. Collect all seven!
3 – We are still looking for more recipes. If you want to contribute send them our way or we can allow you to enter them yourself. Let’s support our other members with our vast veggie knowledge!
Now back to our show.
In the sport of farming we don’t have the luxury of going somewhere warm to begin spring training. No trips to sunny Florida for us. No, we start our spring training right where we play the whole season, here in beautiful Denmark Township, Minnesota. (As an aside, every game is a home game in our sport). However we do have one consolation to working in MN in March, we move training indoors. Much like some of the other outdoor sports that have moved indoors (though some are moving back outdoors), we have a plastic covered arena to practice in. The biggest difference – other than arena size and lack of seating – is we paid for our arena by ourselves. No taxpayer subsidy for our indoor playground. But enough about how other businesses run, let’s talk about our business.
So as I said, today marks the start of spring training here at the farm. In past years the Greenhouse Opening Ceremony was not unlike the Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Games – lots of pomp and circumstance as well as the marching in of athletes from nations across the globe. However being a local farm, the athletes we have marching, well, not actually marching, more like slogging through the snow, come from across the eastern part of the Twin City area. And we don’t all come at once. We kinda straggle in as we awaken from our long winter’s nap. And I suppose there isn’t as much of the dancing that Olympic Ceremonies have, unless it is blustery and snowing. Then I notice many of the athletes jump up and down, shiver a bit and stomp the snow off their feet as they enter the arena. So yes, it is like the Olympics and then again not. We are unique that way. Plus our way costs a whole lot less than their way, though we don’t get the level of TV exposure the Olympics does.
The first event in our “Olympics” is the “Indoor Onion Seeding”. This event is more like the biathalon than say figure skating. It is judged on accuracy and time, not how you look doing it. Plus there are no Lutzes or Toe-loops, except the one time I tripped over the cat. You are probably wondering, “If there is an Indoor Onion Seeding event, is there also an Outdoor Onion Seeding Event?” Yes, though the skill set is a bit different and it doesn’t take place until April. With Indoor Onion Seeding we deal with small, black, hard-to-see-if-you-are-older-than-forty seeds. In the Outdoor Onion Seeding we use big, lightly-colored onion sets. The outdoor game requires more flexibility with the bending and stooping whereas the indoor game is far more precise. Our athletes cross-train and are capable of being successful in both events.
The second event at our Olympics is the “Indoor Broccoli Seeding” event. It requires the exact same skill set as the indoor onion event though the seeds are even rounder and we only want one seed per cell in the tray instead of four. This makes it a little more precise and a little more difficult since the seeds can roll around more. Unlike the onion event, the broccoli event has no corresponding outdoor seeding event. All our broccoli is transplanted from greenhouse grown plants – no direct seeding in the ground.
Probably one of the most difficult events in the indoor arena is the third event, the “Indoor Celery Seeding” event. It is just like the broccoli event though with seeds so small they look like dust. It is a lot more difficult getting one seed per cell. This year we purchased seeds that are coated with an organic coating that makes the seeds easier to see and plant. Though this sounds like cheating it is actually allowed in Olympic competition. It is similar to using technology to make your bobsled go faster.
Anyway, indoor seed planting events go on and on for the next four month. In fact, the broccoli event this week is only the first round of broccoli. We have four more Indoor Broccoli Seeding rounds to go – scores are cumulative with the winner being the one with the lowest score (like golf). In April we add the outdoor events, which I will cover another time if I remember.
Seating for the indoor events is limited, so purchase your tickets early to get the best seats.