Two Feet in the Dirt

It’s been another busy week on the farm. Our new challenge this spring has been dealing with the rye cover crop that we planted in many beds to protect them over the winter. It’s our first year getting in a decent cover crop, which is an important part of maintaining soil health on an organic farm. However, rye can grow quickly and become a challenge to manage as temperatures increase in the spring so it’s important to get it mowed down and tilled under in time. After much reading and talking to fellow farmers, we are employing a system of mowing down the rye about 3 weeks in advance of planting and then covering it with a tarp up to the planting date, helping it to break down fully before the next crop goes in. 

All in all, it’s been a very warm spring, meaning that more than just the rye is growing quickly at this point. The weeds are growing like crazy, meaning that the relatively unpleasant task of weeding is already a big part of our weekly work much earlier than it usually is. Additionally, we will be getting our first harvest from beds outside of the hoop house this week, something we were not able to do until about the fourth market last year. This means that the selection at the market is already increasing, with the additional of heads of lettuce and bok choi this week.

Check out the list below for the full product selection and we’ll see you on Saturday!

Farmers Katie & Mike

This week at the market:

• Lettuce salad mix
• Arugula
• Baby Kale
• The Works salad mix
• Spinach
• Radishes
• Lettuce
• Bok Choi