Earlier this year, I was fortunate to visit and do a soil test at Oxford Farm, a relatively new project (started in 2018!) begun by Theresa Cohen, someone who has for many years been studying and supporting cutting edge enterprises seeking to increase nutrition in foods and to help humans relate beneficially with the land … Continue reading Working with animals on the farm
farming
Cover Crops
Cover crops help us begin to replace the tons (literally!) of organic matter taken from the fields during the growing season. Tons (again, literally!) of compost will also need to be spread before the next growing season if we are to even approach replenishing the soil. As you may be able to tell from this … Continue reading Cover Crops
Spring!
Ack! How could this happen? The farming season has just begun and already I'm six weeks behind schedule! Well, maybe not a whole six weeks, though it sure feels like it. But then, it always feels like this in the spring.There's the excitement of starting anew. I love the look of freshly tilled soil, weed-free … Continue reading Spring!
Bedtime
We took the last of the tomatoes down today. Moved tomato stakes to their winter resting place. Mowed the pepper and eggplants. Used the disk harrow to chop up the plant debris and get the field ready for winter rye. It was a bit odd, though pleasant, putting the farm to bed on such a … Continue reading Bedtime
October garden
Much of my field is in cover crop now. Oats and field peas are growing where I'll plant first next spring. Winter rye will be sown early next week. Leafy greens that I'm growing for the Winter Share are lovely. Kathy stopped by to take photos. She makes the field look like a piece of … Continue reading October garden
Winter Squash
So much change on the farm in the past three weeks! An oat and field pea cover crop has germinated on about a quarter of the field. It's growing well in beds that hosted winter squash, watermelon, carrots, beets, summer squash and cucumbers this summer. Oats were also undersown in the kale and collard greens … Continue reading Winter Squash
September
September is a bountiful month on this farm. Summer crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zukes and cukes are still producing fairly well. Our fall and winter crops like napa, bok choy, leeks, purple top turnips, broccoli raab, radicchio, are sizing up and some are being harvested. It's lovely to be surrounded by veggies!We've planted the … Continue reading September
A watched pot never boils
It doesn't matter how many times a day I examine the second planting of tomatoes, they are still green. They are not the desired red, pink, rose, peach, yellow (marbled with red veins), burgundy, or purple. Green, green, green. I vow not to look at them at all tomorrow. Perhaps that will move them along … Continue reading A watched pot never boils
July Farm Update
Lots going on at the farm this past month. Lots of planting, weeding, harvesting, twining up tomatoes, sampling cucumbers, spotting coyote and wild turkeys. Lots and lots of rain.First, the veggie report. Our spring veggies were delicious, if I do say so myself! I grew some new-to-me vegetables, most notably fava beans, hon tsai tsi … Continue reading July Farm Update
June Farm Update
Yeow! Summer has arrived. Lots of moisture in the soil coupled with this intense heat -- this is just excellent growing weather. We've still a few cool season crops to enjoy (peas should be ready this week!), but soon enough we'll all be eating tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. TomatoesSpeaking of tomatoes, I tied three beds … Continue reading June Farm Update
Shared Harvest CSA 