Summer has arrived here on the farm. We've been sweating buckets out in the fields, and normally we would be harvesting tomatoes, peppers and potatoes right about now. Unfortunately, our hot-season bounty will be considerably lighter this year, as we believe many of our crops were contaminated with herbicide drift.About a month ago, we started noticing that the leaves on our tomatoes and potatoes were curling inward. This is one of the signs of a...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Saturday's hailstorm put a bit of a damper on the Montrose Farmers' Market, but up at the farm it was fifteen minutes of pure panic! Breigh, Abby, and I were prepping the cucumber bed when we heard the storm coming. We wondered aloud why it was unusually noisy, then took off toward the dome at a full sprint as we dodged the mothball-sized hail. ...
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Many thanks to the 4th and 5th graders from Ridgway who came out to help last week! These students come out twice a year to help us with projects on the farm. Last fall they came out and planted cloves of garlic, and this week they weeded those same beds of garlic. The garlic they've been working on is now over a foot tall! The students also used...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
We got the plastic on the greenhouse last week, and the 74 tomato plants inside are looking happy! Last Thursday morning was remarkably devoid of wind, so we took a little break from harvesting to get the plastic cover over the high tunnel. On such a calm day, it only took five of us to get the plastic up and well secured over the frame. After Jon...
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
We got a lot of planting done this week! Potatoes were the big project. Several weeks ago, we chitted all our seed potatoes, which is a method of sprouting the eyes by exposing the potatoes to a moderate amount of light and warmth (we used the shady side of the grow dome). Once the potatoes had some good growth going, we sliced them into pieces...
Thursday, May 13, 2010
A big thank you to the 20 or so people who came out to the first Western Slope Crop Mob on Saturday! The group together dug and weeded 1750 linear feet of beds, and laid down weed barrier in the walkways between them. These beds are now ready to be planted with veggies for the coming year!In addition to hard work and good spirits, the group shared...
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
I didn't knock wood after writing last week's blog post -- the 65 mph winds last week did eventually get the best of our high tunnel, Polaris. After holding strong most of the day, the tracking that holds on the plastic sheeting finally tore away from the greenhouse frame. Once the tracking came loose, the wind caught the 100-foot plastic sheet like...
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Our first harvest day of the spring CSA has been busy and windy. Once again we have to thank the volunteers for getting that inflated double layer of plastic on the greenhouse -- we are getting gusts of 60+ mph today but the high tunnels are holding steady! Through the wind we've been picking, washing, and bagging goodies all morning for the CSA pickup...
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Calling all locavores, foodies, wanna-be farmers, csa members, sustainability activists, local community members, local community builders, and food activists to the first...Western Colorado Crop Mob!While not everyone can start their own farm this is a way to become an active participant in the local food movement. Some people may decide to plant a garden, others will buy organic, or shop at the farmers market, but if you want to be more involved...
Friday, April 23, 2010
Happy Spring!We've woken up to snow on the ground for the last few days, but spring is still here on the farm -- and with it, spring projects! A huge thank you to everyone who came out to help with doubling the plastic on the greenhouses. With the help of many friends and community members, we were able to add a second layer of plastic to the two...
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
A pomegranate blossom in the domeHi FolksOur winter CSA was a great success! Even with December being the third coldest on record all of our greens and vegetables grew unfazed in our unheated high tunnels. The coldest night recorded back in December was 11 below, however it stayed a cozy 22 degrees under our mini hoops. Pretty amazing! All thanks...
Friday, January 8, 2010
One of the many handsome residents of KauaiAfter a well needed vacation from the farm, Darren and I returned home this week to sunny Colorado. Fortunately for us, Darren's sister (who lives on Maui), had her wedding there on the winter solstice. John and Jinelle, our trusted interns did an excellent job caring for the farm and harvesting for the...
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