you're running a farm! Since our last post, we've harvested over 2,000 lbs of produce, sold much of it, donated over 240 lbs of it, and are in the cycle of farming: plant, weed, harvest, till. It feels good to move through this cycle seamlessly -- already tilling some of our first planted beds and putting them to rest in cover crop. Farming in the rain forest has it's quirks. While we (set in our ways) spent a bit of our budget on drip and micro irrigation, we tend to bring on big storms every time we turn it on. Most recently we had 5 inches over the course of two days (much of the precipitation falling at our last Saturday market). And since we are farming in a floodplain, our fingers are always crossed that the soil can absorb the rain. So far, so good, only a few wet spots and standing water at the edges of our fields. Fortunately many of the fields have just a hint of a slope so they don't capture the water. Despite the rain, we are able to work uninterrupted managing the 2 acres with just the two of us. It's a lot of work, especially with the bounty of weed seeds in the soil, but we are amazingly still finding time to play in the forests and surrounding mountains and have plenty of time for rest. When the soil is fertile and crops are happy, the work is less and harvests are more. Squash, cucumbers, and beans cannot be stopped. In fact, we have donated so much of these items that we have most recently decided to abandon our first plantings and concentrate on picking our second successions. This actually works out well because the second successions are gorgeous! We have just published information about our Fall CSA -- we are so excited to have the CSA component on this farm. Can't wait to spoil our members! The shares will begin in late August and continue until mid-November. And life on the farm continues, and it's time to pick our first good harvest of okra. I see a yummy dinner in my future!! See you all at market this Saturday, it's supposed to be a warm and beautiful day!
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AuthorTwo farmers, four hands. Archives
January 2015
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