I was going to title this post “Wow, this is hard,” but then realized that I feel the “wow” on so many levels (it’s rewarding, challenging, etc.)  I’m not going to speak for other Freshman Farmers, but if our small endeavor has been any indication, everyone else must be overwhelmed as well.  We’ve had mixed feelings - it seems necessary for us to have the backup (and capital) provided by our regular jobs, but on the other hand it seems like we might have made much more progress if we could commit ourselves fully to the farm.

One thing that we have no doubt about is the enthusiasm in our community for local, organic and sustainable food.  “Networking” here is easy.  Last week, we received and filled our first special order from a nearby caterer who uses local produce whenever possible.  Today, we went to the home/farm of a fellow Market producer to learn about, and assist with, processing of their meat chickens - in part to decide whether we will do it ourselves (for home use, not for sale).  And as soon as we can get it together, we have a very good chance of selling greens (all winter, if we can swing it) to a local restaurant owned by a friend.  We can even boast regular customers at the market.  Right now, at least, demand is good, and we just need to strive to meet it.

In the long-term planning arena, we visited the plant sale of the California Native Plant Society (local chapter), and bought (and planted) a bunch of trees, shrubs and other perennials to continue making the farm beneficial-wildlife friendly (sorry, deer and gophers!)  Native plants support native wildlife (and, once established, require less care than some cultivated plants since they are adapted to your climate).

There are 2 weeks left in our Farmers Market season.  Most of the fall/winter crops we are planting (or have already planted) are for home use.  Soon we’ll plant next year’s garlic for the market, and we’ll keep growing greens for a few select customers.

 Like Drew & Dan reviewing their learned lessons, and Vanessa & Matt with their great new books, we are looking back on the bulk of this season, absorbing the hard-won knowledge, buckling down for the last several weeks of our growing year, and looking forward to the next. The main things we’ve been contending with, since most of what we’re selling at this year’s market are leafy greens (lettuces and brassicas) are unpredictable yield due to erratic weather, and insect pests… Read the rest of this article »

I remember reading somewhere, at some point, an author’s view that gardeners (and by extension, farmers) are intrinsically optimistic due to the nature of their work.  In the interest of full disclosure, among my friends and family I am not particularly known as an optimist.  But I’m already happily planning for next year, as well as planting for this winter.  We’ve been slowly increasing what we can bring to the farmers market, as well as increasing our sales.  Truly,… Read the rest of this article »

We currently sell eggs to a handful of regular weekly customers, and it’s great to have a reliable market.  However, we want to resume selling eggs at the Farmers Market (especially after jumping through all of the necessary hoops to do so!).  For us, a small flock has been a worthwhile, reasonably-priced, enjoyable investment.  If you are starting from scratch (ha), you’ll have to spend a little bit more than we did when we recently expanded. Start-up: We had previously purchased… Read the rest of this article »

It’s me again. The new chicks are thriving.  The last flock we mail-ordered; this year we purchased slightly older chicks from our local feed store because they had a pretty good selection of breeds.  They also sell California-sourced organic starter feed (and the organic layer pellets we feed our other hens), which is a good sign, I think - and also very convenient. I constructed the brooder (~4x5 ft.) out of recycled cardboard boxes duct-taped into a somewhat cornerless shape (supposedly… Read the rest of this article »

It is hard to believe so much time has passed since our last entry - I guess we must be having fun! Apart from the continuous rhythm of weeding, watering, seeding, transplanting, and attending the market, a few things have happened. We harvested the garlic - we didn’t have a ton in the scope of things, but it was a pretty big harvest considering that when we planted, we weren’t 100 percent sure we would be selling at the farmers market this year! So now 200 bulbs are hanging in the barn, nearly… Read the rest of this article »

Obviously, summer means different things in different places.  In coastal Mendocino, it means it’s warm enough to plant basil (in a sunny sheltered spot or unheated greenhouse), and… fog!  Summer solstice was a lovely, sunny day, and for those of us still scraping off winter’s moss, it was a welcome sight.  Then through today… mostly fog, overcast, and a balmy 60 degrees.  Ahh, coastal summer.  We’ll still have nice, sunny days, but they are scarce enough that… Read the rest of this article »

On Thursday, we rented a “Billy Goat” brush mower and Matt spent the day cutting overgrown vegetation (the irony being that our actual goats were probably lounging in the shade all day).  On Friday, we rented a Kubota tractor with a front loader bucket, scraper box attachment (with big optional teeth), and a tiller attachment.  We had been double-digging our beds and frankly are just really tired.  (It’s pretty difficult to prepare enough ground that way, in a relatively… Read the rest of this article »

As we walked around looking like complete lunatics at dusk yesterday - watering cans in hand during a break in the rain - we were treated to the sight of a barn owl hunting over the field.  We were dispersing our second application of predatory nematodes to deal with the pesky “e-words” (earwigs), but I’m sure the neighbors thought we had lost it. After finally diving down into a thick patch of unmowed vegetation, the owl stayed on the ground for a while and then departed to… Read the rest of this article »