Well, I thought I was getting a sense for the water holding and capillarity of my soil, but I guess I still have more to learn. Most of my crops have been faring quite well, but the onions are still struggling. When we were weeding today I noticed that the parts of the onion beds immediately under where the sprinkler risers were at the last watering are twice as tall and deeper green than the rest of patch. The soil still has good moisture below the top couple inches, but the young onions are shallow rooted. In the finer textured soils I’ve worked with in the past, more of that deeper moisture would have been wicked up to the surface.
The whole patch is getting a nice watering now, and hopefully they’ll all snap out of if it and thrive.
We had our first CSA pick up yesterday which was very exciting and a bit anxiety producing…. But all in all it went really well. We only have ten members, which feels like the perfect amount at the moment. Our first box contained little gem romaine lettuce, pac choi, lacinato and red russian kale, easter egg radishes, salad mix, a bundle of bergamont mint, a garden bouquet of daisies and geraniums, and a pair of beeswax candles that we make through the winter. It was wonderful to have people come out to the farm and know that our produce is feeding their families this week. These first few weeks definitely feel a bit sparse in terms of what we have to offer, so it will be nice when we hit midsummer and all the boxes will be overflowing.
Besides our first harvest day, the last few weeks have been busy with emptying out the hoophouse and planting peppers, eggplant, winter squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and direct-seeding corn, basil, summer squash, and more root crops. Things have been pretty overwhelming, and I’m realizing just how tied to the land farming really makes me. Watering has to be done every day, and an eye kept out for the leaf-miners on the chard and how much flea beatle damage is on the pac choi, and all those daily occurences that cannot be missed. I’ve never been so knowledgable about one spot of land, the kinds of weeds that grow there, the local snakes and butterflies, where the water pools. It’s amazing to see it progress as the land dries out and one wildflower replaces another and the grasses begin to turn brown and produce seed. I’m also realizing that I’m more committed to a place than I’ve ever been. Even if it is just through the season, as it’s quite hard to grow things through the winter here.
They are turning the dirt and hoping to be successful enough to turn a profit, and to become a valuable part of their communities as suppliers of organically grown food.
Peaceful Valley is giving them a head start by offering them special pricing as part of this Freshman Farmer program.
| Freshman: | |
| New Farms Coming Soon! | |
| Sophomores: | |
![]() | Daily Grace Farms Crescent City, CA |
![]() | Freestone Family Farm Vernal, UT |
![]() | Wise Moon Farm Redding, CA |
| Graduates: | |
![]() | Coyote House Farm Palermo, CA |
![]() | DeepSeeded Community Farm Arcata, CA |
![]() | Driftwood Farm Fort Bragg, CA |
![]() | EarthDance Farm St. Louis, MO |
![]() | Ellwood Canyon Farms Goleta, CA |
![]() | Four Frog Farm Penn Valley, CA |
![]() | Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm Poulsbo, WA |
![]() | Home Plate Organic Farm Orleans, CA |
![]() | Honey in the Heart Farm Nevada City, CA |
![]() | Willow Springs Farm Penn Valley, CA |
| Coyote House Farm Palermo, CA |
| Daily Grace Farms Crescent City, CA |
| DeepSeeded Community Farm Arcata, CA |
| Driftwood Farm Fort Bragg, CA |
| EarthDance Farm St. Louis, MO |
| Ellwood Canyon Farms Goleta, CA |
| Four Frog Farm Penn Valley, CA |
| Freestone Family Farm Vernal, UT |
| Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm Poulsbo, WA |
| Home Plate Organic Farm Orleans, CA |
| Honey in the Heart Farm Nevada City, CA |
| Willow Springs Farm Penn Valley, CA |
| Wise Moon Farm Redding, CA |