Tomato Time!
I've become a wimp to the cold after that heatwave. All it took was a couple days in the 80's, and now when it drops below 60 I get a little shiver. My southern roots are starting to show. Although, and this might make a few New Englanders upset, 30 degrees in Maryland is colder than anything I have experienced in New Hampshire. Being near all that water makes for a humid, wet chill that you can't layer up against. At least here I can bundle up.
Enough about the cold weather, spring is here and summer is on the way and soon enough we'll be swimming in the ponds and going out for ice cream after work! Joe and I potted up tomatoes for the plant stand all day long. We got through about half of them, so over 900 pots so far!! The longest part of the process is mixing soil and filling the pots. We are also putting in bamboo stakes for when the tomatoes get tall enough to use some support in the pot. It's time consuming now, but I'm hoping it will save us a few hours down the road.
Plants in the greenhouse for both the field and the stand have been growing vigourously so far this spring. Most still have a couple weeks before they will be ready for the field, but I'm starting to get anxious about getting the fields prepped. That was a lot of rain over the weekend and it will take some time to dry out, plus I'm still waiting on the full shipment of our fertilizer order, so hopefully that comes in time to do amendments prior to field prep. If we're able to start in on field prep by Friday we will still be ahead of schedule. Here's to hoping for some more sunshine!
More of what's going on at the farm below!
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR FALL CSA!
BULK SPINACH AVAILABLE
We had a huge spinach haul last week and I'm expecting similar this week. Anyone interested in 5+ pounds of spinach, please reach out. Spinach can be canned or frozen and is a great way to stretch the season!
Bags are $9/lb and order minimum is 5lbs. Pickup anytime after 3:30pm on Wednesday.
Spring Shares Week 7
More greens comin at ya this week! Bok Choy is going to make its first appearance in shares this season. I'll include Tracie's favorite bok choy recipe below. We've been eating it on the farm for years. Claytonia is another new item. It is one of my favorite greens in the spring share. Its kind of a cross between a microgreen and a salad green, with long stems and succulent leaves. My favorite use for it is as a sandwich topper. Brassica Mix, Lettuce Mix, Microgreens, and Spinach are all pretty standard fare at this point. Spinach probably have a few more weeks left in the beds before we call it. There is bulk spinach available if anyone wants to buy a big bag to put up. Turnips will see one last week of smaller bunches until the next bed comes in.
Spring Week 7
Bok Choy
Brassica Mix
Claytonia
Lettuce Mix
Microgreens
Salad (Hakurei) Turnips
Spinach
Egg Share: Weekly + Every Other Week Eggs
The Plant Stand is Open!
We've got the first starts of the season out at the plant stand! All of the veggies in the stand are cold tolerant, have been hardened off, and are ready to plant in the ground, even if the temps drop below freezing again!
Currently available in the stand:
Veggies
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Napa Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chard
Green Curly Kale
Red Curly Kale
Flat Kale
Red Leaf Lettuce
Romaine Lettuce
Leeks
Red Onions
White Onions
Yellow Onions
Herbs:
Lavender
Thyme
Sage
Mint
The Farm Store is OPEN!
Open to the Public.
Dawn - Dusk
Honor System
Spinach
Bok Choy
Microgreens
Lettuce Mix
Claytonia
Baby Kale
Spicy Salad Mix
Salad Turnips
Kielbasa
Maple Breakfast Sausage
Hot Dogs
Pesto
Ice Cream
& Eggs!
Climate Resilience Grant Award Recipient!
I am THRILLED to have been chosed for the NH Conservation Districts Climate Resilience Grant Award!
With this grant, the farm is purchasing a tractor mounted flame weeder to improve weed control and cut down on tillage. I have been eyeing this piece of equipment for a few years now. I use a handheld flame weeder on the farm, but scale has always prevented me from expanding its use, and larger equipment was always out of reach due to its price tag. This grant allowed me to make the purchase, and the equipment arrived on Friday afternoon! I am beyond excited with the possibilities it will offer the farm!!
I'm attaching some pieces of the grant application below for anyone that wants to learn more about flame weeding and how we will implement it on our farm.
Flame weeding is the process of passing over a bed with a high BTU open flame. The object is to wilt the target weeds, not to burn them to the ground. Heat causes cell sap to rapidly expand, injuring the cell wall and inhibiting the plant’s ability to move water through its structure. Within a few days, flamed weeds will wilt end eventually die, all without disturbing the soil. Flame weeding was a widely used practice through the first third of the 20th century before losing popularity as farmers opted to use herbicides in the 1960’s. It started to see a renaissance in the 1990’s, and is now considered an essential tool for weed suppression in organic operations.
The goal of this project is to improve weed control on our farm, reduce soil tillage, improve soil health, and practice better soil conservation management on open vegetable beds that await planting. We employ a practice known as “stale seedbedding” on our farm to control weeds in our beds before we plant into them. This practice involves preparing the bed a few weeks before planting to encourage weed growth. We then pass over the bed using a shallow till (top 2” of soil) to terminate germinated weeds on a weekly basis until the main crop is ready to be planted into the bed. A bed can see anywhere from two to six passes of shallow tillage using the stale seedbed technique.
Tillage is detrimental to soil structure by breaking down soil aggregates, introducing excess oxygen and “burning off” soil microbes, and reducing crop residue. After tillage, soil is left vulnerable to the elements, thus degrading soil health. Growing outdoors in a time of climate change will be challenging no matter the conditions, but soil health is the best protection against an unpredictable climate. A healthy soil can retain water like a sponge in dry years, providing soil moisture to needy plants, as well as absorb more water and drain it through the soil in periods of heavy rain, rather than having it pool and shed off the surface, eroding the land in the process.
There are practices that farms can employ to reduce tillage on their farm. Our stale seedbed technique involves tilling just the top two inches of the soil and leaving the lower layers intact. Even so, the soil surface is left vulnerable to erosion and soil degradation, especially in open vegetable beds that do not have any kind of crop cover.
Flame weeding addresses the vulnerabilities exposed by tillage. Since there is no soil disturbance, we are not breaking down soil aggregates or aerating the soil, and instead of reducing crop residue on the surface, we are actually increasing surface residue on beds that would otherwise be left bare.
Soil aggregates are responsible for providing stability in the soil, protecting organic matter, and preserving root channels and porosity. Flame weeding would have no negative effect on these properties.
Oxygen is necessary for microbial life in the soil, but tillage introduces an excessive amount of oxygen, resulting in rapid expansion of bacteria populations which consume carbon in the soil and release it into the atmosphere. It is still uncertain the effects of flame weeding on microbial life in the upper centimeters of the soil that are exposed to heat, but similar to soil steaming, the preliminary research is showing no negative effect.
Leaving a crop residue is the most intriguing aspect of flame weeding. In our current stale seedbed practice, weed residue is turned into the soil to be quickly consumed by soil microbes that are hyper active due to the flush of oxygen. The soil is then left bare and vulnerable to the pounding effects of rain and being blown off by wind, hence why cover crops are so important during uncropped periods. Using a flame weeder to terminate weeds in a stale seedbedding system would leave the decaying weed crop residue on the surface of the soil, protecting it from heavy rain, wind, or being dried out under the sun.
This project addresses two major needs on our farm: reducing tillage and improving weed control. Vegetable farms typically require more intensive tillage practices than most row cropping operations to attain adequate tilth for planting raw seeds or tender transplants. It is expected that incorporating a flame weeder into our bed preparation will decrease tillage on our farm by up to 75%. This project would eliminate tillage passes on open beds between field prep and planting. As stated above, open beds will see anywhere between two to six passes with the tiller before being planted. With a flame weeder in our system, that number could be brought down to one pass per bed just before planting.
RECIPE LINK:BOK CHOY SALAD
Ingredients
▪1 head bok choy, finely chopped
▪2 bunches green onions, thinly sliced
▪2 packages (3 ounces each) ramen noodles, broken
▪1/4 cup slivered almonds
▪2 tablespoons sunflower kernels
▪1/4 cup butter Dressing:
▪1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
▪1/2 cup canola oil
▪2 tablespoons cider vinegar
▪1 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
▪In a large bowl, combine bok choy and green onions. Save seasoning packet from ramen noodles for another use.
▪In a large skillet, saute the noodles, almonds and sunflower kernels in butter until browned, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature. Add to bok choy mixture.
▪In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the dressing ingredients; shake well. Just before serving, drizzle over salad and toss to coat.
Interest in Pickup Location for Archway Farm Meat CSA?
When Mark was over the other week dropping off sausage for the farm store, we got to talking about using our barn as a potential pickup location for members interested in an Archway Farm Meat CSA Share. I have been a share member for about a year now and it is a highlight of my month every time I receive my share. I absolutely LOVE it and I'm pretty sure I have talked about it in the newsletter before.
So, if anyone is interested in getting a pickup location setup at Dog Days Farm, send me an email. I won't guarantee that it will happen just yet, but if we get enough interest, it is fairly likely.
Support the Fitzwilliam District Nursing Association!
Each year our farm provides CSA shares to the Fitzwilliam District Nursing Association for their food delivery program. The FDNA has been providing food for members of our community for decades, and Tracie's Farm, and now Dog Days Farm, has been providing CSA shares as a part of their programming for over 10 years. Last year we packed 8 baskets per week for their food delivery program. The FDNA is run by a group of volunteers that are passionate about not letting members of the Fitzwilliam Community go hungry. We are lucky to have them as our neighbors.
I am putting out a call for members or friends of the farm that would like to pitch in to help purchase CSA shares for the FDNA this season. I match shares purchased for the FDNA, so if we are able to get four shares paid for, we will be able to offer another 8 baskets per week for our community members in need. Shares can be purchased directly from the farm and receipts for your donation from the FDNA are provided upon request. Donations are tax deductible.
If you would like to help purchase a CSA share for the FDNA, please send me an email at jack@dogdaysnh.com. Additionally, if you are in need of food assistance and would like to be on the delivery list through the summer, please send me an email and I will put you in touch with a member of the FDNA.
Workshare with Us!
We are looking for workshares to come help out on the farm one day a week for the summer season in exchange for a CSA share. Workshares are one of my favorite parts of the farm. We often get returning workshares year after year, and they almost always become longtime friends of the farm. It's a great way for me to get to know our CSA members and for members to get to know their farm.
Physical labor is a given for workshares, but we are often able to find tasks that suit the abilities of those that are able to help out. We have seen workshares of all ages on the farm over the years. It is a full day commitment, and we ask that members pick one day out of the week and come in that day for the duration of the season. Workshares are allowed to miss up to three days during the summer to accommodate vacations. In exchange, you receive a full summer share plus bread and eggs, as well as lunch on the farm on the days you work and access to deals on bulk veggies.
If you are interested in worksharing, please email me at jack@dogdaysnh.com
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