JUNE: First Harvests, Pests, Compost Tea, Weeds & Paying Attention

Week of 06.01
The farm is starting to feel alive in every sense—we’ve got some of the first harvests from the field (radishes, turnips, lettuce, peas), and we are also seeing a lot of the first pests. Flea beetles, cabbage loopers, pill bugs and potato beetles all are accounted for in some capacity in the fields. Ah, the highs and the lows of farming. 

—Kate Woods, Farm Manager

Week of 06.09
Made the very short trek to Allen Farm this week to pick up a batch of their compost tea. Mitch and Nathaniel loaded 150 gallons of the brew in the back of our truck and sent me on my way back to feed our living soils. This compost tea is a concentrated mix of beneficial nutrients that will help to feed our soil and eventually then, our plants. It feels like a really wonderful luxury to be so close to such a valuable resource that is both Mitch and Nathaniel, their wisdom and their tea. 

—Kate Woods, Farm Manager

Week of 06.27
Using tarps as a tool for weed suppression usually evokes a strong response from a farmer when asked their opinion. Large and awkward to work with, the wrestling of tarps became an everyday battle on the farm in early spring as we were prepping the blocks for the first plantings. With the constant presence of wind on our farm and the necessity of large amounts of sandbags to hold them down, only time would tell if this work would really pay off in the spring as the plants (and weeds) began to grow. From my observations so far, our weed pressure has largely been reduced and putting in the work earlier has helped save our backs by keeping it at a manageable level. Time will continue to tell but until then tarps will continue to be a necessary tool for suppressing weed pressure. 

—Seth, Farm Crew

Week of 06.27
Farming is hard work! That being said, farming is also a practice of noticing, of paying attention, of care. Lately I have been going on early morning walks around the field and in this time where everything is sleepy and soft I see the things that I often miss during the work day: the shapes and colors and sounds of life going about its business. Though I am reminded by my complete lack of understanding of this little ecosystem in which I spend my time, by noticing, I feel somehow included.

—Beatrice, Farm Crew