Compost!

After a successful Chef Fest, work on the farm has been smooth sails. Seeded in the green house this week we have cucumbers, melons, and more peppers. Joi Choi, a heat tolerant variety of Pac Choi was transplanted into beds on the south farm and tomatoes will soon follow. As we start moving our young plants out of the green house and into the fields a critical aspect of maintaining plant health after transplanting is making sure that they receive enough water. As you can imagine, rising temperatures bolster the urgency of having our irrigation systems fine tuned and ready to go.

We have started a new compost pile! As uneventful as this may sound, compost is one of the primary substances we use to amend our soils. Without it, the clay dense soils of our farm would be a harsh growing medium for crops. Compost is decayed organic matter that is extremely rich in nutrients. There are four general components necessary for creating compost with healthy structure; nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) at a ratio of one part (N)itrogen to three parts (C)arbon, water, and air. Nitrogen components could consist of: livestock manure, fish meal, blood meal, cottonseed meal, legumes, green garden waste, algae, sea weed, coffee grounds, etc. Carbon components could consist of: straw, dried leaves, saw dust (small amt.s), dryer lint, shredded newspapers, pine needles, egg shells, etc.

Weekly markets have begun! Come out to the farm for your weekly produce needs every Saturday from 8 a.m. to Noon. Coming up we have a larger event celebrating National Agriculture Day with lots of family activities and fun on March 25. Hope to see everyone out there!

Have a great week,

Agmenity