Learning About Bees & Planting Sweet Potato Slips

Village Farm Team,

We ventured off the farm this week for a field trip to Bee Weaver Honey Farm in Navasota, Texas. In preparation for the new nucleus of bees we’ll be receiving later this spring, we got some specialized bee training. Not only were we able to get up close and personal with an existing hive, but we were able to learn about maintaining our top bar hive. We can’t wait to welcome our new bees to the farm!

Last Saturday we planted several rows of Beauregard sweet potato slips. Beauregard is a common sweet potato variety with reddish skin and sweet, orange flesh. Since sweet potatoes are tropical in origin, they need a lengthy growing season with three to four months of ample heat and no danger of frost. Lucky for us, we have several warm months ahead! In addition to sweet potatoes we also planted a few varieties of cucumbers: Armenian, Max Pack, and Suyo Long.

As our tomato crop grows vertically, we’ve been monitoring the rows in order to add more trellis support as needed. As tomatoes ripen and the plants become laden with fruit, they are prone to bending over or breaking without the added support. Monitoring our trellising also allows us to keep track of the ripening progress of each variety. As of this week, it looks like the first varieties to ripen will be our Sun Golds and Indigo Roses. At this point we are rather impatiently waiting on them to ripen to perfection!

Every year on April 22nd we observe Earth Day, a holiday that draws awareness to environmental protection. In honor of Earth Day, we’ll be hosting a tour and scavenger hunt on the farm this Saturday, April 20th, from 10 to noon. Our weekly Farmers Market will be set up from 8 to noon so you are invited to browse the locally sourced offerings from our vendors before heading over to the farm for the tour. There will also be kids’ crafts, face painting, and a photo opportunity with the Easter Bunny.