back to work!

It feels good to be back to work. I love my job. Dave, Nick, & I walked the farm this morning discussing where the fields & crops were at, and what needs to be done. There's a lot of weeds coming up! (Also things we planted!) Look at those beautiful peas coming up through the rocks.

The rye in the picture above was planted at the end of last summer. It is now 16" tall and growing inches overnight I swear! The rye in the picture below was planted by Nick & I a few weeks ago.
Who spread this compost so evenly & thoroughly?

Because I was not up for tractor work yet (still recovering), I spent the day in the greenhouse, seeding tomatoes, escarole, & fennel, and potting up eggplant seedlings. Also watering a LOT since it was sunny & 72 degrees (that means really hot in the greenhouse)!

Nick started mastering the cultivator... a real skill, involving driving so straight that you hit all the weeds, but miss all 3 rows of plants. Driving a big machine and being able to control it within 1/4". Nice job on this garlic, Nick.

Dave rototilled more beds all day so that we'll have something to plant into the rest of the week! And we sure do have a lot to plant! Check out these tables of almost-ready-for-the-field plants!

Getting hungry yet? That last one is a lettuce variety called "Mottistone"... really pretty.

And the summer squash has peeked it's head up! The first glimpse of summer.

My soil blocks are looking good! Purple cabbage & purple cauliflower! I can't wait to make pink sauerkraut.The first fruit of the season... Rhubarb. And another large-leafed creature, Burdock! This is another really yummy wild edible plant. Burdock root is popular in Japanese cooking & is really good for you. Sources say to dig it up in the fall, so I may have to wait on this one...

This tree is the first to bloom on the farm, Farmer Dave's favorite. He called it Shadbush, but it can also be called Serviceberry, Juneberry, or Amelanchier.