It is time to plant the Strawberries

It's August.

We are up to our eyeballs with work, picking and packing all your favorite summer fruits and veggies.  

But at the same time we are thinking about next season.

Especially next strawberry season. 

Strawberry plants reproduce by sending out daughter plants or "shoots."  In June, after we are finished harvesting the juicy berries we go out and cut these "shoots" and put them in cold storage. 

We pull them out of cold storage in the middle of August and plant them to be next years strawberry crop.

The strawberry plants take special care.  This is a propagation bed.  The misters above the plants keep the leaves moist while the shoots grow roots.

 Each shoot or tip is carefully placed in the growing medium. Then we baby them for the next couple weeks.

-they get misted every 10 minutes for 10 seconds during the day
-they have a shade cloth over them for the first day, to help ease the transition
-the ventilation fan runs continuously to help prevent fungal diseases.

All this to get the roots growing.

Look at how much the roots have grown after just one week!

Three more weeks in the greenhouse and they will be ready to move to their new home in the field.

For the number people, 14520 strawberry plants per acre. We are growing 24,000 plants ourselves, (actually 25.500, just in case) and buying an additional 8,000 plants from a supplier for a total of 32,000  strawberry plants on 2.2 acres. High hopes.

The Little Tomato Story

 You ever have those moments in your childhood that stand as a marker or turning point?  When you are really affected and the memory lasts and your heart still feels funny when you think back.  This is one of those times.

4th grade.  Recess.  Basketball Court. Anyway I rode the bus home and walked into the shop where my dad was servicing a tractor.  I stood by the wood stove to warm my hands.  My dad asked me how my day was.  I didn't know that I wanted to talk about it.  As I stood there in front of the wood stove I explained my sorrows.  I told him how the other kids didn't think I was any good at basketball and always put me on a team with the other "losers" so they could easily beat us.  They had been doing this everyday for weeks.  I had been practicing, but I just never seemed to get any better.  I felt like I didn't have a friend in the world.  It felt hopeless.

Then he explained to me what would become known as "The Little Tomato Story".

You see when a little tomato plant is in the greenhouse if it gets all the water it needs it will grow fast and tall and be lush and green.  If you take a tomato plant like that and put it outside in the field, it will stand no chance.  It is too soft.  It will fall over in the wind and die.

But if you take that little tomato plant while it is still in the greenhouse and hold back on the water, it is going to wilt.  It looks bad at the time, but what is going on is important.  When that tomato plant wilts it makes the stem tougher and the roots grow deep as they search for water.  When you put this tomato plant out in the field the stem will be strong enough to stand against the wind.

I knew what he meant. It helped.

---Farmer Eric

James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers , whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

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Spring is Here! {{Happy Dance}}

On Tuesday spring officially arrived which is marked by the vernal equinox.  From here on out the days are longer than the nights. . . which means "It's time to get to WORK!"  Yay! We have lots of daylight hours to be in the field and get things going.  Farmer E says he is like a snake, he moves a lot faster after he warms up a little bit.  And boy oh boy are we warm!

 

Farm Queen giving the eggplants a good drink.

We have a happy little greenhouse full of happy little eggplants--the standard globe eggplant, Sicilian, and NEW THIS YEAR. . . Spanish striped eggplant.

First corn field

The first corn seed is in the soil, germinating as we speak!  We plant the seed in a ditch then cover the ditch with plastic, creating a tiny little greenhouse.  This helps get the soil warm enough so the seed will germinate well.  The plastic almost seems unnecessary this year.

Romaine

Swiss Chard

The CSA field is off and running.
Sugar snap peas
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Broccoli Rabe
Romaine
Swiss Chard
The ground is dry, I have already been through with the water tank to give them a much needed drink.  Carrots and beets were planted along with the turnips today too!  Enjoy!