Farm Life
Farm Life
Spring is here! The fish are jumping in the pond, the apple trees are budding, the birds singing and the frogs are croaking. The farm is coming alive and reminding me of all the work ahead of us…
We have started work on the test garden. Building up the beds and getting rid of grass and weeds. The plan is to start some kale, cucumbers, parsley, cilantro and many flowers. I can’t wait to see the sweet peas, sunflowers and other flowers bring the bees to the garden.
The other rather large task at hand is the pruning of the trees. We are lucky to have an abundance of apple, pear and plum trees but they require some tending to make it easier to harvest, and to keep the bears at bay. Last fall we struggled to get them picked as the trees were so dense and tall and as a result we ended up with a resident bear. It’s nice to see wildlife up here, deer and bears, but they do wreak havoc on the gardens if they get a taste of a food source. I found a very large nose print on the window of the garage door…a bear poking around already…
We’ve received the high tunnel and are preparing the land beneath it. Thankfully we have found a crew to help us build and raise up the structure! We’ll grow cucumbers, celery and a few other more sensitive crops in there, safe from most pests and the elements. We’ve also started roto tilling the acre on the field where we will plant the carrots, beets and kale. I’ll get some soil samples this week to determine if we need to add any nutrients as it’s been an organic hay field for the past couple of years. It was to transition to potatoes this year but we are not potato farmers.
Best of all is the new farm pup Stella. She is a smart, now 14 week old, King Shepard/Caucasian Shepard cross. Already protecting and watching she and Murphy (French Bulldog and ‘wanna be farm dog’) are enjoying the longer sunny days outside with us.
I sit here feeling very thankful. The love that is being poured into this farm will grow in the produce and reflect in our juice. The dream of producing our own local, organically grown vegetables is slowly becoming a reality.
Farm to bottle with love and care,
Christina
