February 10, 2007
A picture of Greenhouse #3 with it's ends completed (doors and vents installed).
February 26, 2007
This is the inside of greenhouse #1 pretty much as we left it over the winter. Ideally all of the dead plants and weeds would have been cleaned out at the end of last season, but we ran out of energy. Most of these dead plants get pulled and added to the compost pile.
March 01, 2007
I took this photo just to show what kind of weather we are having when we start working out in the greenhouses.
March 03, 2007
Shain is mucking out the goat barn to add matter to the newest compost pile.
March 03, 2007
Left to Right: Daisy (almost 1 year), her mother Trinidy who is currently our source of wonderful milk, and Panama who is due to kid in April 2007.
March 03, 2007
Using a broad fork, Shain goes up and down the greenhouse to break up the hard soil.
March 03, 2007
The tines of a broad fork go down about a foot to break up the hard soil.
March 03, 2007
A broad fork is used in place of a tiller to break up the soil.
March 06, 2007
Work day #4. We have to wait for a "warm" day so we can turn on a sprinkler to water the soil in the greenhouse. At about 12 noon the hose had thawed out enough for me to turn on the water. Watering the soil makes it soft enough to work the soil after its long winter rest.
March 09, 2007
Max (Shain's Dad) came up for a weekend of work on the farm. The weather is nicer now and the snow is starting to melt. But because the snow is turning to slush, we can't quite use any of the garden carts yet, so here Max is filling a bucket with compost to take spread in greenhouse #1. This makes for a long day of work.
March 21, 2007
Welcome to greenhouse #4. It is approximately 3,000 square foot. A nice "crop" of weeds and quack grass have grown nicely over the winter, some of which are actually flowering and going to seed. Time to work.
March 21, 2007
Tara is clearing out weeds and quack grass with one of her favorite tools, the wheel hoe. Even though it is snowing outside on this day, it is nice and warm in the greenhouse. Tara was sweating and had to take several breaks to go outside to cool off.
March 21, 2007
This is one of our favorite tools on the farm. The stir-up shaped hoe in the center is dragged along the ground (actually cutting into the soil and inch or two) to remove any weeds. Then the fork behind also goes into the soil to loosen it up. The hoe is pushed and pulled back and forth on the wheel with two long handles. Using this tool makes weeding and cultivating much easier. It also gives you quite an upper body workout!
March 22, 2007
This is a second shot of greenhouse #4, after Tara spent approximately 4 hours inside it hoeing down the weeds.
March 23, 2007
We start most of our plants from seed. Shain is putting a mixture of compost and soil into seed starting trays which are specially designed for easy transplanting.
March 23, 2007
This is a row of seed flats, probably swiss chard and bok-choi. The flats are hooped and covered with row covers (also called agricultural cloth or fabric) and kept outside in the greenhouse.
March 23, 2007
Max is spreading a layer of compost in greenhouse #2. Also, since the soil is moist from several days of watering, Shain is digging/pulling up weeds and quack grass.
March 23, 2007
A few days after greenhouse #1 was watered, spread with compost, and broad-forked, Shain and Max planted our first 2007 season crops: arugula, spinach, and salad mix. This picture was taken just about 2 weeks later and you can already see the plants coming up. Today we (Laveda, one of our farm workshares, and I) weeded set up hoops down each row. We expect some cold temperatures in the next few nights ahead so precautions are taken to protect the new plants from frost. First we set up metal hoops down the row and which will later be covered with row covers. Row covers keep the temperature near the plants about 4 degrees warmer than if they were left uncovered.
March 24, 2007
Today Max and Andy (a neighbor and farm workshare) have the grueling task of moving loads of compost to spread in greenhouse #2. Because the 4-wheeler is in the shop, they are doing it one load at a time, through the thick gushy mud.
March 30, 2007
Another beautiful day to be working on the farm. Three workshares came to help us this day: Andy, Christine, and Susan. The ladies are digging up quack grass and the men are spreading compost.
April 02, 2007
In this picture Shain is shoveling compost into the manure spreader to lay down on field #1. This particular pile of compost is 2 years in the making.
April 02, 2007
A four wheeler is used to pull the manure spreader around the field.
April 05, 2007
After spreading a layer of compost on the northern half of field #1, Shain tilled it in with his BCS Walking Tractor. The field looks nice on a sunny spring morning.
April 05, 2007
In 2006 we were able to buy 5 additional acres adjacent to our 2 acre parcel. This year we are putting a new portion of this acreage into production. A kind neighbor came and disced it for us. Greenhouse #3 and #4 are in the distance.
April 11, 2007
The greens planted in greenhouse #1 at about 4 weeks along. They will be ready to harvest in 1 week, if the sun cooperates.
April 14, 2007
On Saturday, April 14th we had a "Rock Party" at the farm. There were 23 people who showed up to help us "pick rocks" out of a new field that will go into production this year. We got the job done in just under 2 hours. A really BiG ThAnkS to all those who came help!
April 14, 2007
A picture of Randall, Evan, Eli and Jake. They did a great job helping us "pick rocks". But what they liked most were the cookies and juice. "I think I need a break.... Let's go get some more cookies!"
April 16, 2007
Shain puts a few seeds into each cell of the seed starting trays to make at least one will germinate and grow properly. But on this boc-choi, only one plant is needed to transplant. So I go through and pick the healthiest plant from each cell, and pull the rest (which will most likely be eaten as healthy "sprouts").
April 16, 2007
Our goat Panama had her babies on Saturday, April 14th around 2:30 pm. We were all there for the exciting event. Megan got to name the first born. Her name is Cheyenne (on the right). Eli named the second one Star (on the left). They are truly adorable!
April 16, 2007
One of the vital parts of having an organic farm is COMPOST, and lots of it. We trade out with Mike Welchman to help us move our compost piles around. First, he took last years pile and moved it to the empty spot where we took compost from this year. Then he moved the "remains" from the pig pens and goat barn into a new big pile. This pile will decompose nicely and most likely be ready to use next year.
