May Update

Hello All!

I'd like to start out by saying that we have been very fortunate this spring! Of course, not everything goes as planned, but so far, the weather has been more than cooperative!

Last season we didn't even get out into the fields until May 25th because of how wet it was! **Ben is the one who remembers these things, he just reminds me ;) Now this season we're elbow deep into working up the fields and we even started planting already!

Our neighbor came over last week and helped us work up the fields with his big rig. His equipment is probably 4-5 times wider than Ben's so he doesn't have to make as many passes, and his equipment is heavier so he can really turn it over.

We moved the piglets out of the barn because it's warm and they're big enough now! They're loving all the extra space and frequently do zoomies. If you have a dog you know what I'm talking about- haha! It's like they just get really happy/excited and freak out running and playing. They're such a fun addition to the farm!

Got my fencing done- so here are some before and afters! The one thing about living on a farm that I never really understood is why it seems everyone always has so much stuff around. It always seemed like farmers always had barns full of stuff, yards full of stuff.. like every farmer I ever met. Truth is, all that stuff is worth something!! We have been using gates, cow panels, t-posts, wood, tin, I mean, everything! that was just here on the farm when we moved in. We've had to buy some fencing tools and concrete for example (for setting corner posts), and some clips/ fence nails. But it's really incredible how much money we've saved by putting all these materials together to make something! I am pretty proud of how scrappy I am when it comes to building.

The first pic above shows the blank space, the pig hut that I finished and a few markers for me. The second picture shows the t-posts holding up the fencing, the corner post I dug and put concrete around, and the edge of the gate I installed. You can see I dug the fenceline too which isn't easy, lol. I think the hardest thing is keeping it "straight" because it's hard to hold the 16 ft long panel and visualize where it will sit. Then I tip it over, dig the trench out a ways, and hold the panel up again to check if it's on the marker. Is there a better way to do it? I'm sure! The thing is, this is how I taught myself and it works fine for my one-woman-crew haha.

We also went and got our next set of piglets from our Farmer in Villard. He's about an hour and a half away but he has the heritage breeds we want and... we're picky!! By the time we got back to the farm it was way past dark. So Ben backed up the trailer right to the pen I just finished building. We let the piglets out and they had a great time getting on some fresh ground! They love rooting it up and finding new morsels in the soil ;P They're omnivores so they enjoy all of the roots and grasses along with any little bugs they find.

**These are ALL kohlrabi plants! They're living outside right now which helps grow as tough plants with harder stems, so they don't get as stressed out when you bring them from the greenhouse to transplant into the fields. Transplanting is hard on these little seedlings, so this is what we call "hardening off". Even with lots of other varieties too- tomatoes, squash, peppers etc. we put all the trays outside for at least a few days to harden them off before transplanting them! Makes for healthier plants :)

Ben is SO busy in the greenhouse. Things getting seeded, things coming out to harden off, and even planting! Today alone, they planted over 1200 heads of green romaine. That's just the green romaine... there are a lot of greens coming your way soon!! The spring is unique in that way, because we don't generally add a ton of greens into our CSA after the spring lettuce crop. We'll have swiss chard and kale in a few more times during the summer (because those don't go seed like the lettuces do). So lettuces are pretty isolated to the spring but that's because they're not meant to grow well during super-hot summer days, they get really bitter. As soon as it gets really hot, they start bolting (going to seed) and the flavor changes so much that it's unrecognizable honestly- doesn't even seem like the same plant!

When we were ice fishing, we got a couple scoops of minnows and mixed in there was a tadpole! Well, it was winter and we were in the middle of the lake ice fishing (not fishing in shallow weedy stuff where the tadpole would normally be able to over-winter), so we weren't going to let that little guy go and have to fend for himself over big fish!

So we brought him in and made him a little home. I wish I would have gotten more pictures of development but I never thought of it at the time! He went from a pudgy round guy with no structure (they're so soft!) to a big tough frog lol! Within a week, he went from having just the two back legs, to getting his front legs and then his tail absorbing. So it's really incredible how fast it all happens!! We have a little pond at the back of our farm, so we figured that'd be the best place for him! William took care of that little guy ALL WINTER! I never even reminded him about the tadpole! Now we retired that little empty tank back to the garage for the next critter.

HOUSEKEEPING

I'm finishing up the handbooks. We had a few site changes this spring that caused me to have to rearrange a few things in the schedule. Not that these details pertain to any of you, because you get the final version!

I made a form for our returning Pork Members and it looks like we will have some availability! For those of you who got pork last year, you should have gotten an email from me last week about availability for this fall's butcher spots. If you haven't responded yet, please do so!

Once we hear back from all of those folks we will be opening it up to anyone in our CSA and we do have a fairly good list going right now but I skip over people who aren't in our CSA so it's not quite as long of a list.... Gosh, that sounds harsh! But really, I would hope you'd do the same for me ;) We prioritize our CSA Members in every way we can!

That'll do it for today- just wanted to check in and share what we're up to!

Eat Good & Be Well!

~The Farmer's Wife