On the Farm - August 31,2016
With school starting, nights often a little cooler, and daylight decreasing a minute or so every day, our thoughts are turning toward fall and winter. We are planting for our winter shares. Last week’s rain has made it challenging. We had five inches Wednesday, enough for the small township bridge on the north edge of our field to wash out and close the road. Rain on Saturday made the Spring Green Farmers Market wet, wet, wet. Fortunately people came to shop between showers, making us glad we stuck it out.
Bill is prepping beds and planting spinach, lettuce, turnips and more for us to harvest through the winter. They start in November. It seems a ways off, but crops grow more slowly as daylight decreases, so we plant in August and September.
Five months long with two boxes each month for a total of ten, our winter shares consist primarily of fresh greens like spinach, lettuce and microgreens but include some root crops and garlic as well. You can choose to add beef, chicken, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla or get vegetables only.
When Bill and I decided to add vegetables to our farm as a source of income, we decided to grow crops year-round. Our main reasons are threefold – 1. we already farm year-round with our animals, 2. we eat year-round (sounds silly, but valid), 3. it’s another income source for the farm. Local, healthy, pesticide-free food available through the winter for us and our kids with the added bonus that we could offer it to others – why wouldn’t we do it?
The first year we had a small hoophouse structure. Since then we’ve added low tunnels and a larger greenhouse. Crops grown in the colder temperatures of winter take a little extra work, but their fresh, sweet flavor is worth it to us. If you haven’t already, please consider joining us for the winter. See our website for more details - http://www.myfinehomestead.com/2016-shares. And as always, you are welcome to contact us with any questions -stacey@myfinehomestead.com or (608)588-5153.
In other news, the green beans are ready! There are lots in your box because we wanted to share the bounty with you. We are eating green beans all day long. Beans for breakfast – heck, yes! Beans for lunch and supper too – you bet! Having our first planting pretty much bomb makes these beans taste extra delicious to us. We hope you enjoy them, too.
A few smart laying hens found the cherry tomato plants in the fields closer to the buildings. Bill and the boys put up a fence which is keeping them out. It seems like Bill is spending a lot of time mowing but we can hardly tell because the grass and vegetation keep growing so fast.
I’ve been working on a survey for farm members to give us feedback on their experience. No matter what time of the year it is, there always seems to be plenty to keep us busy
