Posts filed under ‘Farm Notes’
Spring Into Action
HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!
Yep, today’s the first day of spring for those of us here in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s a blustery start here in Philadelphia in particular. But I’m very excited nonetheless because it means the start of another growing season full of potential! Gosh, it’ll be good to get some fresh produce to work with in the kitchen again. There are only so many rutabagas and potatoes a girl can eat.
In celebration and anticipation of all the amazing fresh eating to come in 2008, Weavers Way Farm has scheduled its first two events for this season. The first, the Propagation Party (that’s how nerdy we farmers are – we party by planting seeds), is good fun for the whole family. The second, the Planting Party (and here you thought partying with seeds was nerdy enough), is where we need all the adult helping hands we can get. Click over here to the Events Page to get more details.
I know not all of you dear readers live in the Philadelphia metro area, but maybe there is a local farm near you that could use a morning’s worth of your volunteer efforts? It can be a lot of fun to dig in the dirt!
Invigorated!
I’m so invigorated today! Next person that asks me how I’m doing today, I’m going to energetically reply, “Invigorated!” I wonder if that’ll elicit anything other than the normal autopilot response, “Good.” Doesn’t matter; I’m too invigorated to care.
Why so charged up, you ask? Well, there’s been lots of exciting stuff happening. First, we got snow! Might sound silly, but boy, was I ever missing having snow around! I finally had two or three inches to call my very own, if only for a few days, and it made me very happy. I got to spend Saturday crunching through the virgin whiteness of the snow covered fields at the farm, snapping pictures and sucking down the cold clear air. Take a look at this funky “old movie” slideshow or just click “View all images” to get a more straightforward look at snowy Weavers Way Farm.
Then, right after indulging my sense in the snowy outdoors, I took a trip over to the greenhouse to see how the seeds we planted 10 days ago were doing and give them a little pep talk (and some water). What a world of difference it was from the white emptiness of the February fields! The greenhouse was a riot of growth wrapped in steamy warmth and heady scents of rich soil fueling the birth of so many gorgeous little plant babies. I nearly cried! These little guys are just so cute and full of promise for the coming season. Here’s my favorite picture followed by a slide show of the others.
Already on such a high, I’ve now nearly rocketed out of invigorated orbit with anticipation for my trip to Portugal this week! I leave on Wednesday with Taylor, who’ll be my partner in crime for the first week of prowling around Lisbon, Sintra, Leiria, and Porto. And then I’ll be retreating to (what I hope is) a lovely little old-world cottage in the remote northern part of the country to relax for another week, sipping lots of port wine and exploring rural farming practices while hiking along ancient footpaths. Sounds heavenly, doesn’t it?
I hope none of you will be too disappointed with me when I get back and turn this food blog into a travel blog for a few days as I’m no doubt going to have lots of photos and stories to share. In the meantime, I’ve cobbled together several posts that will pop up automatically while I’m away so you won’t be left without fresh reading material for too long.
So I wonder how big the little plant babies will be by the time I get back? It’ll nearly be spring!! Now that’s an invigorating thought!
A Whiff of Spring
This morning, as I pedaled into work, I smelled a hint of spring on the breeze. You know, that musty dirt kind of smell? Considering it’s still just the middle of February, this scent seems a little preemptive. A couple of us at a recent meeting about farm affairs joked that Philadelphia might be re-designated as part of Plant Hardiness Zone 9, a zone typically associated with Florida and Texas. While I don’t think we’ve gone that far south just yet, global warming is no joke as it seems to be settling in for the long haul. We can’t kid ourselves any longer that these mild winters are just a fluke.
I know we all enjoy the coming of spring and the sooner the better, generally speaking. But without the cleansing freeze of a snowy blanket and many bitter cold nights, life cycles are bound to get wacky. For one thing, disease and weeds in the soil will live to see another day, rather than succumbing to the big freeze. This prospect is a daunting one indeed for the small organic farmer. It’s nice to think of extended seasons that allow us to grow, and thus sell, more fresh produce, but I wonder if the price to be paid might be too high? Although maybe it means more folks will get involved in the business of urban and sustainable farming if they don’t have to worry about long icy winters freezing them out of an income. More urban farms would definitely be good, and with enough of them, we might even reverse the affects of global warming. That would take more lifetimes than I have to live, of course, but it’s a real possibility.
Oddly enough, all these thoughts flashed through my mind as I got that whiff of spring. There were other thoughts that followed briefly before I had to stop myself from over-thinking the problem entirely too much. I just barely started wondering if these would-be Zone 9 Pennsylvania farmers would then put themselves out of business by the year 2200 when global warming disappeared and winter once again claimed its turf. That’s when I decided I’d better put the kibosh on my mental wanderings.
Full Circle and Then Some
I spent some time on the farm over the weekend, putting away tomato stakes and other end-of-season tasks. Remembering how I’d helped plant those tomatoes, I was struck by how far we’ve come there over the course of the year. When I got back I pulled some snapshots from my copious photo files that hint at how productive Weavers Way Farm was over the past eight or nine months. We started with a rough empty lower field, dug trenches to create deep rich beds, planted thousands of seedlings, irrigated and staked the many rows, reaped the many rewards, and finally put the beds to rest after the frost. It was hard work along the way, but it was very fulfilling to step back on the first day of December and view the wide fields, a few hardy greens still standing but the rest dormant and ready for next spring.
On another note, while I was surveying the fields on Saturday, I realized I have cooked and posted a recipe for every single crop raised by Weavers Way Farm in 2007. What a delicious year it’s been! Thanks for coming along for the ride!
Baby leeks ready for planting
Lots of baby plants starting in the lower field in June
Irrigation tape between rows of baby lettuce
Young tomato plants staked up
The forrest of mature plants in August
Fall comes to the farm
Lower field is bare, save for a few tented rows of hardy greens
Two scarecrows guard the winter cover crops in the lower field
Now you don’t even have to cook it yourself…
I’d just like to take a moment and thank Cafette, a great local BYOB here in the Mt. Airy/Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. Cafette will be Weavers Way Farm’s first restaurant buyer! We’re super psyched to see our veggies served up on the special’s menu of such a fine establishment. It’s also nice to know I have an “excuse” for dining out on their lovely patio more often. Quality checks are very important, don’t you think? Too bad we don’t supply anything (yet) for their desserts…I could “quality check” them by the dozens!
Visit Cafette’s website to find more information, directions and the phone number to make a reservation. Be sure to ask what’s on the menu from Weavers Way Farm!
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