Production Update

We’re in the last stages of our spring field work. May 1^st is the deadline I usually give myself for getting hard squash and pumpkins planted. Because powdery mildew almost always becomes a problem with these crops late in the season, we’ve found that the earlier we can get them planted the better. As with most large seeded crops, we can’t plant them too early, however, because the seeds will rot in cold soils—it’s all about timing. In addition to planting hard squashes we will be planting another block of potatoes from the seed that we saved over from last year.

The first block of potatoes that we planted back at the end of February is looking great and is almost ready for hilling—pushing soil up around the bases of the plants using tractor mounted shovels. This is shaping up to be one of the best potato crops ever. There was almost no seed decay, and the soil that we planted it on is a black, mucky clay that retains moisture like none that I have ever seen. Providing even soil moisture is one of the keys to growing good potatoes.

We chose this spot for the potatoes because we were having problems with symphylans—tiny white centipede-like critters that feed on plant roots. For an organic farmer, these are among the most dreaded of pests mainly because they love fertile soils high in organic matter. As I have written about in past newsletters (see “Potatoes to the Rescue” from April 2011), potato rotations are one the few ways that organic growers have to deal with them. For reasons that aren’t completely understood, symphylan populations are knocked way back on ground that potatoes have been grown on. Being a diversified farm, we can rotate our potato crop each year to the fields that need symphylan control the most.

The other exciting news is that we get our new Italian transplanter today. When attached to the back of a tractor, this implement opens up a furrow and drop in plants at precise intervals. From a seated position, a worker simply takes transplants out of their flat and drops them into cups in a rotating carousel in front of them—the machine does the rest. It is an improvement that I’ve been wanting to make for a long time now (transplanting by hand is a job that is very hard on the back, involving bending over close to the ground for long stretches of time) but could never find a set-up that would work for our system. Our beds are a very non-standard 64” with four “seedlines.” Almost all the farms around here use 80” (or two 40”) beds, so finding equipment that we can use can be challenging. European equipment in general is better suited for small farms, and it so happens that in Italy and other parts of Europe, they farm on beds that are very similar to ours, so that is where we turned.

While it’s true that we plant and harvest all year long here, spring field preparation and planting is one of the busiest times for me. This is when we plant a lot of the long-growing summer crops even while also tending and harvesting the quicker-growing and cooler weather crops you’ve been getting in your boxes so far. May and June will see a shift in our farm tasks toward more weeding and harvesting as the berries, carrots, beans, squashes, potatoes, and brassicas become ready to harvest.