Okay, I haven’t written in…a year and four months. Things have been busy with baby girl and the farm, both of them always growing and teaching me new things. But here I am! I’m back and I’m going to try to be better about updating this. We have a blog on our farm’s website but I try to use that more for farm business updates (i.e. recipe ideas for CSA members) rather than my rambling thoughts, farm planning resources, etc.
I thought I’d update this website with some things that have changed since last April.
First of all, our baby girl is going to be two in November! Where did the time go? That child certainly keeps me on my toes. She loves to be outside, especially with her chickens. Flowers have been one of her favorite things for a long time now, and she loves to smell and pick them.
Last season was a learning experience (what moment isn’t a learning experience on a farm?) with lots of experimenting. A few major notes:
- I’ve found that the 30″ rows with 12″ paths has been my preferred system. I’ve also finally found the right balance of intensive spacing that maximizes my space without sacrificing our yields. This is intensive enough that we need to build our own harvest cart but we’ve found we still have more than enough space to move out there.
- We have finalized plans for “Phase 1” for annual vegetable production, which will include seven rotating plots of six 50-foot rows each.
- Landscape fabric is absolutely essential to our farm’s operation.
- We’ve picked up way more work with cut flowers in 2018, including our first ever wedding in September, and while this will require us to set up a tax ID we’ve found that there is a lot of financial gain to be had in this area. We’ve worked some annual flowers into our long term crop rotation plan.
- I’ve felt comfortable with the actual planning and growing component of farming because of the foundation I was given by my parents, but I’ve spent the past year educating myself on the business end and I have so many things that I want to share on here for new farmers who are ready to start their own operation.
- We’re learning to embrace our land for what it is, even if it doesn’t have room for acres and acres of annual veggies. We had a forest stewardship consultation with a county representative from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation that I can’t wait to tell you all about soon.
- The orchard has changed a bit. The original nine – 3 cherry and 6 apple – are doing really well. The peach and plum from last year didn’t take but we replaced them with two hazelnuts. We were gifted a graft from an apple tree from a new friend, a second-career farmer who is converting much of the local farmland to organic certified land for biodiverse grain production, that had been started from seed over 50 years ago by the original farmer on his property about a mile from our home. For my birthday this year, my best friend and her husband gave me a winesap apple tree as well. We also put in two pear trees and two chestnuts. Next year, we will be “finishing” (at least finishing this current section of orchard) with two nectarines and an Asian pear. Another major and exciting note: one of the Cox’s Orange Pippins has our first ever actual apple! We’re so thrilled.
- The berry patch has been a major project for 2018. The three honeyberries from last year are in incredible shape and we are expecting our first fruits next May. We added two figs (only one has survived), twenty blueberries, and ten elderberries this past spring. Yesterday, my best friend visited with her husband and mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law works at a vineyard that grows grapes and berries for resale, and I was surprised and delighted that she brought us five red currants, two aronias, and two more blueberries. This was an unbelievable gift that I am still stunned by! Next year, we will add raspberries, blackberries, and five more currants, and I’ll also divide the existing rhubarb to make at least 24 separate plants. By the time we are done we hope to also include serviceberries, lingonberries, beach plums, and seaberries.
- We now host farm stay guests, which has given me an opportunity to fulfill my interest in educating people about our traditional lifestyle and seasonal, nutritious eating.
I think that’s a fair update for now. But I’m really feeling excited to share more detailed updates with you soon.
Good night!
The Microfarm Mom 