Despite snow last weekend, it is indeed spring and that can only mean one thing on the farm – time for bed prep! Last year we read The Market Gardener by Jean-Martin Fortier. One of the tips in that book involves covering the beds with black tarps to kill the weeds while maintaining all the beneficial microorganisms […]
The weekend brought sunshine and mild temperatures and indicated it’s time to get hands in the soil and seeds in the ground. We planted two flats of spinach and kale and did a bit of clean up as we get ready for outdoor planting. Spring flowers are starting to emerge and the bees were active […]
Now that we have some time to reflect on the season, we thought it might be helpful to share some of the lessons we learned from our first season of urban market gardening. In no particular order, we give you our lessons learned….likely to grow as we continue to plan. Making compost: Don’t get me […]
We have been pleasantly surprised by the success of many of our beds, especially considering the poor quality of our soil (mostly clay) and the numerous rocks that still plague us! While we’ve had to scrap a few beds due to poor germination, the bulk of the rows have really produced. For example, last week […]
This weekend we got a delivery of 10 yards of screened leaf humus. On a recommendation from another urban farmer, we got it from Three-Z-Inc. in Valley View. Cost with delivery $287.70 (that’s $22/yard). Our plan is to add this to the soil (about 3 inches to each bed) for organic material. The ultimate goal […]
it’s a sunny day and only 19F, but our compost pile is really working over 100F!!!! not quite as hot as we would like, but getting there. that reading from our compost thermometer we got for christmas. we have been steadily added to the compost piles behind our house and looks like it’s composting in […]
following the instructions from Eliot Coleman’s The New Organic Grower, we have built a compost bin out of straw bales. this method is beneficial because the straw bales contain the heat needed for the materials to break down, while also allowing air flow. we have set up two bins side by side, but the first […]