The Home Stretch

We're coming into the home stretch of the planting season. Another week or so and we will have the main season crops into the ground. The last of the tomatoes are going in. Yesterday climbing cucumbers were added to the greenhouse mix. Still have to put in a row of field cucumbers and basil. Now we are going to seed carrots and beets one last time for this year. Radishes, lettuces and spinach are ongoing. 

Big job is getting the irrigation set up. There are always pipes to mend and seal. Bryne has his work cut out for him in this department. In spite of us living on the "wild, wet coast" we do need to irrigate. Yesterday was a prime example of why. We had a crazy "sou'wester" blow through here all afternoon well into the night. It took down trees, branches and the power ! These summer winds dry everything out ! Especially young plants that are still establishing their roots. Have to keep things irrigated so that they get their feet and grow properly.

Today I will walk the fields and make sure everything is accounted for and recorded on my charts. It is another part of farming that needs to be done. Recording and staying on top of what you do, have done and did do. Not just for the organic certification but for our own information and knowledge. Keeping records really helps. We can look back on any given year and see what we have done, where, how much, what the weather was etc. Our harvest records will indicate what did well and what didn't by how much we picked, bunched and bagged off to market.

We harvested spinach this past Friday for market. Harvested 150 pounds of rhubarb. Strawberries are beginning to form, the first potatoes are flowering(the photos show the plants and the size of a few potatoes I dared to dig gently with my hand) spring onions are almost ready to bunch. I ate the first snow pea, couldn't resist !

Its an exciting time to be on the farm. So much is happening and the growth is spectacular from just a week or so ago as the days get their longest and the heat units take off !

Gotta go, the day won't wait for me. The hummers (hummingbirds) are out doing battle on the feeders already!

Well the day is done, just had a hot bath and want to finish off this blog. Had a great day. Got the worst of the weeds out of fields A and B. Weeded the spring onions, rhubarb, snow peas and beets. Got the tallest of the grass weed whacked to a tolerable height. The crew was great today, everyone working together.

Those winds picked up again late afternoon but guess what ? As I sit here it is raining outside, pouring rain, a rain that will do the plants a lot of good and go deep. Lucky Bryne, he is SO happy when he doesn't have to irrigate. It doesn't get much better than that !

Good night, sweet dreams. ;-

)

Taking Care of Produce

Gai Lan

Nappa Cabbages

at the wash station

Comox Valley Farmer's Market

baskets of greens ready for washing

Fridays are one of our busiest days of the week. Produce has to be harvested, picked, sorted, washed,packed and gotten ready for Saturday morning farmer's market. As the season progresses this will take more and more of our time as there is more and more to pick. In peak season we often have to start on Thursday just to keep up with the abundance of produce that is ready.

Yesterdays harvest consists of a salad greens mix, spinach, arugula, Napa cabbages, gai lan, collard greens, leeks, purple mustard greens, mibuna and rhubarb. Everything is washed through a cycle of stainless steel sinks with cold, clear, artesian, well water. Then it is bunched, bundled, bagged, weighed and sorted into containers and put into the cooler for transport on Saturday morning.

At this time of year we are also taking plants to market. This year we have 21 tomato varieties as well as 6 kinds of nasturtiums. Assorted other veggie packs of plants to start your own gardens. Lettuces, broccoli, parsley,chives, leeks, etc. By the end of the day the truck is tightly packed with as much as we can possibly transport. Produce is put in Saturday mornings just before we head out to market.

I like Fridays. I get to put my efficiency and organization skills to work. Often with farm assistants coming and going there has to be time made to instruct them as to how to pick and handle various plants and the vegetables. You would be amazed at how much there is to know. So much of the produce is delicate and requires sensitivity and care in handling. Even how you put it into the basket can make a difference to how the product looks in the end. Things get bruised and beaten looking quite easily. The other major requirement is to keep the produce out of the sun and get it to the wash stand area as soon as possible. Cooling the produce down is really important to its keeping qualities. Sun and heat and sitting in the baskets can dry out, wilt and render the produce to the compost heap in no time if one is not careful. So being quick and efficient are requirements on harvest days.

It is very satisfying at the end of the day to visually tally up the harvest for the upcoming market. It all looks so vibrant and fresh and clean, ready to go. Its the reward for all the work that goes into the production of making the farm work. When we get to market and put the produce out for sale it is so wonderful to hear all the "oohs" and "ahs" from customers as they remark over the quality of the harvest. Those are the strokes on the back that we get for the work we've done. Our customers are wonderful and really appreciate all the efforts we make to offer them such wonderful produce.

Your welcome :-D and thank you for supporting local, organic, agriculture.

p.s. just got home and we had an awesome day at the market, now we're about to sit down and have Fanny Bay oysters for supper. Grown and harvested in the waters of Baynes Sound just outside our door. What a feast ! What a life ! :-D 

After a week or so of rather good, albeit cold temperatures it is raining today as is so typical of our west coast winters. Don't mind the frostier days at least the sun is out or trying to. Gives lots of incentive to get outside and do outdoor chores.

Its the time of year to prune, prune, prune ! I have done the grapes, the roses, working on the perennial herb beds now and then will tackle some of the fruit trees. Still time to plant new trees if thats in your plans for this year.

The rhubarb is definetly starting to make it's appearance and is also a good time to divide them, side dress them with finished compost. Last year the rhubarb was resting so hopefull it will produce in full force. Need to weed the beds too now and cultivate the soil with a rake or fork.

The heated tables in the greenhouse are bursting with seedlings. Lots of transplanting to the second stage has already been done. New seeds being put into flats and onto the heated tables all the time. Good time to start oriental greens, cabbages, peas, some lettuces, spinach, beets. We start them all in flats at this time and transplant them once hardened off after about 6 weeks start to in the ground. Lots of them will go into the hoop houses and some can even go out into the field with remay cloth at the ready if temperatures go too low ( -0 or lower ).

Sorting, cleaning, grooming, tidying after all the storms of winter is an ongoing job. Interesting how glaringly obvious everything is when the green lushness of spring and summer isn't there to distract the eye. This is really the best time of year to get at all these kinds of jobs done or at least started. Gets me motivated, eager for the season to get going and gets my body acclimatized and used to being outside and moving again. Love it !!