Things Are Shaping Up!!

Over the past several weeks, Michael has been busy, busy, busy getting the land (and himself) ready for the season.  Given the fact that we are now on raw land, with not one structure as far as the eye can see, we quickly realized we need storage spaces for small equipment, fertilizer, seeds, implements and the like.  We played around with the idea of attempting to build our own shed; we priced out those ready-built sheds that you see on the side of every country road; and, we started hunting around for storage containers that are used to transport products on the seas.  Ultimately, Michael being the bargain shopper that he is (who knew) found a used storage container for sale on craigslist.  It may not be the prettiest container out there, but I am pretty sure that Michael was more concerned with the weather-tightness of said trailer than he was about how she'd look as his prom date!  Here it is:

If you look closely at the first photo (or, look at all), you might notice an outhouse.  This is to accommodate any visitors and/or workers on the Farm.  I'll let you know how it goes!!

We also recently purchased a chisel plow, that was specially welded by an Amish man in Pennsylvania.  There was a particular type of plow that Michael saw used on the big farm scale but couldn't find a substantially similar plow for smaller operations. Basically, we use straw to keep the weeds out of our plant beds instead of the more popular (and less environmentally friendly) plastic weed barrier used by so many farmers.  Because the straw does not quickly decompose, Michael needed the plow to be designed so that it is capable of cutting through the straw when the field is ready to be plowed for the next planting. So, what does he do? What any entrepreneur does and described it to someone who is capable of making it -- and got 'er done!

Once we finally got the plow from Amish country, Michael set out to begin the plowing of the fields!!

This past weekend, in the newly-plowed fields, Michael and a volunteer began the daunting task of planting onions!  This week, Michael picked up transplants for the early summer vegetables, like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, napa cabbage and more!  We'll begin planting those this weekend.

Certainly other things are going on at the Farm, too.  We received deliveries of compost materials, Michael put up the deer fence to (hopefully) protect the fields from this veggie-predators, and he built a "lean-to" next to the storage shed to protect Big Red (our older, more delicate tractor used for cultivating) as much as possible from the elements.

Please remember that volunteer help at the Farm is encouraged and appreciated! If you want to come and check out what is going on at the Farm, to see where your veggies are growing, or to help contribute to this season's bounty, send us an email and we'll find a time for you to come out.  No excuses -- our most recent visitor was our youngest friend...a three week old Max L.!!

Until next time...