Bounty of Generosity
This week went by way too fast! What a busy time on the farm to keep up with seeding fall greens, getting end of season goods harvested, and prepping all the fields for next spring. Sounds simple, but that last one is a lot of work. To prep a field, we have to remove plastic mulch and trellising from this season, rip the ground to try and get the grass roots out, plow and disc, scoop manure and spread it over the ground to add fertility, and finally plant winter cover crop. All with the full cooperation of the weather.
Wednesday was an exciting day as our entire family went to Stoney Acres to dig through a bed of carrots and harvest what we need for our members to finish out the season. Kat and Tony have also had some root rot, but they let us sort through and find the good ones in exchange for working with them during their CSA pack. Our worker Susan came along to assist and our parents, Ron and Holly even got roped into the washing action. They also had to drive our “load” back to farm as it was too much for the old minivan to handle. We always learn new things from other farms and seeing their root washer in action was a real eye-opener. We’ll be putting together one of those, maybe this winter.
What would have taken us an entire day with a sprayer took about twenty minutes with their washer. And it was fun to use! We owe a huge thank you to these folks. And if you happen to go to Stoney Acres pizza on the farm on a Friday night, tell them “thanks” from We Grow.
Looking ahead, we have are already making plans for next season. As we start field prep, we need to decide where to plant the garlic this fall and how much we need to put in. What the best layout will be in the new fields to better mechanize planting and weeding, and how to best get organic matter into our soil this fall. This week, we also reserved our spot at the MOSES organic growers’ conference in LaCrosse this winter. This is always an inspirational trip where we get overloaded with valuable information, meet lots of other growers, eat great food and come home ready to grow, motivated to make a difference in our food system.
Grateful for the generosity of others,
Eric & Rebecca