State of the Crops - spring 2010

I try to keep members updated about the general goings-on at the farm, but things have been so hectic I haven't had time this year. The wet weather has really set us back - we're just now getting the potatoes hilled (and those of you doing farm pick up probably saw my parents and I working on this Sunday afternoon). Though we have flats of summer squash started and doing well, ready to flower in fact, we haven't been able to get them in the ground yet. In addition to the new 6,000-ish square feet for the potato/onion/shallot field we also plowed about 8,000 square feet behind the main barn. This area is for all our winter and summer squash, melons, and second and third cucumber plantings... Though we'll only plant about 5,000 sq feet this year and cover crop the rest. A twice-broken tractor (recently repaired) and wet weather really set this project behind, but it should be ready to plant on Wednesday - as long as we don't get a soaking before then. About an inch of rain per week is all we need and as you know it's been well over that. So we definitely anticipate tons of our great varieties of summer squash and melons, they just might be a few weeks later.

This weather also makes for perfect conditions for many diseases to thrive and spread - including the late blight which has unfortunately already been reported in the area. I am staying ahead of the game this year and treated the tomatoes with an organic copper solution last week, and we plan to schedule this or similar treatments regularly through the season. Treatment essentially involves carefully misting each leaf of the plant, giving all surfaces even coverage. It's certainly labor intensive but I am determined to do everything I can to (safely) avoid the heartbreak and disappointment we experienced last year as a result of this blight. The blight can impact other crops in the nightshade family, so we will treat the potatoes as well.

As you've noticed on some of the greens, we're having a few insect issues this spring. They really did a number on the chard and tatsoi, and started in on the pak choy as well. We're treating mainly by using row covers, hand-picking and applying diatomaceous earth - a chemical-free mechanical pest control. We're also hoping to cut down on this pest population by not planting any more of these susceptible crops until the fall. Instead of seeding or cutting more of these dark greens for early summer harvest, we will tear them out and seed things like more carrots, beets and eventually turnips and parsnips. Insect control and our IPM (integrated pest management) plan is a big part of why we practice crop rotation - the same crops won't be planted in these beds or fields for at least 3 years, not only to give the soil a rest but to thwart these insects.

You also probably noticed that your bunches of spinach were on the small side this week. We had very poor germination with our spinach crops and by the time the problem was apparent it was too late to seed more. Look for more spinach in the fall, and in the meantime you can substitute the tatsoi and chard! You would have carrots in your shares by now but our entire first seeding failed and we're still not sure why. The successive seedings of carrots (three as of today) are doing well, so that's certainly good news. You will see carrots throughout the season since we continue these successive seedings through fall. Another crop you'll see a lot of, but a bit later than usual, are bush beans. The wet weather a few weeks ago rotted off the newly emerged seedlings of all three of our bean varieties. This isn't a huge setback, since we reseeded right away and those seem to be doing well, so that only puts us about two weeks behind. We'll do a second seeding of these soon for a late summer crop. In addition to bush beans, this year for the first time we're trying pole beans - a delicious, sweet-right-off-the-vine variety called Rattlesnake.

In brighter news, the transplants are doing well. Tomatoes, sweet basils, peppers, eggplant and husk cherries are all off to a good start. The first seeding of cucumbers are up and you'll start to see those in shares in mid July. The cabbages look good, and I'm hoping the first round of beets and carrots will be ready soon. And it won't be long until we can dig up some new potatoes! Hang in there and enjoy those greens while you can ;)

spring firsts

A few weeks ago we started seeding some crops indoors and last weekend we saw some more springtime firsts... the first harvest of the year (technically a crop from last season - leeks we overwintered under straw... they're delicious!), the first direct seeding outdoors ('hardy white' and 'deep purple' bunching onions), and the emergence of our first 2010 crop - the garlic we planted in the fall (left). It has a long way to go; we won't harvest this until August, but I'm thrilled to see the first shoots poking through the straw.

Our partners in beekeeping, Gary Marshall and Tony Indovina (the "bee guys" as I call them) came over a couple weeks ago so we could do some spring maintenance. This involves removing the overwintering wind barriers we set up around the hives, and opening the hives up so we can do a spring inspection. Everything looks great - so much so that we added a honey super to our original hive and brood boxes to the newer hives. The bees overwintered well, are producing lots of brood (new bees) and all is shaping up for this to be a season of bountiful honey harvests. The first harvest of the light spring honey (my favorite) will be in early June.

Notice the orange/yellow stuff that looks like water wings on this lady's back legs (left)? That's pollen that she's collected from some of the first flowering vegetation on and around the farm, and she's carrying it back to the hive.

Our seedlings are doing well indoors and we've been adding new plantings every week. We're about to move some early crops outdoors to harden off, which will open up space on the shelves for the 400 + heirloom tomatoes and 300 peppers and eggplants that are still (mostly) in the germination tent (where we monitor soil temp and keep it as warm as possible until germination). Every week we'll be starting new crops indoors and out - later in April we'll start the melons and squash inside, and I'm starting some cabbage and lettuces this week. There's lots of planting going on this coming weekend - we'll transplant the kale, chard, leeks, onions and brussels sprouts that we started indoors in February, and we'll start direct-seeding beets, carrots, arugula, spinach, radish and other late spring crops that members will receive in the first weeks of CSA.

My mom, Julie and I have been hard at work with our new fabulous intern, Jess, preparing the beds for planting. In the pic above, Julie is incorporating by hand (and fork) the composted manure we spread on the beds in the fall. The next step was to aerate all the beds with a broadfork - no tilling here! Then we cover the beds with black fabric to heat the soil and prevent weeds from germinating until planting time, when it comes off and is replaced with straw mulch. It's a lot of work but the soil looks fantastic, and as we build it with these natural amendments, cover crops, and our sweat and careful labor, it gets better every year.

My dad has been hard at work in the berry patch (the chickens are helping) cutting down the raspberry stalks from last year and getting the rows ready for additional plants. As they spread each year we transplant them to make additional rows. The new stalks are already starting to grow, and these tasty berries will start rolling in around mid July.

Keep in mind that we will be selling seedlings later this spring at one of our first on-farm markets! If you're planning to have a veggie garden this year, treat yourself to some of the same exquisitely tasty, lovely, and unusual heirloom tomatoes, peppers and eggplant that we'll be growing on the farm. Watch the blog for more info, or email info@churchviewfarmpgh.com to add your name to our Market notification list.

Happy spring!

getting started

The snow is melting and we're finally getting our hands in the dirt again! I'm really looking forward to the 2010 season... new crops and varieites, a full season with the chickens (along with some new ones), new CSA members (and returning ones as well), and the chance to apply the incredibly vast amount of knowledge we picked up last year during our first season of CSA. We're expanding significantly this year, not only to accommodate our growing CSA family but also to experiment with things like markets on the farm and selling to a few local restaurants. In taking on more commitments we knew we'd need more help and were lucky enough to get Julie, our work-for-share in 2009, for the 2010 season as a part-time grower and consultant. We're also taking on a few interns, which takes a bit of the pressure off my poor parents.

A few weeks ago our 2010 seed orders started to roll in and my mom and I started the first flats last week... onions, brussels sprouts, kale, the first batch of chard, and some other early greens. They're already up! Below are our Red Marble onions and the Bright Lights chard - you can already see the red, pink and yellow in the stems.

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We'll be seeding flats indoors pretty regularly through the spring. We have a new shelf system set up in the basement with a heated germination chamber, and as soon as some of the cool weather crops are ready we'll rotate them out into cold frames and plant them in the field to make room for the later starts indoors. With the exception of our new strawberries, we start all of our plants from seed and doing everything in a small space is a bit of a challenge.

I'm hoping to get the snap peas in soon, but so much depends on the weather. After all the melting snow and rain this week we need to give the soil some time to dry out before working in it. There is something growing in the main produce garden though... the cover crop of winter rye we seeded late in the fall is getting started again in the raised beds where we'll transplant our heirloom tomatoes in late May.

Keep checking the blog for updates as we get ready for the 2010 growing season.