Letter From the Farm

As the years have slipped by and I haven't written on this blog I have had the impulse with each passing growing season to write a letter from the farm.  An impulse to share our gratitude for the loyal customers that have braved the madhouse that Chase's Daily can be to grab up handfuls of filet beans, balance armloads of corn, crowd in for a few of those first tomatoes.  And an interest in sharing what we've learned.  To let everyone know that we have a small apple orchard planted, and plums, and blueberries.  That this year we won't grow any tomatoes outside.  And that with each passing year we are putting more and more of our acres into cover crops.  Farming is dynamic--always changing and evolving--as are we.   I can't catch up to my last post in April of 2007 in one fell swoop but suffice it to say we continue to grow!

So, it has begun again. I wandered over the muddy fields a few days ago, always curious this time of year what is stirring in the sleeping dirt. I was suprised to see mache had overwintered and upland cress, and that the garlic came through beautifully. The deer dug all my spring parsnips again. I think, judging from the prints, we feed quite a few deer and turkey and maybe moose. Time to move out critters--here we come. Peas are in, potatoes should go in this week, as should transplanted Asian greens, lettuce, mache, arugula and more. Piles of seed packets surround me, lists, notes and intructions, last year's planting log. Getting it all going, responding quickly to poor germination in the Gomphrenas and the sage, replanting celery, eggplant, and chilis due to poor germination and damping off. Hiring. Trying to recollect the things I wanted to do differently. The greenhouse is full with lots of trays moved outside already. This big push of seed planting is almost over--two more big weeks and then it will moderate, and we'll all get to work outside more. My crew isn't complaining but I know all those little seeds get tedious. We all have a taste for some greens and for some sunny weather. It is good to be back at it.