We have officially started the growing season! I remember last spring it was cold and rainy and gross for the first month and a half I was working on the farm. Not this year; I think it got up to 90 degrees yesterday in the hoop house. John, Lissa, Grant, Christy and I spent the day starting tomatoes, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Since Minnesota has such a short growing season it is nice that we can start some crops early. Starting these crops also allows us to give them an ideal environment for germination. John set up a staging area for us inside the hoop house. We purchased bags of really good/nutrient dense dirt. Using this dirt will give the seeds the best shot for germinating and there are no weeds in this dirt...which is awesome!
 |
| Dirt! |
 |
| Flats ready to be seeded |
 |
| Cherry Tomatoes |
We started almost 1300 tomato plants! We start this many to have plenty of plants for both of the farms as well as plants to sell at the farmers market. We also factor in some loss; some seeds wont germinate or the plant will die before we can get it in the ground. We will be keeping them in the sun room of the farmhouse so we can regulate temperature and airflow. We laid
down plastic and set up tables, I will keep an eye on them until we can
plant them in the hoop house
After all the seeds were snug and warm in there temporary home we head back to the hoop house to prepare it for planting; we did a little weeding and John tilled. Tomorrow we will plant radishes, chard, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and peas. It is so exciting!
 |
| The tools of the trade! |
I bet the tools are just as excited to get dirty, they have been laying unused in the garage for too long!
 |
| Tulips are growing quickly |
This year we will grow all of our lettuce in these raised beds. We filled the beds with the dirt we bought, this will ensure there will be no weeds. It will be nice to have the beds raised; it will keep the slugs out and it will be much easier to harvest. I can't wait for a salad!
John also found the first two rocks of the season; I am sure there will be many more to come.
In a yard about 4 miles from the farm, my boyfriend and I have decided to raise chickens. He has a nice big yard and some serious skills when it comes to building things. I have always wanted chickens and was surprised when I found out that he also has always wanted chickens. The only reasonable thing to do was get some chickens. We have been collecting little pieces of advice for the last couple of weeks and turning to the internet when we get confused. 
We have officially started the growing season! I remember last spring it was cold and rainy and gross for the first month and a half I was working on the farm. Not this year; I think it got up to 90 degrees yesterday in the hoop house. John, Lissa, Grant, Christy and I spent the day starting tomatoes, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Since Minnesota has such a short growing season it is nice that we can start some crops early. Starting these crops also allows us to give them an ideal environment for germination. John set up a staging area for us inside the hoop house. We purchased bags of really good/nutrient dense dirt. Using this dirt will give the seeds the best shot for germinating and there are no weeds in this dirt...which is awesome! 
