Hello, Fall
Today is the fall equinox the sun is hanging much lower in the sky, there is a crispness to the morning air, and the daylight turns to twilight much sooner than before. It seems too early for all these autumnal…
It Has Been A Year
Last July we moved from Sonoma, California back home to Maryland. After farming for over ten years in arid California I have been relearning how to grow with rain, humidity, and hot nights (and days). I knew it would be…
Weedin’ Tomatoes
Lately my main task has been weeding the tomatoes. Since my field was previously fallow and mowed regularly for years, the main weed is grass. Or shall I say the main weeds are various grasses, from my hours spent with these…
Tomatoes and Pumpkins and Winter Squash, Oh My
With a period of sunny and (mostly) dry weather I was able to get in the field and do a little maintenance work on my tomatoes. I weeded around each of the plants and I used my broadfork to aerate…
Working in the Field
A few weeks back I rototilled the field and applied the amendments recommended by my soil test. I added a chicken-manure based pelleted fertilizer and layed out the drip irrigation. Then on April 30th I transplanted approximately 400 tomatoes. Each…
Spring at the Farmers’ Market
Seedlings are ready and I have been at the farmers market for two weeks now. I have a wide range of vegetable seedlings available including a few herbs (dill and cilantro) and flowers (borage, marigolds, nasturtiums, and sunflowers). Right now…
Seeding is in Full Swing
All my seeds have arrived! Every year I order from two of my favorite companies Fedco Seeds Co-op and High Mowing Organic Seeds. This year I also ordered a few things from Johnny’s Seeds and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. I am excited…
Getting the Growing Season Planned Out
I found a small parcel of land to lease for the 2019 season. My plan for this season is to stay small so that I can get accustomed to the Eastern Shore’s growing season. I will be growing a wide…
Reflecting Back
There has been lots of change this year, most of it planned and expected but surprising and exciting nonetheless. I started this year with the decision to take a sabbatical, to step back from my 10 year long farming operation…
Meeting our New Ag Community
One of the main reasons that we moved from California to Maryland was land access. After a decade of farming in California, I could not get secure long term land access on leased land. The prospect of purchasing farmland in…
Recipes for September
It’s that time of great agricultural abundance, autumn. A time when I normally have loads of pumpkins, winter squash, and I’m still eating my own farm grown tomatoes. But not this year. Since I’m on a sabbatical from farming, I…
Getting Settled
After a whirlwind move we are finally settling in to our new apartment in Easton, MD. We moved in just over a month ago but its been hard to catch my breath, let alone get into a normal routine. We…