Getting the Growing Space Ready
We have been getting our field ready for the growing season. We have added amendments and fertilizer to the half an acre we plan on growing on this year. The other 3+ acres will be in a cover crop of…
Tag soil health
A New Home
Sorry for the radio silence, we have had a lot going on. All good things! At the end of December we purchased a 12 acre property with an old farmhouse, 4 tillable acres, dense woods, and access to the Choptank…
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…
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…
Climate Smart Agriculture
This week I had the chance to attend the California Climate and Agriculture Summit. The day was filled with farmers, scientist, and policy folks. The various workshops and panels dealt with the effects of climate change and strategies to improve…
Late Fall Field Prep
This week I began to remove the irrigation from the field. That involves a lot of pulling and dragging of drip-tape which then has to be rolled up and stored away. This is not my favorite job but it must…
Time to Buy Cover Crop Seed
Brrrr the mornings are cold out there. I wore my boots this week for the first time since the early spring. There is plenty to do in the field to stay warm, recently I’ve been harvesting popcorn, potatoes, tomatoes, kale,…
What Weeds Can Teach Us
The summer crops are growing and getting big but they are not ready to be harvested yet. We are still harvesting the wonderful spring crops: radishes, kale, collards, mustard greens, and more. Right now lots of the fall crops have sprouted. The potato plants have poked through the soil along with the pumpkin vines. I’m already imagining chilly fall nights at the dinner table with hearty stews filled with potatoes, pumpkins, and other tasty fall crops. We have been doing lots of weeding, with the warmer temperatures, the weeds are growing quickly trying to out compete the vegetable crops. Weeds are frustrating because they keep you busy in the field when you’d rather be planting, harvesting, or just plain relaxing. But weeds do tell you about your soil and growing conditions. For example at Quarter Acre Farm in certain parts of the field we have an abundance of dock,…
Prepping Soil
A major element in growing vegetables sustainably is soil health. We do many things to maintain and improve our soil, such as rotating crops and planting cover crop. To get a detailed picture of what our soil needs, we do…