Spring in our step

There’s a fog shroud snug around the house this morning. It’s hiding much of the forest, and also enveloping the little birds testing their sweet voices.

We’re three days out from spring! We’re expecting a cloud-covered 63 degrees this afternoon, and the extended forecast is rosy. Perfect time to transplant in the Big Tunnel. This afternoon, Silas and I will load up trays of baby lettuces, and test out the new landscape fabric.

Jason is burning holes in the new landscape fabric. The sight of this material, and those neatly-spaced holes makes our hearts pound with excitement! We bid thee farewell, weeds!

After his day job, Jay heads up to the farm to make repairs and prep for the season. He’s been familiarizing himself with the landscape fabric that arrives on our doorstep in big rolls. As the season progresses, this fabric will cover most of the garden beds.

This change is nothing short of revolutionary for the farm. When you’re zero-spray, weeds have the upper hand, and take a physical and mental toll. But not this year. Season 7 will be unlike anything we’ve experienced.

DEER FENCE UPDATE

The fence builder did a walk-through of the farm earlier this month. He says he’ll have the fence done around April 1, which is just in time for when we start planting outside the tunnels.

HERE AT HOME

Jay’s back at it with growing pea shoots, sunflower shoots, and microgreens on a weekly basis. Since early February, he’s also seeded cold-hardy crops for the season, like Asian greens and kale.

Jason’s back to seeding shoots and microgreens every week. We sell these from our website, and also to local shops. Currently, you can find our shoots and micros at Core Goods, 219 Seneca St., Oil City.

This winter, he and Silas took on a new endeavor: maple syrup. They tapped six trees and collect about a 5-gallon bucket of sap every evening. We started boiling it down last weekend, using an outdoor setup with a propane tank. It takes around 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of syrup.

When he’s not peering into his sap buckets, Silas is zipping from one part of the yard and woods to another, building Legos, and completing kindergarten lessons. It’s been a privilege to be a passenger on his journey toward reading. Over the winter, Jay and Silas became hooked on the adventures of Harry Potter. They’ll have much to discuss with Silas’s aunt and uncle when we’re finally able to all get together.

We’re also enjoying the Gary Paulsen books. We actually haven’t read Hatchet, yet, but we’ve read several of the other books in the Brian’s Saga series. These are right up Silas’s alley, and I’m enjoying them, too.

~ Stella

Entering 2021 grateful & excited!

This is a view of the southeastern block of the farm, taken last spring. This year, the entire farm will be protected by a deer fence, thanks to funding from Crawford County.

Last summer, there was a day when Jason returned from the farm, and sank down on the living room floor, barely able to speak. He was overcome by the discovery of overnight deer devastation to the gardens.

This morning, as I stood in the Crawford County Courthouse, and received a check for $20,000, which will build the farm’s deer fence, it was me who could barely speak. This time, it was because of overwhelming gratitude.

Last year, Crawford received CARES Act money to help businesses during the pandemic, and the county commissioners set aside a portion of funding for agriculture losses and expenses. For our farm, this money will help unlock the land’s true potential with the fence and a second long-term investment.

As for the fence, it will secure about 4 acres of gardens. Without it, the farm is not sustainable. For the past two seasons, deer damage was constant and costly. The fence will be 7 ½ feet tall, and, with proper care, will likely stand for generations.

The second investment will come in the form of landscape fabric. As part of our commitment to the health of the land, we don’t use herbicides, so all weeds must be dealt with by hand. On the scale we farm, weed control is nearly impossible for two people, especially when one has a full-time job off the farm. About $5,000 worth of landscape fabric will cover 60 of our 125-foot beds. It’ll also blanket the pathways, a constant source of frustration when it comes to weeds. That will leave 30 beds without fabric. These will be covered with straw, which helps with weeds and also discourages pests like squash bugs.

As for the fabric, we’ve read it can easily last 10 years, and there are farms that have used the same pieces for more than two decades. When the fabric arrives this winter, we’ll make jigs and burn holes for the transplants.

Some of the fabric will be kept intact, and laid over rows after harvest. After a little more than a week, the fabric helps break down the remnants of the former crop, creating soft, rich soil that won’t require the tiller’s tines.

As you can imagine, these two purchases will be life-changing. There are no words to completely capture how grateful we are for this funding. In these especially hard times for those who govern, we’d like to personally thank county commissioners Francis Weiderspahn, Eric Henry, and Chris Soff, as well as those who helped with the process. With so many families and businesses suffering, we accept this opportunity with humble hearts. – Stella

The sun rising over the farm’s big hill is a sight we hope to see for many, many years. It’s a gift to work this land.

A new farm era

With the world locked in this global heartache, we’re grateful for our health and peaceful home. Like you, we know many people on the front lines of the pandemic. Maybe you are one of those people. The planet owes you all a debt of gratitude.

In the world’s current state, happy, personal news can be hard to reconcile. We’ve had two such pieces of farm news in the last few days, and we still haven’t fully processed how they’ll change our future.

A BIT OF BACKSTORY

Before the pandemic, our goal was to eliminate the farm’s “bad” debt (high interest credit cards) in 2020, and earn the first owner’s draw in the farm’s six years. When the virus arrived, bringing so much uncertainty, we knew that an owner’s draw (as in actual money in our personal bank account) wasn’t going to happen. We made adjustments to the season to make sure we didn’t run into serious trouble in the year ahead. In March, we decided to drop the CSA size from around 70 members to 50. That way, if one of us got sick or hurt, the other spouse could handle the CSA alone. In early spring, we also decided to move forward under the assumption that all farmers markets would be closed. Some markets went on as planned, opening in late spring. Others waited until mid summer. Our farm develops a specific plan every winter before the season begins. The decision about how much to plant must be made then, when several thousand dollars worth of seeds are ordered.

Even though the season was going to look completely different than expected, we remained committed to paying off the farm’s bad debt. If we continued making the minimum payments on these debts, we’d be trapped under them for more than 20 years. Even a few thousand dollars of high interest credit card debt is crippling. It snuffs out any chance of achieving your full potential, or even coming close to it.

We know this from experience in our personal life. About two years ago, we applied some of Dave Ramsey’s tactics to get out of debt. We used what he dubbed the “debt snowball.” To carry out this strategy, you pay off debts in order of smallest to largest. Once bills and basic needs are fulfilled, every last penny goes toward repaying debt until its completely squashed. It may not sound like much fun, but the momentum you pick up with this method becomes exhilarating, and, ultimately, freeing.

The strategy worked so well in our personal life that it was clear it could work for the farm, too. One by one, we eliminated credit card debts. As soon as one card was gone, we funneled all available money toward the next card. Every cent of farm money in Season 6 went toward either farm expenses or debt repayment. When you can see light at the end of the tunnel, you don’t walk, you sprint. Every bag of pea shoots, every lettuce head, every single tomato, got us that much closer to freedom.

Then, on New Year’s Eve, we made our last debt payment.

Admittedly, the big moment itself was oddly anticlimactic. We clicked a button on the screen and then just sat there, looking at the standard “thank you for your payment” message. It wasn’t until a few days later, that it really started to sink in. The money from the next leaf of lettuce we cut, will not go toward some faceless debtor. It will go to our family’s farm. As I think about it now, there is a feeling in my chest that I can’t even describe. It’s like bursting out of a dark tunnel into full sunshine.

IS THE FARM 100% DEBT FREE?

No, it’s not. While our credit card debt is wiped out, we still have a low-interest loan from the Farm Service Agency. This loan paid for our walking tractor, two caterpillar tunnels, and other essential equipment. We started the farm with $0 in 2015. We sold a few CSA memberships to cover the cost of seeds and a handful of other expenses. To ramp up the operation in Season 3, we took out the loan. We pay around $3,000 a year toward this loan, and have three years to go. We structure our annual budget to include this amount, and while we wouldn’t rule out accelerating our payments in the future, it doesn’t crush us like the high-interest cards. Without this loan, the farm wouldn’t exist as it does today.

THE FARM WILL NEVER LOOK THE SAME

Just the day before we took our credit card balance down to zero, we received a life-changing email.

If you follow the farm, you know we’ve dealt with thousands of dollars of deer devastation for the past two seasons. You can read more about that here. The time had come to put up a deer fence. We needed a 7 1/2-foot enclosure around the entire farm.

In the past, the fence’s price tag was too much for the farm. However, we knew we were on the brink of paying off the farm’s debt and had no other major projects planned, so it was time to find a way. To raise the funds, we opened up CSA memberships early. We also had some incredibly generous folks donate to the farm. These people will hold a special place in our hearts forever. Over the summer, an opportunity to recoup revenue lost in 2020 also presented itself, and we applied.

On the day before New Year’s Eve, I opened an email that made me nearly tip over with joy. It was word that our application for funding was approved.

The funding needs to go through a formal vote process in the next few weeks, so we’ll wait to say any more for now. Provided it’s approved, this money, CSA memberships, and those donations will cover the fence and other changes to bring in a new era for the farm. We couldn’t be more hopeful, humbled, or grateful. — Stella

I picked our last Mountain Magic tomatoes in the Big Tunnel in December. What a treat it was to slice fresh tomatoes while Christmas music played.

We’re taste-testing recipes for the 2021 CSA. We love sharing new dishes with CSA members.

We hope the new year brings safety and peace to your home in 2021.

A deer fence - the key to the farm's future

It’s time to thrive! Next year, for Season 7, we’re enclosing the gardens in a deer fence.

A choice has to be made for next year. Either give up the farm, or build a deer fence.

We love this farm, and the way of life it provides, so the answer is clear. Let’s build the fence.

The price tag for the project is about $13,000. We’ll enclose 4 acres of gardens, fruit trees, and berries with a 7 1/2-foot fence. The cost is what’s stopped us before, but now we’re determined to make it happen.

THE TOLL DEER TAKE

If you’ve had a garden or farm - large or small - you know the damage animals can do, from the tiniest mouse or chipmunk stealing seeds or eating seedlings, to deer or even bear devouring and trampling produce.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, a buck weighing 125 to 250 pounds needs from 4,000 to 6,000 calories a day. That means a single deer will eat 4 to 10 pounds of vegetation in a day.

In Season 2, we relocated the farm to its current Dingman Road location. For whatever reason, deer didn’t bother the gardens. Seasons 3 and 4 didn’t experience much critter interference, either. Then, in Season 5, the deer discovered our little farm, nestled far back in the woods. Our house is on one side of Dingman, and the farm is a short distance up the road, set back in the woods. On three sides, it’s surrounded by forest, with a cornfield framing in the fourth side.

That year, we planted nearly 1,000 feet of peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes, to provide for our CSA, farmers markets, and retail sales. The deer ate it all, chomping down plants before they even had a chance to produce, or eating ripe fruit. There were some things they didn’t touch, and those carried us through the season, but took a huge bite out of our farmers market and retail sale profits. The same happened with broccoli, cabbages, beans, and peas. The most devastating loss was lettuce. In an attempt to discourage the deer, we fenced in a small section of the gardens with an electric fence. It seemed to help.

This season, we expanded the electric fence. A farmer friend of ours warned that it wouldn’t be enough. Eventually, the deer would risk the sting of the fence, or avoid it all together by jumping over it, or darting through it. And that’s what happened.

Once inside the fence, the deer even venture in our high tunnels. Earlier this summer, we caught one actually inside our Big Tunnel. The door was shut, so it leaped in through a roll-down side. It crashed against the plastic a few times, tearing holes in the wall, before jumping out again.

Deer can destroy months of work in minutes. Jason starts everything from seed. So thousands of seeds begin life in our basement, under grow lights, which can be costly to run, until they’re ready to move to the propagation greenhouse. Here, they get a little bigger and are watered throughout the day. Then, it’s time to transplant them into farm soil, and tend them there. Here’s just one example of the deer toll this season. Jason transplanted 600 feet of squash. Within a few days, deer trampled or ate almost every single plant.

IS THERE ANOTHER OPTION WHEN IT COMES TO DEER CONTROL?

Short answer: yes. Farmers who are experiencing crop damage are permitted to shoot deer. However, it’s not as simple as it sounds. Here’s a link to a summary of the rules compiled by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau: https://www.pfb.com/images/brochures/FarmerRightsObligations20.pdf

Attempting to control your deer problem with hunting is also time consuming. Jason, the person who would do the hunting on our farm, works a full-time job off farm, and works in the gardens on his evenings and weekends. There isn’t spare time for hunting and dealing with a deceased deer during the growing season. Not to mention, currently, we have several fawns raiding the gardens.

AND WE LIKE DEER

That’s the other thing. We respect the beauty and athleticism of deer. We have no desire to spend the rest of our farming years at war with them. We remember watching out a window with our son as six deer darted around our backyard, playing what looked like a game of tag. It was a once-in-a-lifetime sight.

While we choose to eat a plant-based diet, we respect the rights of hunters who want to provide meat for their household by hunting it lawfully. We’re encouraged when we see hunters parked along our road in the fall. It’s a sign that the deer population will be controlled in a way that will provide for a family. We see too many deer carcasses strewn on roadsides.

Just the other day, as I was leaving the farm, there was a fawn watching me. After everything we’ve been through with deer, the sight still brought a smile to my face. Looking into the eyes of a peaceful, wild creature is a rare and moving experience.

We actually enjoy and respect deer. They’re graceful, powerful creatures. We just don’t like seeing them in our gardens. PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION PHOTO

WILL THE FENCE BE TALL ENOUGH?

Deer are amazing jumpers. They’re “capable of clearing obstacles up to 9 feet high or 25 feet wide,” according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Deer can also run at 40 mph for brief spurts, and can go 25 mph for longer distances.

However, based on our research, deer seem to steer clear of 7 1/2 foot tall fences designed to mess with their depth perception.

We spoke at length with a company that specializes in deer fences, and they recommended 7 1/2 feet. The most reliable source of information was the vegetable grower who warned us about the futility of a low electric fence. His gardens are situated on the edge of state gamelands. Deer laid waste to his produce, putting him in the same position we’re in now: take a drastic measure, or quit. He put up a 7 1/2-foot fence, and never had a deer breach. We’re planning to use the same company that did this farmer’s fence, and we’ll be using the same design.

TIME TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

As stated before, money is the big obstacle when it comes to a fence. For those interested in small farm finances, we’ll go into detail about this matter.

For seasons 1 through 5, every last penny earned by the farm went toward farm expenses (payroll, insurance, compost, seeds, etc.) We also pay about $3,000 per year on a government loan that we used to purchase high tunnels and a walking tractor. This loan is low-interest, and was crucial to our ability to farm. Before the walking tractor, we did everything by hand. Given the scale of our farm, this was not sustainable.

So, for five years, all farm-generated cash was reinvested in the farm, or used to pay debt.

This season, we fully expected our first-ever owner’s draw. (Yes, we have not yet pocketed a single dollar of farm money for our family.) Then, the pandemic hit the United States in March. Not knowing what the coming months would hold, we scaled back. We decided not to hire anyone this season, and to assume there would be no farmers markets. Our business model is such that we grow specific amounts of produce. We enter each season with a detailed plan. We cannot just decide to go to a farmers market in June or July. That decision must be made when we’re still seeding in the basement. We also lowered our CSA membership from 70 members to 50, because we were worried that if one of us got sick or injured, the farm’s size would be unmanageable for one person.

All that said, the CSA memberships sold out, as they have every year, and we kept costs to a bare minimum. We continued to funnel money toward the debt that we classify as “bad,” and we’re happy to say that we are hopeful it will be paid off in just a few months.

So that means: CSA money will no longer be required for debt payments. We also have no other major infrastructure needs this fall or next spring. These two factors combined, mean it’s time to go ahead with the fence project.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

First of all, thank you for taking the time to read this. It’s a bit cathartic to put it all into words, and it means a lot to us that you care.

Normally, we open up CSA memberships in late fall, but we’re accepting members for the 2021 season now to raise the $13,000 needed for the fence. You can pay for your share in full, or put down a $75 deposit to save your spot in 2021.

To learn more about the CSA, click here.

To join online, click here.

For information to pay by check, click here.

If you support zero-spray, family farms, and want to donate to the farm, click here.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this. It’s because of people like you that this little family farm exists. Jason had a conversation with another farmer the other day. This man pointed out that making a living from farming is hard, but it sure does make one amazing life.

— Stella & Jason

Plot Twist Farm

Back to the gardens for Season 6!

The living room stove is radiating pleasant warmth, and no matter what’s swirling outside the window, spring is undeniably on its way.

This weekend, we’ll put in our first true gardening hours since autumn. We’ll clean out the high tunnels, prepping for spring farmers markets and the CSA, which starts in early June.

However, we haven’t been entirely out of the farming game these past few months. For the first time in the farm’s history, we grew and sold produce year-around. Our last farmers market was in Meadville, Dec. 7. We took a holiday break, and then we were back at it Jan. 15, selling to Core Goods, in Oil City.

In February, we added Titusville Market Square and Edinboro Market to our winter sales.

In 2019, we had 70 CSA members. This number brought in the revenue needed to support the farm season, and, it felt comfortable. So, this season, we’ll hold the line at 70 households. We have plenty of CSA spots open at all drop-off locations (Erie, Meadville, Titusville, Guys Mills, and Troy Township), and we’d love to be your farmers.

With our winter crops nearly sold out, we’re itching for spring. Jason fills seed trays nightly to keep up with a non-stop planting schedule. His careful planning, and timely seeding let us hit our mark every CSA week.

It’s Season 6 for this little farm, and we can’t wait to share the harvest with you.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the zero-spray eats we’ll be growing this year.

*** Lettuce

If you love having fresh-cut greens ready in your fridge every week, you’ll certainly appreciate this season’s boxes. Last year, we included lettuce in almost every box, and that’s the goal again. You can look forward to an abundance of tender, homegrown greens.

Silas shows off Plot Twist lettuce. We aim to have lettuce in every weekly CSA box.

*** Blacktail Mountain Watermelons

Last summer, we took a step closer to mass watermelon production. Timing watermelons for the entire CSA is tricky. We had several waves of melons, but never quite enough to supply the whole CSA at once. That’s our goal this year. If you tried Blacktail Mountain watermelons from one of our market stands, you know it has a bright, sweet flavor that’s uniquely delicious.

Jason and Silas enjoyed monitoring the watermelons for ripeness. At first, it was a guessing game, then we got the hang of it. Blacktail Mountain watermelons grow well in our climate. They have a unique, sweet taste, with citrus notes.

*** Violet Sparkle Pepper

This is an heirloom sweet pepper from Russian. It’s noted for its beauty and flavor. These heart-shaped peppers have a shiny, purple flesh. We’ve read that the compact plants are so full of pretty fruits that they’re like ornaments on a tree.

Aren’t they beautiful? We love the wonderful crunch of fresh sweet peppers. PHOTO by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

*** Orange and Pink Jazz Tomatoes

We like experimenting with tomatoes, and this beefsteak is new to us. These babies get big! They often weigh in at a full pound. They’re full of flavor, and even have peach notes.

We’re excited to try Jazz heirlooms. We make a meal out of fresh tomatoes in the summer, with our favorite dressings and feta cheese. PHOTO by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

*** Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

These heirlooms we love! As the name states, they originated with the Cherokee Indians. They have a dusky, purple-pink hue, like a summer sunset. We can’t keep these on our market stands.

Cherokee Purple is one of our favorite heirloom tomatoes. We like broiling sliced tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, and salt, and serving them over pasta. PHOTO by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

*** Toronjina Tomatoes

These orange cherry tomatoes grow well in high tunnels. We tested out (and loved) its red sister tomato last season. This seed produces a nice, plump golden-orange fruit. Don’t worry, Sungold fans – we’ll grow those, too!

We’ll plant Toronjina this year in our big high tunnel. We tested its red sister tomato, and were pleased with the results. PHOTO by Johnny Seeds

*** Ground Cherries

How do we describe these magical little fruits? We sold them last year at our market stands. If someone came along and recognized them, they scooped up a pint container immediately. Some remembered the taste of ground cherries from childhood. It’s a flavor you don’t forget. Ground cherries are wrapped in a papery husk. Inside, there’s a golden jewel of a fruit – sweet and citrus, with a dynamite crunch. It’s like a combination of a cherry tomato and a pineapple. One of my favorite memories of the summer was taking a break from farm work, sitting in the summer sun with Silas, and eating ground cherries until we were full.

Ground cherries are ripe when they fall to the earth. They’re protected from the elements by a papery husk. Inside, there’s a juicy, crunchy fruit that is best described as cherry tomato meets pineapple.

These are just a few highlights. So many delicious eats will spring from Plot Twist soil this season. We’re excited to watch the garden wonder unfold, and we’d love to have you along for the fun again.

Enjoy these last days of winter, and have a wonderful spring. Hope to see you in June!

Stella

Plot Twist Farm

See you soon!

Flowers, greens, and chicks - May, you're looking mighty fine!

We hope you’re enjoying this beautiful month! Come take a walk with us around the farm.

Over the weekend, Angelica tidied up parts of the farm with the flail mower, but she saved this pretty patch of wildflowers. It’s amazing how many wild plants are edible and useful, like wild mustard. So many lovely yellows and purples this time of year. We try to preserve as many wild plants as we can around the gardens.

Here’s what the Big Tunnel looks like in early May. On the far right, is head lettuce. Beside the lettuce, are two rows of peas. Our first pea attempt didn’t germinate well. We replanted the peas, and this time soaked the seeds in water for a few days. The other rows have tomatoes, beets, carrots, and peppers.

This is Cat 1. On the far right, we have red Russian kale. Last night, we sauteed it with minced garlic, butter, and Dijon mustard. We thought it was delicious, although Silas requested that I “never make this again.” Ha ha! Beside the kale is baby Swiss chard. Or, I should say, “was” baby Swiss chard. It was eaten the night this photo was taken. This is the second time our chard planting has been mowed down by a critter. We have chard seeded, and we’ll keep trying. In the third row, we have green curly kale. (My favorite for soups and salads.) Then, there’s broccoli under the row cover.

And here’s Cat 2. In here, we have lettuce, radishes, peppers, and basil.

This is the Little Tunnel.

We spent a day weeding, composting, mulching, and mowing our orchard. We also planted three new fruit trees: pear, nectarine, and peach. Jason and Silas planted 15 pine trees along the border between our farm and a neighboring field. We also added a few American redbuds. Some tiny paw-paw trees will go in the ground when they get a little more size to them.

Another view of the orchard.

Looking good, Little Tree!

Jason worked as a cook at Family Ties, in Townville, from age 16 until his mid 20s. In those years, he learned to cook from some wonderful people. We’ve been craving the farm’s greens. This omelette is filled with PTF spinach, green onions, and chives. The eggs came from Grandma Darlene’s chickens.

Speaking of Jason, here he is leading his flock.

A word about the chickens. We purchased a dozen Barred Rock chicks this spring as a means of bug control on the farm. While I wanted their help with the insects, I wasn’t looking forward to caring for them. In the early weeks in the house, they made a disastrous mess of our basement, with feathers, pine chips, and dust coating everything. However, I found them delightful. They are cute and comical, and I’ll actually be sorry to see them leave the yard and relocate to the farm. While I’ve been a vegetarian for about five years, I fully support those who raise animals for slaughter on farms that treat the land and its creatures with dignity, as well as those who hunt. But being around these ladies makes it pretty much impossible for me to even fathom eating a well-cared for chicken.

*Chased them out of my tulips seconds after finishing this post. Ha!

Earth Day on the farm

Happy Earth Day to you!

Here’s a look around the farm.

This nest is low to the ground, but we’re hoping it goes well for all involved.

Jason weed-whacks around the berries. Angelica spent her whole day hand weeding about 300 feet of berries, then I finished off the last 100 feet in the evening. Before weed-whacking, Jason ran the flail mower down the pathways. After planting the berry canes last season, we didn’t have time to properly tend to them. However, this ended up being a blessing in disguise, because the tangled mess protected the baby bushes from deer. This spring, the bushes look fantastic. It’s a mix of red and golden raspberries, and a few blackberries.

This year, we’re maximizing our use of high tunnel space. We planted lettuce down the sides of one row, and seeded radishes in between. Just so you know, Silas walks exactly like his father.

Hot peppers and sweet peppers in the Big Tunnel.

This is year No. 2 for the rhubarb. We have 100 feet of it. I’m curious to try recipes for rhubarb that are savory, rather than sweet. (Although it is delicious sweet for sure!) Looking forward to the day our CSA boxes have lovely bunches of rhubarb.

Bright curly green kale in soup - can’t wait!

The broccoli is thriving, except when a critter chomps it down. Our trap hasn’t caught the culprit yet. We added row cover tonight, but we know that groundhogs aren’t easily intimidated.

French breakfast radishes that are almost ready to harvest.

Green onions going strong after several cuttings.

Evening sun lighting up salad heads in the Little Tunnel.

Mommy and Silas.

For the record, I’m actively trying not to wear my squinty concentration face (pictured here) so much in 2019.

First major planting! Almost 1,000 feet of deliciousness

It was a great couple of days on the farm.

On Saturday, Angelica and I redid Caterpillar 2 (the one dismantled by the wind last week), then Jason helped us fix Caterpillar 1’s wind damage.

After those issues were set right, Caterpillar 1 was filled with broccoli, Swiss chard, and kale transplants.

On Sunday morning, we planted in the Big Tunnel for the first time ever! We started with lettuce and pac choi transplants. Then, Angelica and I planted the first tomatoes of the season. (Returning CSA members will be happy to know that sungold cherry tomatoes went in the Big Tunnel! These bright, orange, cherry tomatoes are fantastic for snacking and cooking. They taste like sunshine.)

Doesn’t this Asian green look crunchy?!

Later in the day, Angelica practiced using the seeders. (We have a Jang and an Earthway.) Carrots, peas, beets, and French breakfast radishes were seeded in the Big Tunnel. Last spring, we spent hours weeding and trellising several hundred feet of peas, only to have the deer munch the vines down to stumps overnight. However, with the Big Tunnel, they should be safe. This was just our first major planting of the season. Many more to come! - Stella

Here’s the weekend rundown:

Carrots: 90 feet

Lettuce and pac choi: 95 feet total (Pac choi is an Asian green. Tasty in stir-frys and soups.)

Red Russian kale: 100 feet

Green curly kale: 100 feet

Swiss chard: 40 feet

Broccoli: 100 feet

Red cherry tomatoes: 80 feet

Sungold cherry tomatoes: 45 feet

Peas: 90 feet

Beets: 90 feet

French breakfast radishes: 90 feet

Baby broccoli under a Caterpillar tunnel.

Friends who would know - is this a silvery checkerspot?

UPDATE: CSA member Dianne checked with her husband, Rich, a zoologist. This butterfly is an Eastern Comma, one of the first butterflies to arrive for the season. Thanks, Rich! This particular Eastern Comma was rescued by Jason from under plastic.

Few repairs, now time to get cranking!

We were delayed in getting the second plastic side up on the big high tunnel, so a day of prolonged 20 mph wind Wednesday yanked the man/tractor doors off. The wind was relentless on the hill for about 12 hours. The sound of the gusts beating on the plastic really put your nerves on edge.

The wind also whipped the plastic off Caterpillar No. 2, and partially undid Caterpillar No. 1. While the day was a bummer, it’s nothing that can’t be fixed/redone. Like anything else, when you have a chance to do something all over again, you usually come up with ways to do it better.

The good news is, the big high tunnel was ultimately fine. We put up a temporary cover on the door, and Jason and Angelica worked until dark Thursday to get the second crank-down side up. (I was home Thursday afternoon with a sick little boy.)

Here’s one of the crank-down sides. Metal poles are screwed together, and shoved through a pocket in the plastic. Pulleys are fastened down the length of the side, and there’s a winch in the tunnel.

I untangled the Caterpillar No. 2 mess with little trouble, and finished shoveling the raised beds in the big high tunnel. When I tapped out to take care of the little sick patient, Angelica stepped in to spread mushroom compost on all of the big high tunnel rows.

We have eight raised beds in the big high tunnel. We shoveled these by hand because the walking tractor wouldn’t have been able to squeeze that many rows in this space. That’s mushroom compost spread on the rows.

So we are now ready to plant in there! And that’s good because there’s a lot ready to go in the ground. As you can see here:

Kale, Swiss chard, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, and other greens are ready to go in the high tunnels ASAP. These trays were started in our basement, under grow lights. They spend a few days in the propagation tunnel to “harden off” before being planted. That’s what’s shown here.

2 girls and a grandpa put up caterpillar No. 2

Last Thursday, knowing that deep winter would be returning for a few days, we hoped to get the second caterpillar high tunnel up.

We’d put the plastic and rope on the first caterpillar the day before, with a team of Angelica, Grandpa Gary, Jason and me. As with a lot of farm projects, we all followed Jason’s lead.

So, on Thursday morning, when Angelica asked what was in store for the day, I sheepishly said we’d have to wait until Jason returned home from work to do caterpillar No. 2.

In the past four farm seasons, it’s only been Jason and me in the early spring. Angelica came aboard last year, but not until the middle of May, so this is the first time we’ve had someone here to help with early farm projects. I guess this realization truly sunk in for the first time that morning.

The weather forecast was perfect for high tunnel work, with almost no wind and just a chance of light rain. Angelica was here to help, and Grandpa Gary was home, too. So what were we waiting for?

So, a short time later, Angelica and I took turns with the sledge hammer, pounding in the stakes that help hold the caterpillar plastic in place. Then, under a light rain, we moved the step ladder down each hoop, tethering the whole caterpillar together with a long strap. When we discovered we hadn’t left ourselves enough strap at the end, we traveled the length of the caterpillar once more, one hoop at a time.

Grandpa Gary took a break from cutting fire wood to help with the plastic. The plastic is about 120 feet long. During this stage of resurrecting a caterpillar tunnel, you became well acquainted with the plastic’s green and brown sludge, and rotten fish smell. It was a perfectly still day, so pulling the plastic up and over the hoops took a few bursts of all-out strength from everyone, but was relatively easy.

When the plastic was on, Grandpa Gary returned to the fire wood, and Angelica and I hurried to tie it down with rope.

We made fun of the wind when it kicked up a few minutes too late, fluttering harmlessly under plastic that was already securely in place.

We’d accomplished an important annual task ahead of schedule, and freed up Jason’s time to get something else done later in the day. Saving a few hours here and there is a big deal on the farm in the spring.

This week, our mountain of compost is expected to arrive. With Angelica’s help, I’ll be able to spread the compost in the high tunnels twice as fast. Then, we’ll transplant flat after flat of kale, broccoli, Swiss chard, and lettuce - all of our cold-hardy plantings.

In the farm’s pre-season, after Angelica and I work during the day, Jason will head up to the farm after his day job. This time of year doesn’t determine the farm’s overall seasonal success, but it certainly helps to start off on the right foot.

The two caterpillar high tunnels. You can see where they get their name.