2007 Season Wrap up

I just recently finished up harvesting the last of the greenhouse tomatoes and getting the old crop residues cleaned out. The spent spaghnum moss gave me some nice organic material to add to the small garden where the new cold frame will go, as well I had thrown in several red worms in each pot which had done a good job of breaking down the spaghnum and other amendments into worm castings, much of which was still fresh and will provide a nice additional boost to the plants in the small garden. The Lost River Market and Deli (our local co-op) really kept me pretty busy with the winter tomato crop, greens, turnips and so forth this winter, I wish I already had up the other greenhouse and cold frame to continue to supply through the winter but next year I plan on plowing right through the cold months of the year to deliver products.

I finally finished up harvesting the worm castings for the '07 season as well and ended up with about fifty, five gallon buckets that I will put to good use come spring, there was still a lot of finished material in the beds but was entirely to wet to harvest so I just added sever inches of new bedding, some food, and a little bit of water, I won't water again until I get ready to do some quick harvesting in spring when I plan on extracting most of the bedding and completely replacing it (unless of course they start to get too dry). I also sold a few lbs of bulk red worms for composting to some good friends of mine, I'm hoping people are starting to catch on to the great services that these little composters provide.

I'm currently taking a day or two to devote to working on my research papers for '07 which I will hopefully be posting soon and to plan for next seasons crops, rotations, fertilizer, plant sales, worm sales and all of those things.

After my little break I will be starting in on finishing the new greenhouse and getting the new cold frame up, it will take a nice chunk of the little bit of the money that I have out of my pocket, but thus that is the way that a new business runs for a few years anyhow and having the two new greenhouses up for next season will bring in a nice bit of cash for the business, farm, and my family. In 2008 I plan on finally having the capability to run for 12 straight months a year un-interrupted with field crops, greens, root crops, and tomatoes and may even start a winter CSA.

People have slowed down asking about the CSA here around the holidays but I believe the interest will pick right back up where it left off in the new year, or at least I hope it does.

Another project that I need to complete before planting time is restoring the old Ford Golden Jubilee tractor as well as the cub caddette (we use it to ferry around plants and supplies on a trailer) that my grandfather owned. In both cases we are looking at a new clutch and complete rebuild, needless to say, money I don't currently have but will find one way or the other.

The seed bank has been gradually growing throughout these winter months, filling up with both commercial seed and traded seed all waiting in que for their turn at open soil, this year indeed will see the most diversity my little market farm has ever known, exspecially in the breeding plots. I've also been putting my mind to doing some good research on organic amendments, plant breeding, natural selection and so forth, knowledge which will definetly come in handy in the fields of '08.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a Happy New Year!