You know the saying ”April showers bring May flowers?” I feel like it specifically applies to us here in the Wiregrass. I say that because April has really proven itself to be the month of rain. Now please don’t misunderstand, we love the rain. It is absolutely necessary for everything to grow, thrive, and be beautiful on the farm.
The issue is when the rain becomes excessive. Too much water can lead to all types of problems for farmers. Think of it this way…..many of us have had house plants right? You know the one’s that we’ve watered to death. Well in the same way excessive rain could lead to pests, disease, and death.
In previous years we’ve had to secure both our crops and our flocks from excessive rain by setting up rain barriers. You probably read “rain barrier” and immediately went to something elaborate or expensive. Well the good news is that it doesn’t have to be.
If you’re growing a garden this year, our suggestion is to start small. With just a few pieces of PVC and a tarp you can create your own simple rain barrier. These items are especially beneficial for crops already planted in the ground. Do you own a tent? Well set it up and put your plant babies under it. This is not a long term solution, but it will temporarily protect plants that you want to prevent from taking on too much rain. We go through so much to get this food to grow and the point is to eat it, not see it and all your hard work go to waste.
From the looks of recent news reports, growing a garden will be especially important this year. Fuel is high, materials are higher, and it will likely only get worse.
We would like to thank everyone for coming out to our Plant Sale. We enjoyed meeting you and appreciate your continued support. More plants will be listed over on our garden page soon. So stay tuned.
It’s Spring and for us that means root crops. We are expecting potatoes, onions, and more. Most of which will be stored and saved for use throughout the year. The onions we grew last Spring nearly made it to this season. We were pleasantly surprised and can’t wait to see what this crop does.
Since we farm small, it’s important that we farm smart. This means keeping costs low. Last year we purchased a few pieces of beautiful cedar that we were hoping to utilize for our sweet potatoes. Long story short….the potatoes never arrived and although the box was put together, we have yet to use it. Our hope was to convert all the boxes to cedar as our current ones have ran their course, but of course the cost of wood sky rocketed and we were faced with a real dilemma. After much consideration we decided to convert the boxes into a permanent no till garden space. We are proud and excited to tell you that this is the second one on the farm!! We converted our main garden a few years and its worked out so well. Removing the boxes has not only opened up more space, but the benefits of no till gardening are outstanding and we couldn’t be more happier about that.
We recently said goodbye to collards to make space for Summer crops. We’ve began transplanting cucumbers and will soon begin to add in many squash varieties, herbs, and tomatoes.
We previously shared with you that our flock is older and we weren’t expecting many eggs this season. Well to our surprise, the hens have so far proved us all the way wrong and are laying better than expected!! We will not be posting them on the site just yet, but you can be sure that we will have eggs at any events we participate in this year.
Speaking of events……we hope you will join us along with a few other vendors for Farmers Day at 2 The Olive Fruit on Saturday April 30th. The times are TBD, but please keep a watch here and our Facebook page for updates. This will be our first real event in over 2 years so we’re excited and nervous all at the same. We hope to see you there!
If you happen to be on the search for farm fresh goodness, we have some goodies in store for you with our Seasonal Farm Boxes. The best part about these boxes is that not only are they Certified Naturally Grown from organic seed, but that they are local! This means that you are keeping your hard earned dollars in your community, your farmers in business, and getting what’s in season. Every box we deliver is harvested to order. so it’s always fresh. Not to mention, the less produce has to travel the more taste and nutrients it retains.
As always we appreciate you being the best part of our farm and we will chat with you soon. Until then……