This week felt like fall. We got some rain, the smoke cleared, and there was a crispness to our sunny days. We also planted many of our winter transplants in the p-patch at just (we hope!) the right time – about 9 weeks before the Persephone Days. The story goes that Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, god of the underworld. Persephone’s mother, Demeter, was so distraught that she turned the Earth barren, creating winter. Zeus brokered a deal to split…
Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman are spouses, writers, and farmers who have been advocating for sustainable growing practices since the 1970’s. As we’ve investigated small scale farming, I quickly went from not knowing anything about them to referring to them casually by first name. For example, “Shouldn’t we try making soil blocks like Eliot?” Coleman is strong advocate for growing seedlings in soil blocks rather than plastic celled seedling trays. Once the roots begin to run out of room in…
Whenever I’ve planted seeds directly into the soil I’ve had a very low success rate. As we started contemplating farming, I worried that lacking this pretty basic skill could be a minor problem! I’ve since learned that most small-scale farms start their seeds in a greenhouse where conditions are friendlier and plants can get a head start when it’s still cold outside. Using hearty transplants (a la Singing Frogs Farms) also means that the plants have a good chance of shading…