Friends and CSA Members,
Mike and I have been planning the upcoming farm season since the middle of last summer. We began by gathering data, what grew well, what we wanted more of, where we had gaps between plantings, what people loved, what people were not crazy about.
In the slower months this develops from a series of notes, impressions and figures into a concrete plan. We chose what to plant, when, how often, and how much. Crops varieties are paired with number of bed feet. We count backwards from the last possible frost date. The corners of our seed catalogues become worn with frequent flipping through. In the end, I have a series of spreadsheets which tell us what seed to buy and when to plant it. I love forming this plan, holding the balance of the farm in my head and tweaking it until it feels just right.
Now we begin the subtle dance of enacting the plan, bending it around the realties of temperature, soil moisture, and time. The first page of our seeding schedule has all been planted and checked off. Seedlings have been started in our new germination chamber, moved to our glass green house, and now moved on to the big greenhouse. Seeds we planted in our low tunnels in February are geminating on sunny days, peas, scallions,wisps of carrots, and electric green lettuce
We have a great season planned and it feels like it will be an early one. We hope you will join our CSA again this year and share in all the happenings of the farm. Click 2016 CSA Sign Up for an application! As always, feel free to e-mail or call us with any questions.
Your Farmers,
Ellen Poggi and Mike Libsch
New Leaf Farm 