April has arrived and with it, warmer days, longer to-do lists and some incredible sunsets! Spring is well underway here at the farm and suddenly our days are filled with seeding, weeding and tractor repairs/maintenance. We have a busy month ahead of us… field prep, building caterpillar tunnels, assembling new tractor implements (!!), organizing the farm before May hits and keeping on top of seeding. Ready, set, GO!
The greenhouses are planted, the prop house is filling up with seedlings and we are finalizing our planting calendar and field maps. The first round of outside greens, herbs and roots should be seeded next week, so we’re waiting for the field to dry back a little bit more so we can prepare beds.
We seeded the many brassica (think kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collards…) and lettuce trays earlier this week as cold air blew, and clouds came and went. These starts will make their way into the main field around the middle of May, which will be here before we know it! I’m taking note of how different this springs feels, physically, mentally and emotionally compared to last year. Seeding trays while looking out at a parched, brown landscape was unnerving and had us questioning a lot of things. But this year… seeding feels light and fun, and has me anxious and excited for the planting season.
I’m happy to report the cover crop is looking healthy and growing like mad. Last fall we seeded triticale throughout the fields to nourish and protect the soil. The cover crop germinated and grew a little before winter set in and was then nestled under a thick layer snow for almost 4 solid months, with our first storm arriving on December 1st. Since the snow melted a couple weeks ago, the triticale has really greened up, a green a feel like we didn’t get to see last year, and is growing and filling in quickly. Go cover crops, go!
Let the CSA Countdown BEGIN!
Our first CSA Harvest is less than 9 weeks away (scheduled for June 5th) !! The Summer CSA Shares are 90% SOLD OUT, so if you’re thinking about joining us for 18 weeks of fresh produce grown right here on our farm, I suggest signing up soon! We offer both Mancos CSA Shares and Telluride CSA Shares, you can check out all the details here.
We are approved to participate in the Double Up SNAP program. We have been able to accept and welcome SNAP purchases over the last couple years but are excited to now be part of the Double Up Program — where SNAP bucks go twice as far when buying our produce. We are welcoming SNAP participants to join our 2019 Summer CSA, normally a $600 value in Mancos will only cost SNAP Participants $300. Payments of $30 will be made the day of CSA Pickup on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month. You can read more details on our SNAP CSA Page and/or contact us if you have any questions!
The garlic is up! I feel like it is up a little later than normal, maybe due to the long winter and cold temps or due to the thick layer of mulch we have covering the beds. After the drought last year, we are trying to keep the ground covered as much as possible to conserve moisture and reduce weed pressure. Garlic is a long season crop, we plant it in October and harvest in July, so it’s in the ground for around 8+ months, making it a great crop to mulch heavily.
Alright, that’s all for now. Have a beautiful day!
