Update as of January 27:
Sales have reached fifty percent of our goal this season...about the usual pace of sales. If you are considering purchasing a share of the 2017 harvest, be sure to contact me soon.
Unusually for this time of year is the number of new customers that have signed on. Welcome to our table!
The first big task of 2017 is finished. The wind falls are cleaned up, ensuring that I'll be able to drive in here come spring.
Tasks like this have a way of getting bigger as the work progresses. As one tree was cleared out, surrounding trees revealed their damage, usually in the form of dangerously hanging branches and split trunks. In the world of chainsaw swingers, these are known as "widow makers". The sort of word that will get even the most seasoned of rednecks quaking in their boots.
With due caution and some friendly banter, we finally cleared the the blocked lanes and hauled the debris out to the field for burning next year.
Next tasks...
-Start preparing the nursery for sowing (our first onions, celery, celeriac, eggplants, and thyme start mid February);
-Continue building the "ice-fridge";
-Testing and refining our request system;
-Annual regulatory hoops to hop through;
-Supplies to purchase;
-Bring in a few more customers
-And more flyer distribution...
Hello Everyone:
Off to a good start for the 2017 season. Most of the seed purchsing is finished. I have run our first test of the new request sytem and waiting for the results to come in.
While assessing the performance of the past two years, I noted a couple of activities that could be more efficiently completed. One of these was our harvest requests - customers have some options available with each week's harvests.
The old method was slow, awkward, and prone to mistakes or ommissions. Thanks to a suggestion from one of our customers, we may have something new...details to continue in future posts.
In the meantime, the search for new customers continues as a few more from last year return.
I'll be delivering more flyers over the coming week - if you are interested in great tasting, locally produced, certified organic produce, then call soon. Our contact info is on the bottom of the page, and you can learn a little more by checking the pages 'About our Shares' and 'How to Buy a Share'.
Space is limited...
...In a hurry to contact Whitsend? Heres a link direct to our email...
whitsmg@gmail.com
It may seem a little early for farming, but there is plenty to do at this time of year.
Last year, I set aside about 4 Lbs of Kidney beans for seed. Now that I am purchasing seed for the new year, I want to ensure that the stock I have produced is viable.
Here is a photograph of the second germination test. 18 out of twenty seeds have germinated, it appears that the one on the far left is just starting to split as well. So we have a germination rate of 90 to 95%.
This compares favourably with the first test with a result of 64%. I suspected that the temperature was a bit low, so I made a second attempt using a germination heat mat to provide a more accurate growing condition - after all, these will be sown in late May, when the soil temperature is reaching 20 degrees or so during the day.
Germination rate of the kidney bean seeds I purchased last year was 86%. So the saved seeds are well within the industry standard.
I require about 4 1/2 Lbs for this season's sowing, so I'll purchase an additional pound to make up the shortfall.
By saving the extra 4 Lbs, I have reduced my Kidney bean cost from $40.00 to about $10.00.
Enough chatter about the warm cozy work at the desk...now I am off for my next task...
Winter weather is quite capable of affecting your produce.
Ice storms in particular are a cause for worry.
Though in this case, the blocked lane way is more of a nuisance.
Typically, ice storms have the potential to bring power outages which in turn cause sprouting crops in the nursery to freeze.
Nursery planting won't start for another four weeks. then as the weather slowly turns from winter to spring, the conditions for icestorms increases.
I opened up the insulated walls and the doors of the nursery this past fall, to check if the insulation was settling. Sure enough, two doors (the two I use most) had uninsulated spots up at the top. Easily remedied.
Having completed that task, I am confident our nursery can withstand 48 hours without heat.
In the meantime, plenty of manitoba maple to move.
The debris will be burned in spring, and the resultant ash collected for use as a soil amendment. Ash is high in potassium, which beneifits the root systems of plants.
Talk to you soon,
Bob
The first big task of 2017 is finished. The wind falls are cleaned up, ensuring that I'll be able to drive in here next spring.
