Dear urban farm share members, perhaps you received a happening which said only "lalala"? Ooops, we forgot to complete that draft! We were busy counting crops, planting fall seedlings, pruning tomatoes, celebrating a nephew's birthday, and completing other critical tasks, to remember to write you a proper update.
So, without further ado, let us tell you of snakes, seedlings and solitude.
Snakes have been appearing in our fields and we're pleased to see them because they are a sign of diversity of wildlife living around the farm. And, they are a fine predator to keep mice and other small rodent populations in check. If you keep up with us on Facebook you'll have seen a shot of the beautiful Black Rat Snake we found in the potato patch. Its help is needed there, where mice nibble at the baby potatoes and reduce the crop we have to share with you. Yes, we know, snakes seem scary and some of us are squeamish when it comes to them, but truly they are a farmer's friend. Our most recent sightings were a small Red-sided Garter (Tuesday), and a tiny Milk Snake (Monday). Follow us on Facebook to see more photos of the farm and keep up with news.
Seedlings are what you hear so much about, right. If, like us, you enjoy eating the veggies though, you know the seedling is to the fruit like a trailer to a movie - it tells of the good to come. As the torrential downpour started today we were in the middle of planting daikon and kohlrabi. We had to abandon those tasks when it really poured, but we got several hundred more seedlings in before that. And, we're ready for your Winter share signups. Our Fall-Winter share gets you in on fresh, dried, canned, cold-stored and frozen food harvested the height of freshness on the urban farm. So, you can taste that freshness all year long.
Solitude is something we seek after a long market day, or time in the field working with a variety of interns, volunteers, staff and our kids. We love sharing time, knowledge, laughs and food with the people who work with us, but we also need a break once in a while. You probably seek it too sometimes. It's not too hard to find among the plants, but you do have to seek it out. Speaking of which, it's time to hit the sack.
Thanks for eating along with us, enjoy the food, and do send along any feedback, and your Winter share 2018-19 signups,
Tim, Tracy and the urban farm team
