Monday, May 16, 2011

the good, the bad and the drip tape



What a difference a week makes.

The sun is out, the rain let up, the drip tape is down and the onions are finally in the ground. Behold the farmer and her irrigation system timer; watch as the water turns our sandy soils into viable earth!

We continue to transplant loads of vegetables and prepare the back fields; potato planting is coming up and we'll need all the free hands we can bribe with a cold Stella.

While the stress of the start up has taken a visible toll on Jillian's mental fortitude, she presses on with the help of a small army of full-time friends and part-time helper bees. (Bees, we should totally get bees, write that down).

Have y'all met Tiff? Tiffany Johnson is the sous chef at The Common Man Restaurant in Warren (they have a cassoulet to which all cassoulet should be compared to) and are also a valued Small Step costumer. Tiffany has given the last two days of her time to the cause, including the arduous drip tape installation and planting the first round of transplants.

Tiff is a colorful character (no seriously, her sunburn can be seen from space) and we're so grateful for her hard work, time and effort to keep the food moving from the farm to the table.

Once she's learned how to drive a stick shift, Jillian has promised Tiffany a tractor driving lesson. Raise your hand if this sounds like a terrible idea. She wants to be a "tractor pro" and we like her enthusiasm, (don't pull the E-Brake, it's broken).

The tomatoes are looking healthy in the greenhouses and are busy growing big enough for field transplant.

In addition to the regular farm chores, we're considering planting fruit trees and berry bushes in such a way as to encircle the farm with even more edible landscape.

If you can't eat it, we won't need it. Except compost, we need a lot more of that.

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