It is finally starting to feel like spring here on the farm. Temperatures in the past week have been in the 60s most days, and we are rarely getting frost in the morning. We have been watching the forecast closely to determine when to start planning the more sensitive summer crops.
This year, we are expanding upon our past successes and trying a few new experiments. We just purchased a pickup truck this spring, and have already been over to OCRRA a few times for loads of compost and mulch with it. The garden plot rototilling went way easier this year after being composted and growing two sets of green manure on it last year. It is nice to see how quickly a clay soil can be transformed; hopefully the vegetables growing in this main lot will do well.
Our experiments are going to help lay the groundwork for future seasons.
First, M took a course through the Onondaga CCE this winter on grafting trees, and we have fifty apple rootstock ready to go in the front of our garden plot. We are excited to try taking some of our nicer heritage apples and propagating more of them on the land. We have also added a handful of additional hazelnut trees to last year’s.
Second, we are putting in a large area of sugar beets. We are hoping to make some sugar out of them, but the main purpose is to prepare the plot for growing grains next summer. Wheat and oats do best when they are rotated with root vegetables, which help to break up the soil in the season before growing the grains.
Finally, we are expanding our berry bushes a few ways. By the main garden, we are adding two rows of strawberries, and along the hill to the field pond we are adding four new rows of raspberries, and tending better to our existing wild blackberry patch in the same stretch.
Special thanks to our plant suppliers this year: