Phase II for tomatoes

Project Supervisor

May means that tomatoes move from their 2 inch plug trays to roomier accommodations.   A few years ago we discovered that plastic beer cups with a hole drilled in the bottom make an excellent second pot.  It is just the right size, they are cheaper than plastic  pots (about $0.05 a piece) AND you can write on them.  Since we grow 50 odd varieties of heirloom tomatoes, plus a bunch of other stuff, we don’t have to do up a plant tag per variety and as they will be in these pots until they go into the ground, the chances of mixing up plants are minimized.  The disadvantage of course is that all of  sudden the glasshouse starts to fill up.  Hopefully the weather will stay above 2C for the next week so we can safely move them down to the lower greenhouse.

We have re-potted about 300 tomatoes so far (all the urgent over-sized plants or undersized plug trays).  There are about 200 more to go.  1 person seems to be able to re-pot 50 or 60 plants an hour.  so we have another full evening of potting ahead of us.  Oliver of course is helping.  He finds the combination of pots and dirt to be great fun.

The transplants are a good size and healthy.  The Red Striped Roman paste tomato seedlings look horrible, but they always do.  Come August however, they will be taking over the tomato patch.

These tomatoes will find their way to the Truro Farmers Market, Club SBG bags, Local Source Market in Halifax and hopefully other backyards and gardens as we will be selling transplants this year.

The purpose of this blog is to provide an honest look behind the scenes of a small farm.   Hopefully it won’t just be Oliver’s adventures, but the (wonderful) reality is that it all connects back to him.  An 8 month old is a primary consideration and influence when trying to balance off farm careers, vegetable farming, being a good parent and trying to have a life.  Time Management can be a challenge as tasks that used to take 1 hour, might now take 2 hours, and there might be a few breaks.

Oliver will make frequent appearances on the blog  as a) he is quite involved in the farm and b) he is just so darn cute.

...double checking the inventory, "Mamma, I think you are out of space!"

See, a hole in the bottom!

Cup has passed the chew test

Easter

Easter weekend is always THE real beginning for SBG’s season.  The four-day weekends, the warm weather and rapidly diminishing days left before last front spurs muc work.  3 years ago the greenhouse saga began.  (The final pane was installed this weekend).

Easter 2009 really only brought 1 nice day (Friday), so we made the most of it. We separated some rhubarb, created some new rows of blackberries and in the process used the new BCS rototiller for the first time.  It did a very, very nice job of churning up the sod to make planting areas.  Rhubarb hadn’t been divided in a long time so some of the root balls were gigantic.  Work on the blackberries and rhubarb should increase our production in future years.

Mr O. had a great time out in the sunshine, playing in the grass and roaming in the backpack.  Farming with baby should be OK.

An Update… Finally

Well Howdy,

There’s been lots happening on our tiny farm this fall. First things first, here’s Oliver George!

Born on Sept. 3, a healthy 7 lbs 12 oz, our little market gardener is now up to 12 lbs 9 oz, as of 2 months. He’s a happy healthy boy!

 

We actually were at the market the weekend before I gave birth, and a man I had never seen before approached our table. He told me that we would have a son, on a Wednesday, seven and a half pounds, and delivered at 10 am. Well… I delivered at 10 pm, so he wasn’t 100% accurate, but he got 3/4. Sir, if you’re out there… come back! I have some questions about the future to ask you! Only at the Farmer’s Market…

Otherwise, life has been continuing to be busy and productive. We had our organic inspection last month, and have mainly been cleaning up around the farm, picking apples, planting garlic, and continuing to eat carrots, greens, onions and beets from the field. We harvested 150 squash, so are needing some new recipes for the winter months. We also planted some nut trees to add our legacy to the property – chestnuts and a butternut tree (from Charlie, the Tree Guy).

I hear someone waking up… but I’ll try to add more to the blog more often!

R & J & O