In Nova Scotia we seem to move right from winter to summer. 18 above today so we broke out the tiller and started making beds. It felt unbelievable to be out working the fields and feel the dirt under the fingernails.
We are still doing the website using iWeb, but the blog will be in WordPress from now on. We had a couple of reasons for the switch but the main one is that we can author blog entries from any computer, whereas with iWeb we needed to be using the Mac at home. Finding time ti write the blog from home usually meant trying to find time when we weren’t in the garden. Now we have a new tool for procrastination at the day job. WordPress also has some features like tags that will make the blog more functional. The blog will also now be listed with search engines.
The move to WordPress is just one of many changes at Salad Bowl Gardens in 2008. We’ll go into more detail in future entries, but here is a sneak peak:
- we are a real farm now, we just bought a pick-up truck
- we have purchased these huge coolers to store lettuce and transport it to market
- we are entering a formal year of certified organic transition. As our property has been managed using organic methods for the past 20 years we should be able to be certified in the 2009 season!
- we are employing more methods promoted by SPIN Farming (www.spinfarming.com) such as 2 foot wide beds (we were using 4 food beds) relay planting (e.g. spinach then radish then lettuce) and some other tips and tricks to increase efficiency and workflows. SPIN (Small Plot INtensive) style farmers are usually found in urban and peri-urban areas, squeezing the most out of small acreages.
- remember that greenhouse? well it is finally, nearly complete and shouldn’t fall down this year
- we really want to blog more, talk more about balancing life, full time work and farming and connect with the world of new farmers. It is an incredible time to be involved in growing, sharing and eating good food.
and the biggest news is…. we’re having a baby! Yep, Roxanne is due at the beginning of September. We are obviously thrilled. We are not quite sure what the last half of the summer will bring, but it will be a wonderful adventure one way or another.
