Category Archives: earthworms

Harvest Starts Next Week

earthworms, fair share farm csa, feed the soil feed the people, low-till, MU Extension, mulching, no-till

The time is fast approaching to start the harvest. The Fair Share Farm CSA Extended Season begins next week. Check your emails for more info if you have signed up (sorry the extended season is sold out.  We do still have openings for the 24-week season, so contact us ASAP if you want to join).

The crops are willing, but the cold wet weather of 2013 is holding them back. Nevertheless, there is plenty to harvest in the high tunnel and we are anticipating a full 9 items in the share for Week 1. Salads, stir-frys, dressings, side dishes and many more menu choices await. We expect the following:
lettuce (2), arugula, green onions, spinach, chard, green garlic, herbs, bok choi.

Farm Report
This time of year we anticipate the life in the soil returning, in the form of earthworms, centipedes and ground beetles. Still warming, it is yet to reach its peak of activity. We are looking forward to the end of this cold start of 2013, so things can kick into gear biologically.

Earthworms disturbed by weeding

The last week or so has been a productive one for the farm crew. Many mornings start in the greenhouse, potting up peppers, tomatoes and eggplant. Mulching the crops and putting up the pea trellising has also kept us warm.



Peppers in the greenhouse
Mulching cabbage
Rocky enjoying a bed of hay

The few days this year it has been dry enough to plant we have geared up and gone at it. Today we planted the last of our seed potatoes using a no-till method. As it is too wet to cut a trench and bury the seed potatoes as we might normally, we searched for an alternative bed. We found some mulched beds that had broccoli in them last Fall, planted them in the hole of the old plant, and covered them back up with hay.

Potatoes, ready to be mulched and mulched again

This planting method is the type of thing that was discussed at the Growing Growers Building and Managing Healthy Soils Workshop last Saturday. I was invited to discuss our growing practices and we later gave a tour of the farm. We want to thank MU and K-State Extension for including us in the lineup and promoting organic agriculture.

Growing Growers class 4/13/13

Thinking of Summer

cold frame. spring, earthworms, rocky, thinning, tomato transplants

The Spring has been good so far, though it has gotten a bit wet lately. We have reached the point in planting where we are shifting our focus to the warm weather crops of summer.

Seedlings were started over a month ago, and now the tomato transplants are inching closer to the fields. We put the cherry and cage tomatoes in the cold frame on Friday to give them a good week to “harden off” before planting them near the end of the month.

The peppers and eggplant continue to grow, though we have had to re-seed some due to poor germination. This week we also seeded the first batch of cucumbers and melons in soil blocks, as well as all of the winter squash. As we pull roasted red peppers and eggplant out of our freezer, and canned tomato sauce out of the larder we can taste the expectations of summer. We are out to finish last year’s stores so we can make room for the 2011 harvest.


Tomato transplants in the cold frame


Soil block of melons

Work continues on the Spring crops. Thinning of the spinach, turnips, radish, arugula, carrots and beets is in order right now. While somewhat tedious there is always a nature show during the work. Our contact with the ground rumbles the soil and forces the many earthworms in our beds to the surface. They stretch out of their burrows and make their way along the surface before disappearing again to do their work.

Maintenance work and barn cleanup was also on the list last week as we have a long list of rainy day tasks to do.

Rebecca thinning hakurei turnips

Earthworm and turnip seedlings

The view from our window


Lettuce growing

Lucas working on our “new” mower


Rocky keeping watch

We also were able to do some mushroom hunting at the end of the day. We had been hearing many reports that the morels were out, and we have been able to find enough for several meals and snacks. The tree ear mushrooms are also fruiting.