Sunday, March 2, 2014

Welcome to March

...And it has welcomed itself largely by massive amounts of rain.  Then again, this is pretty normal, even after we had a wonderfully mild December.  Gotta get the rain to green everything up.  How else are we to make everyone envious of our beautiful area when they come visit in summer?

Set my first plants out for sale at Portland Homestead Supply.  Some lettuce, kale, and other greens are ready to go, as well as some strawberries and artichokes.  It's always exciting to get the season underway.

Of course, this being March, the farm is ramping up in work.  My first wave of tomatoes and peppers have been planted, which is the signal that the season really begins in earnest.  All my leftover herbs have been repotted, and I'm harvesting a bunch of strawberry runner plants to pot up this week as well.  And now that I have plants out for sale, I'll be out making deliveries too.  Good times!

I'm off to get in a run before I tackle more farm work.  It just so happens that I'll get a free bath along the way this time.  A warm shower will feel nice - so will my heated greenhouse when I'm potting up some herbs this afternoon!

Take care,
Zach

Saturday, February 15, 2014

2014 - Wait, What Happened to 2013?

Rip Van Hinkelman!!  Wake up!!  You've got blogs to write!!

Apparently, things got away from me last year and I never was able to sit down and write much about the pleasantries and inner workings of Winona Farms.  However, this is a new year!  I've not yet begun to fall asleep on this blog.  That said, I aim to keep hammering out some of these missives fairly periodically this year.  There is lots of fun stuff ahead, and I'm excited for 2014.

Winona Farms just got updated.  Some new varieties are listed, as is the norm each year.  This year, however, I've put out some special links for pics of the majority of peppers and tomatoes I'll be growing this year.  If for nothing else, they are certainly a fine sight to look at.

My unending search of more knowledge of all things plants has lead me into a deep dive into the biology of the soil.  From biodynamic composting to mineralizing my potting mixes, I continue to strive for better and healthier plants.  This has lead me to discover biological farming and the wonderful benefits to the soil, plants, animals, humans, and the earth in whole that it brings.  It's all very fascinating and my thirst for more knowledge remains unquenched.

One thing I will report from 2013 is the acknowledgement I received from the Neighborhood House.  I was the voluntary garden coordinator for them and I helped them increase their garden produce over 500%!  I was astounded at that achievement and I am humbled I could do it for such a wonderful group of people.  I will continue on as the garden coordinator for 2014, and I'm shooting for another 500% increase.  Updates will come in December.

Glad to have my hands back in the dirt.  Things get exciting next week as I begin to start planting peppers and tomatoes.  That also means, I get busier.  And HAPPIER!

Cheers to 2014!
Zach