Planning for 2018
Village Farm Team,
Though our permanent ground cover on the North Farm makes weed management a breeze, it can be a bit tricky to improve our soil fertility. Since the ground cover is water permeable, we can deliver beneficial nutrients to the soil via a watering can. Whereas conventional and non-organic farms use chemical fertilizers to improve their soil, sustainable operations like our Village Farm utilize derivatives from fish, seaweed, and molasses to add beneficial nutrients like calcium and phosphorous back into the soil.
The seeding party continues in the greenhouse as we get ready for the coming months. We’ll be experimenting with seeding and cultivating another member of the brassica family, sea kale. This mound-forming perennial reached popularity in the early nineteenth century when it made an appearance in Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book of 1809. The shoots of sea kale are prepared and eaten as you would asparagus while the leaves are prepared in the same manner as any other kale variety.
As we make plans for what to grow in our planter boxes on the North Farm, the focus has decidedly been on perennials. Plants designated as perennials will live for more than two years and will return year after year. The great thing about perennials is that they do not need to be replanted every year. Annuals on the other hand have a life cycle that lasts one year so they must be replanted every year, typically during the spring. Herbs and leafy greens are perennials while cultivars like corn, watermelon, rice, and wheat are annuals.
Farm Fun days will return in 2018! Held on the first and third Saturdays of each month, these days are a great opportunity for residents to get involved on the farm. Past farm fun days have involved releasing the chickens into their coop, seeding trays in the greenhouse, and transplanting. Check out the updated calendar here for more events.
As we close out the last week of 2017, the farm will be closing early on December 31st, and closed on January 1st. From all of us here on the Agmenity Farm Team we wish you and yours a Happy New Year!
Happy Harvesting,
The Agmenity Farm Team
Words & Photos by Courtney West
