Farm Happenings

Weather: The weather continued cool over the last week. Three-fourths of an inch of rain fell over the course of the entire day on Friday – our first significant rainfall for over a month. Early this morning (Thursday), more rain fell in a beautiful, straight downpour. Wednesday morning was downright frigid, and Chris went to work on the tractor in windstopper fleece, stocking hat, and insulated gloves.

What We Did: Bekah and Emily started a big herb propagation project in the greenhouse on Wednesday. Chris and Sanna worked to upgrade out tomato harvest and post-harvest handling systems. Big Ben seeded salad greens, and tilled in a cover crop of buckwheat in preparation for our fall round of cover crops. Chris seeded turnips, daikon, and winter radishes. Bekah and little Ben worked the transplanter to get in the last crop of broccoli, more radicchio, Chinese cabbage, and bok choi. Ryan jumped in wherever they were needed. Most of our herbs are perennials, and starting the plants now will result in appropriately-sized plants to set out in the spring. We did a massive cleanup of the farm on Friday that really left the place looking beautiful for the post-harvest training on Sunday (see below); like cleaning the house for guests, it not only makes things look good for them, it makes it easier and better to function for the people who live there. This week we focused in on hand weeding all over the farm. The entire crew has been both good-natured and hard working when it comes to hand weeding and hoeing, a real testament to their generous contributions to the farm this year.

Comings and Goings: On Sunday, we hosted a Post-Harvest Handling Training Session for farmers, sponsored by ISU’s Fruit and Vegetable Working Group and the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service. About fifty producers came to Rock Spring Farm to learn about our handling systems and facilities for fresh produce. ISU Food Safety Extension agent Sam Beattie was on hand to critique our operation (I figured it would be a learning opportunity for everyone), and gave us very high marks and a few suggestions for minor upgrades to consider. Initial reviews indicated that we provided a engaging and educational experience that will help a number of growers increase the scale of their operations to a more economically viable level.