Getting an early harvest is often a real plus for farmers.  The prices for the produce are higher, and boosting the diversity of your early farmer’s market table can attract customers and draw sales.  For my CSA, getting an extra-early start on some of the longer-maturing crops means that I can begin sooner in the year with a good spread by matching them with later-planted short season crops.

Getting that early harvest usually also means putting in some extra work.  One of the techniques I’ve adopted is to amend and shape raised beds in the fall before it gets too wet, and then cover them with a black plastic mulching film.  Then, in mid-winter and early spring I can pull off the plastic and have beds that are soft and ready to sow or plant into.  I sow the seed, then put down hoops and rowcover to protect the crops form cold and rain impact.  I’ve been doing this for the last four years with good results.

I sow snap peas and carrots first in mid-January and again in early March, and they give me an extended harvest beginning in late May.  If I were to wait ‘till the ground was dry enough to plant in spring (most years not until early April), I wouldn’t be harvesting these crops until late in June.

The main drawback is that is does require using more plastic that ends up in the landfill.  None of the biodegradable plastics hold up long enough, and sturdier reusable sheeting is not practical at my scale.  But I remain conscious of this, and limit this technique to a relatively small area.

I’m not at the Saturday morning market.  Instead, I’m playing hooky.  Actually, I’ve still got the flu and I’m doing all sorts of other things that I can’t mention here. First, I’ll give a shout out to my friend Matt.  Check out his blog.  Search for “Pyramid Farms Blog, Chico, CA”.  He’s pretty darn funny.   Second, I’ve been a little negative on the blog for a while.  I’m actually a very positive guy (you have to be to farm)… Read the rest of this article »

I am writing this from home, around 11:45 AM.  I am on “vacation”.  not really.  I came down with the flu yesterday (and all that entails - not pretty).   So, i have a day off.  That is not easy for me.  We are picking for our three farmers’ markets today and i know it’s tough to lose a member of the crew.  In addition, we are finishing up our last carrot planting and I really wanted to be there for that.  Fall chard went in the ground yesterday.  All of our brassica… Read the rest of this article »

Yesterday was our CSA day, and we’re certainly getting into the groove.  Harvesting takes less time these days.  Also, this week our aunt was visiting who’s a chef and food writer (author of Raising the Salad Bar), and she wrote up some recipes during the lunch break right after the harvest.  That was pretty fun. Also, a baby came and he really liked our carrots.  That was definitely a highlight of the day. Read the rest of this article »

After 2 long months of hot weather, it appears that we are in store for more hot weather.  That means, more irrigation, more aphids, more tomatoes, and less salad mix. My season started in February, full on.  I just completed month 6 in the season.  The CSA still has 2 more months, while the markets go for another 3 around here.  If I had more space I would be a little more excited about the fall, but as it is, there isn’t much room for a huge fall thing.  I am making… Read the rest of this article »

Now we have completed week nine of the CSA.  This week we offered: tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, squash, carrots, lettuce mix, turnips, garlic, sweet corn!, kale and bulbing fennel. It was a good week, and next week is looking great also, with potatoes and leeks on the menu.  It seems a little out of season to have potatoes and leeks, because I love potato-leek soup a lot, but, hey, those will be ready. Out at the farm, the tomatoes are really productive, yet could be looking better. … Read the rest of this article »

The broccoli has been great and in full effect for the last few weeks.  We are doing heavy pickings from the main heads and side shoots, with lots more coming. The first two plantings of cauliflower have failed, due to (a) gophers (b) freak super-cold snap at the end of april (c) freak super hot spell (100 degrees for 5 straight days) in mid May, which caused the curds to separate and be no good.  The third is looking good and hope to have that. In the future I don’t want to grow… Read the rest of this article »

The first boxes had: Daikon radish, salad radishes, kale, tat soi, baby stir fry mix, lettuce mix, broccoli, rosemary, oregano, dill and baby spinach. Next week it will be very similar, yet much more broccoli.  Carrots are still a couple of weeks away, as are beets, peas, cabbage, cauliflower and chard. We are gearing up for a maha (great) week at the farm, with many hundreds of row feet to be direct seeded.  We are getting 50 yards of compost to bolster the tilth and nutrition of the soil. … Read the rest of this article »