This week on our farm: Planting, Planting, Packaging, and Computer Crap
This week was the true shift into the season.
We spent a lot of time outside, hands in the dirt, finally getting some of our indoor started cool weather crops in the ground—broccoli and cabbage are officially planted (and yes… more cabbage than we probably needed, but that’s just how it goes). Also, we added cauliflower. (We will see about that)
There’s something about this stage of the season that feels hopeful. It’s still early, but you can start to see things taking shape. It’s also nerve wracking. What if nothing grows. What if the weather is terrible. What if a darling deer comes and ruins my entire life by eating a few of my plants???
I guess then I will take a breath and try to decide what to do next. This is why we’re working a diverse set of crops this year.
Getting Plants actually in the Ground
We focused on planting:
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
These are some of the first crops we really try to get established because they handle cooler temperatures so well. We had a considerably late start due to a frigid winter which led to a considerably wet transition season. Around here, timing matters -a lot- and getting these in at the right window makes all the difference later. Now. That being said, it’s been unseasonably warm and now we are worried sick that it’s not going to be cool enough for these crops. Such is farming.
We get a little experimental sometimes, but we truly don’t deviate much from this exact planting calendar. If you are going to follow any planting calendar, this is the best one hands down if you are local to southern Maryland or the bigger mid Atlantic area (hey DMV). DMV Gardeners- this is your go to calendar. If you aren’t local- find your local extension agency and go from there!
At the same time, we started a ton of plug trays. Like, a ton.
This part always feels a little chaotic—soil everywhere, trays stacked, trying to keep track of what’s been seeded and what hasn’t. Making sure trays are labeled. Trays inevitably going unlabeled and us playing the waiting game to find out what it is……
Every tray now is something we - or you - will be be planting out in your garden, be it this year or next. And yes- some of our products take YEARS before they are ready from seed!
It’s easy to underestimate how much planning goes into this stage. You’re not just planting for today—you’re thinking weeks (and honestly months) ahead. And if you don’t…. Well, when you fail to plan you plan to fail.
Packaging Our Wild Bird Seed
In between all the planting, we also spent dang near an entire day packaging our signature Wild Bird Seed mix.
This is quickly becoming one of our favorite things we offer. It’s simple, but people genuinely love it—and we love seeing it go out into your backyards. We love seeing your bird feeder pictures- please please please tag us in them!
If you’ve been waiting to grab some:
👉 It’s available now on online shop (yes!!! It’s LIVE)
👉 And we’ll have it with us at the market this weekend and every weekend after that.
👉Wild Bird Seed
The Part No One Talks About…
And then there’s the part of farming that isn’t very exciting:
Clerical prep for market and book work and fees and pricing and organizing and labeling and…….
It’s not fun. It’s not aesthetic. But it’s what makes the market run smoothly.
Honestly, this is the kind of work that can pile up fast if you ignore it—and then suddenly you’re scrambling the night before. And I have been so driven to get this site live and get the online shop live and presentable.
It’s live now. I’d love if you stayed in contact.
🌼 Looking Ahead to Market
Everything we did this week leads into one thing: market day.
That’s where all the behind-the-scenes work shows up in a real way. It’s also where we get to connect with everyone, which makes all of it worth it.
If you’re local, come see us this weekend—we’ll have:
Fresh Hand Picked Kale
Our Wild Bird Seed
Our hardier herbs that are ready for your herb gardens
🌱 A Quick Reminder
This time of year can feel like you’re behind (and trust- we are feeling that in a major way), but this is your reminder (and mine):
You’re not late. I’m not too late. We are right on time. Plants aren’t rushing their growth- we shouldn’t either.