Electric Ladyland

 There will be pictures and details in the next posting, but I wanted to announce that the electric fence is now in place and in operation. This is BIG news as this will allow David to start planting. Depending on a couple of variables, planting may start this weekend. If not this weekend, then by Monday! The excitement is building.

 Red Russian Kale. The kale, along with many other vegetables have been outdoors getting ready to be planted. Remember, seeding started just a little over a month ago. It is amazing how fast stuff grows.

 

 

A pallet of potatoes. This is a lot of potatoes that will become even more potatoes to bring to market. The larger potatoes will be cut into pieces, with each piece having 3-4 eyes. The smaller potatoes, the fingerlings, will be planted whole.

 

  

Lettuce. The colors are gorgeous.

Baby basil. The basil was seeded in trays with small cells that allow for the development of the roots. The plants are then re-potted in trays with larger cells. The roots will continue to develop and in the bigger cell the plants will reach the size required for planting.

BIG NEWS (as if the electric fence isn't enough)- there is now a sprinkling system in the greenhouse. This will allow for the automatic watering of the plants! The great value of this is that it will allow whoever would be watering time to do other tasks. The amount of time saved will be tremendous as it can take upwards of 1-2 hours to water the greenhouse when it is full.

At this time there are four lines for the watering system. Once the middle tables have been cleared out, a fifth line running down the center of the greenhouse will be installed. On the left side of the picture you can see that the tomatoes have been potted up. The tomato seeds started in small cells and are not in 3" pots. They will now grow at a fairly rapid rate and will be ready for planting by mid-May. By late Jule, if all goes well, the first tomatoes could be ready. Yay! Fresh tomato season is getting closer!

Hop! Hop! Hooray!! The hop plants survived the winter and are starting to grow; and at a fairly rapid rate. Hop plants can grow upwards of 20 feet and need to be trellised. Fresh, local, organic hops. The beer they make will be delicious. 

This weeks column by Mark Bittman talked about Wendell Berry. If you are someone who believes in small local farms, organic farms, and the importance of treating the land with respect, you probably know something about Mr. Berry. If you are not familiar with him, you should be. Mr. Bittman's column will be enjoyed by those who do know of Mr. Berry and will be a good intro for those who have not yet made his acquaintance. Use the following link to get to Mr. Bittman's column in the NY Times- http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/wendell-berry-american-hero/

Thanks to all who enjoy and support Z Food Farm!! If you are interested in becoming a member of Z Food Farm's CSA (community supported agriculture) you can contact David at zfoodfarm@gmail.com.

Happy and healthy eating to one and all.