Farm Updates

(Written April 5th)

Mouse Update: Captured and killed two mice! (I am not sure that it is a good thing that there were multiple, but I am choosing to not think about it). We saw the mouse running around again and decided it was time to get serious, so out came not only my favorite food, but theirs; peanut butter. We put a little dollop on the end of the trap and within 20 minutes we had our first victory. It was late so Hamilton had gone to bed, but I was up putting dishes away or something, that was when I heard the snap. At first I was excited that we actually caught it, but then came the realization that there was now a dead mouse in the kitchen... so up the stairs I went to fetch Hamilton. Yes, yes, I know, what a girl. But I just don't think I can handle discarding dead rodents... the thought made me cringe. He threw it outside, set the trap again, and in the morning we were welcomed by another full trap. I am glad to have not seen anymore little mice running around the kitchen, and hope that the trap will ward them off. After talking to a fellow farmer, she mentioned a more humane way of capturing unwanted house guests in a box type contraption- I would definitely prefer this, but don't look forward to the long walk away from our house holding a box that has a mouse (or mice!) in it... though that I might be able to handle a bit better. We are looking into the possibility of maybe getting a cat, we will see...

In other news, it has been a fantastic week! I have learned so much already, and have enjoyed every minute of it. Yesterday we were working with Brian transplanting a couple hundred tomato plants from their starting seedling pods to larger trays to give them some room. Once they grow out of that they will be headed to a different greenhouse where they will stay until the end of the season. There were so many varieties! Most that I have never heard of. We went from there to another field where we got to plant our first crop in the ground! We planted a couple hundred pea plants using string as a guide to get straight lines. 

Today we were with Betsey who had us start the long and demanding task of planting onions. Betsey mostly specializes in potatoes and garlic, but also has the most onions from the farmers that we have seen. We loaded up the trays of seedlings and headed to the field. At first the field didn't really seem that big, and I thought we would be there for only a couple hours considering it was about the same size as where we planted the peas which only took us an hour, maybe two. Little did I realize just how small those onion plants were... We started by outlining rows using a large rake looking thing that we dragged down the rows. This was followed by one of us spreading a natural fertilizer mix where the onions would go. Then it was to the most difficult part, actually planting the onions. You see the onion plants are very small, picture a green onion plant with the green part only being as long as your pinky, and small as a piece of cheap (thin) yarn. Yep, pretty small. On top of it, most of the varieties that we were planting needed to only be placed 4 inches a part. So now when you look at the field, that is a lot of onions! We paired up, one person pulling a part the seedlings and spacing them correctly, while another person came behind and actually planted them in the ground. This is all done while bending over, crawling or kneeling. While it all sounds tedious, it wasn't that bad once you learned the correct way of bending over at the hips, instead of bending your back. Plus spacing was really important. If you place them too far apart you are potentially loosing the produce which equals loosing money. However, if you plant them too close they will not produce as well which again equals loosing money. It was an interesting balance. 

Even though it was a lot of hard work, that feeling that you get when you are done can't be beat. We took a break in the middle of the day to stand upright, and headed into town for a quick coffee break which was fun. You know you are with farmers when the barista makes a leaf shape on the top of your coffee and they end up talking about what type of plant it comes from and what its scientific name is... 

We finished the day out by learning how to use the horses for cultivating! After grooming Red first, Betsey attached the harness and multiple leather straps that I will know the names of by the end of the summer (I hope!), and attached the cultivator to the back. She steered them while we got the hang of directing the cultivator in a straight line. It was good to practice because the horse walks a bit faster than I do, and managing to keep a straight line was a bit difficult at first. But, it was fun! 

Since it was such a beautiful day, at five o'clock I was not ready to go home yet. So we joined Betsey on a delivery of potatoes to a local restaurant. After dropping off the potatoes we happened to run into a gallery where they were doing their monthly gallery walk. We stopped in, had some free wine and looked at some fantastic paintings. We got to meet one of the artists, Don Tiller, who was probably my favorite (check out his website).

We traveled around to a couple more galleries, drank some more wine, and headed back. Now we are cooking some dinner, and cleaning since another intern is going to be arriving tonight having driven all the way from Florida! Thanks to Liz for providing a nice welcome to our house snack of cake batter puppy chow!!! I have great friends :) 

I am so looking forward to the rest of the season, and hope that the excitement and joy from this work does not wear off- although I don't foresee that happening any time soon! I have decided that I am going to start carrying my camera around with me to snap some pictures so you can really see what I have been talking about. I wish I had it with me today!! 

Miss you all, Happy Spring and Easter!