Hello Everyone,
I'm loving how green and rich things are this spring! The temps have been gentle and not too cold at night (knock on wood) and with the weekly storms everything is growing. Looks like one more day of rain here... then it starts to break up tomorrow and we'll see some sunshine?! One evening last week after a pretty strong hail storm this amazing rainbow popped out and made my day! Magical.
Last week flew by! We finished planting the greenhouse and filled a few beds with peppers and tomatillos to keep the tomatoes company. The tomatoes are looking great and starting to grow fast! When I planted them they were starting to look a little rough and were over being in their 2" pots. I was pretty worried (per usual) and gave them a pep talk and told them they had a week to grow out of it before I pulled them up and replanted... luckily within a week they had put on tons of healthy green growth and started to bulk up. Woohoo!
Late in the week we planted potatoes! So. many. potatoes. That was a big project and it feels good to check it off the list!
I spent the last two days in Ridgway helping my Mom weed and seed her garden, my former garden. The cover crops are higher than my hips, and it's overflowing with overwintered spinach, cilantro, scallions and lettuce and the herbs are all coming back very healthy and strong. Mmmm Spring!
We're going to start transplanting cabbage and alyssum tomorrow, followed by all the kale, collards, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower. Excited to get all of these starts in the ground!
Countdown to CSA harvests starts... NOW. First delivery to Telluride is in 3 weeks, whoop whoop! Sign up now to become a member of our farm, join us for a wonderful season of bountiful harvests and support local agriculture. Check out the CSA page for more details and contact me if you have any questions.
I cannot get enough of the garlic field in the evening light... dreamy.
Have a wonderful day!
Rainy morning! The low clouds and cool damp air feels so cozy... mmm morning coffee never tasted better. It rained off and on for most of the night and everything is pretty soaked outside. Looks like the perfect day to catch up on emails and paper work, which isn't my favorite task but needs to be done...
The past week was wonderfully productive! We completed the greenhouse with the help of our amazing friends. Thanks guys! Feels so good to have this project complete so we can start to focus our energy elsewhere. We tilled and built beds in the greenhouse, set up the irrigation and planted a few beds of tomatoes on Friday in the midst of the first real wind test. Wow, the wind was crazy, strong and relentless. The first round of tomatoes are in the ground, which has me psyched! Come on maters, do your thang!
I'm suddenly having dreams/nightmares about the temps dropping way lower than expected. My oh my, calm down brain, it's 40 degrees outside not 15. Relax.
We also completed the allium planting! All of the onions, leeks and scallions are transplanted and adjusting to their new space. I imagine they're loving all this rain! And, we ordered a new seeder this Spring and I took it for a spin on Wednesday and seeded more salad, spinach, arugula and radishes. It's awesome and speeds things up tremendously, love it.
The early greens are growing (slooooowly). I spent yesterday weeding, thinning and getting excited to start harvesting CSA shares in a month!
Enjoy all the moisture, looks like sunshine and heat are arriving later in the week.
Once things dry out a little we'll be planting potatoes... for days!
The month of May has arrived, and it's go time here at the farm. So much to plant in the next 30 days, woohoo! The rain over the last few weeks has made everything so green and gorgeous, it's wonderful. But I must say, I'm excited and oh so ready for some warm sunny skies.
We took advantage of the nice weather last week and got the tractor in the field and turned in the triticale and winter rye cover crops that have been protecting the soil. The rye needs a couple weeks to breakdown before seeding the next crop. The soil looks, feels and smells amazing! I remember helping my Dad plant trees around our house when I was a little girl. As we were filling the holes back in I grabbed a handful of the soil, pushed it to my face, inhaled deeply and proceeded to say, ' mmmm, that's good dirt'. Ha! Should've known then I would be a farmer and in love with soil.
We tilled a block for the onions and a section in front of the almost complete greenhouse (which needs a name...!) where we will be growing greens and herbs for the CSA. So, we're digging up the gorgeous onions, leeks and scallion starts that were seeded back in February this morning and planting them outside in the coming days. Yes!
All the brassica starts are looking strong and happy. If I'm stressing or frustrated about something I can go peak at these babies and instantly feel better. They'll be moving outside in a couple weeks.
The carrots are starting to size up and should be ready for the first CSA harvest, which is only 5 weeks away!! We seeded a variety of greens and roots outside a few weeks ago and with all this rain everything is up and growing.
Tomorrow morning we're hoping to finish the other greenhouse! We're working on the last door and side walls today and rallying an amazing group of friends to help us skin it with the huge piece of plastic tomorrow morning. Yay! So ready for this project to be complete. And the tomatoes are looking anxious to be planted so it will feel good to get the plastic on so we can prep beds and PLANT later in the week.
Enjoy the sunshine folks!
Good morning,
The sun is up, sky is calm and birds are singing. Time to get moving... after a quick update.
We had a couple nice storms roll through this past week and shower the farm with rain and a little hail. The garlic looked especially happy on Saturday morning, grow garlic grow!
We seeded the first round of outside greens, roots and herbs right before the rain, which always feels good. They haven't popped up through the soil yet, but I checked on them yesterday and there germinating down below. Looks like we're in for a rainy couple days starting tonight or tomorrow, and I think everything is going to love the moisture!
The peas and favas are all making an appearance as well. I haven't had a pea crop in a couple years so I run out and check on them with excitement every morning to see how much they've grown.
The spicy mustard mix is ready in the greenhouse, woohoo! Mmmm, harvesting fresh greens again feels amazing. My body craves them in the spring, after the long cold winter months and probably because they're so sweet before the heat of summer arrives.
We started potting up sweet peppers last week. Sweet blocky red bell peppers I can hardly wait. They are hands down my favorite snack out of the garden in the Summer. Crisp, incredibly sweet and slightly warm from the sunshine... oh yes. Next up hot peppers!
We are framing greenhouse doors and maybe attaching some plastic today... and seeding a couple more things before the rain arrives!
CSA harvests start in about 7 weeks folks! I am so excited to start harvesting for you all. Enjoy this gorgeous day!
Hello Everyone!
Spring has sprung at the farm, the seeding push has begun and I'm starting to dance around with excitement! This week we started the brassicas (kale, collards, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower), head lettuce, chard, parsley and lots of basil. Mmm mmm mmm, I can smell the dreamy basil harvests now.
The greenhouse that we seeded in early roots, greens and alliums is looking great. The onion and leeks are starting to bulk up, come on guys! Hopefully they'll be ready to transplant in month or so... the spicy greens mix will be ready to start harvesting in no time and the roots are looking good.
The tomatoes and peppers are growing FAST and will be getting repotted tomorrow so they have room to grow before their big move to the greenhouse in May!
The last couple days have been stormy, with a lot of wind and snowflakes falling but it cleared out last night and is frosty, sunny and calm at the moment. It looks like sunshine for days and a warm up is coming this week, so we're planning to seed greens outside and finish building the greenhouse. Wahoo!
We still have CSA Shares available, check out the CSA page for details and sign up today! We will be delivering to Telluride and Rico on Wednesday afternoons starting in June... which will be here before we know it.
Have a lovely day!
Good morning!
The warm and sunny weather has us making a lot of progress at the farm. The snow melted off the field a few weeks ago, friends and family have been visiting and things are growing.
We have one greenhouse filled with the allium starts (leeks, onions, scallions) and early roots and greens for the CSA! Think sweet spring carrots, beets, turnips, kale, collards and a spicy mustard mix... my favorite! Ooo I can hardly wait to have fresh produce again.
The garlic and shallots are popping and look to have pretty hefty root systems this season. Lots of roots = fatty bulbs? Time will tell.
The peppers and tomatoes were seeded earlier in the week! I seeded way too many but that's to be expected because I get SO excited. Heirlooms, early reds and cherry tomatoes. Whoop! Celery and celeriac are on the list for today. Yes! It's time.
Next up, greenhouse construction. The frame is already up, we just need to add a few more support rails, build end walls, attach u-channel and skin it with plastic. Hoping to have this house filled with tomatoes, tomatillos and basil come mid-May.
We still have CSA Shares available for the 2016 season. Sign up today and join us for a wonderful season!
Alright, the sun is up and I should get moving. Enjoy this beautiful day!
Hello on this snowy February day. January has already come and gone, which feels good as it's time to start seeding again!
Early Bird Gardens has moved... or is in the process of moving really, to this gorgeous spot in the Mancos Valley. The field is currently blanketed with a few feet of snow and resting until Spring rolls around.
Seeds are being ordered, plans for 2016 are coming together and we seeded onions, leeks and scallions in the greenhouse on Saturday afternoon. Wahoo! it felt wonderful to play in the soil and plant some seeds. Here we go!
I just updated the CSA page with information on the 2016 season. Check out the details and join us this year! We are offering Summer and Fall CSA Shares and will be delivering to Telluride and Rico on Wednesday afternoon (exact pickup location and time tbd).
Please note, we are not offering sourdough this season. Bread lovers I'm sorry, but hopefully sourdough shares will be back next year, once we get a bread oven built.
Many more farm updates and photos to come... until then here are some beautiful Summer blooms to brighten the morning.
Have a beautiful day!
Last week flew by! We finished planting the greenhouse and filled a few beds with peppers and tomatillos to keep the tomatoes company. The tomatoes are looking great and starting to grow fast! When I planted them they were starting to look a little rough and were over being in their 2" pots. I was pretty worried (per usual) and gave them a pep talk and told them they had a week to grow out of it before I pulled them up and replanted... luckily within a week they had put on tons of healthy green growth and started to bulk up. Woohoo! 
Late in the week we planted potatoes! So. many. potatoes. That was a big project and it feels good to check it off the list! 
