Seeds {Round One}

Below is the Seed information for those planted on March 8th, 2017, and can also be found in under the "CSA Menu" tab above. Comment below if you have any questions about individual varieties or have other varieties to suggest.

Variety: The type of seed planted, Seed company 
Planting Date: When the seeds were planted
Germination Date: Will be recorded when leaves appear
Days to Harvest: Number of days from germination to harvest
Harvest Date: Approximate date of "whatever's ripe"

Variety: Red Russian Kale, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 55
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Vates Champion Collard, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 70
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Blenheim Orange Muskmelon, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 85
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Red Pear Tomato, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 70
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Amish Paste Tomato, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 85
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Cherokee Purple Tomato, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 85
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Patty Pan Squash, Wyatt-Quarles Seed Company
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: Approximately 45 to 55 days
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Sugar Baby Watermelon, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 65
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Painted Serpent Cucumber. Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 65
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Calabaza First Prize Hybrid Pumpkin, Burpee seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 85
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Table Queen Acorn Squash, Wyatt-Quarles Seed Company
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 75-90
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Waltham Butternut Squash, Wyatt-Quarles Seed Company
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 95- 110
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: True Green Hubbard Squash, Olds Seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 95-110
Harvest Date: ?


But that zera/seed on the tov/good ground are those, who in an honest and tov/good lev/heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.  Luka/Luke 8:15

Best Regards,

The Garden's Transition from Winter to Spring

Wednesday was a big day! Thanks to good friends that were willing to lend a hand, here is the farm & garden update:

Left- collard greens, Top- brussel sprout tops, Right- carrots,
Bottom middle- brussel sprouts (turnips and kale not pictured)

• Rose bush pruned to a manageable size, which is very exciting
• Last season's herbs pruned to the ground (they will come up again soon)
• The 2nd greenhouse was constructed 
• Both greenhouses are now securely anchored in the ground in their new location for the season
• The extension of the garden was prepared, mowing the grass down and covering with clear plastic to kill the grass
• Bought peat moss for seed starting and crimson clover seed for the future cover crop, 5 lbs of seed!
• Mixed potting media, peat moss and worm castings, from my own vermicompost. Thanks to mother for keeping the composting bin in the kitchen all this time!
• The garden rows were weeded with the last of the winter crop removed (featured above) 
• Prepared the garden for the spring crop. No seeds in the garden yet, due to the uncanny threat of snow this weekend. 

Up next: the first round of seeds in the greenhouse, now called "Seeds (Round One)"

Then He said to His talmidim/disciples, The harvest truly is great, but the workers are few.

Make tefillah/prayer therefore to the Master of the harvest, that He will send forth workers into His harvest.  Mattituahu/Matthew 9:37-38

Best Regards,

Why Have a Hobby Farm?

While mowing the cover crop in the garden today, the separation of "life" and "work" became more prevalent, as I was trying to figure out why I do what I do. 

I was thinking about past friends in agriculture and current professionals in the field- and how they may be working the the agriculture field, their home lives do not reflect agriculture at all. Like professors in Raleigh that live in neighborhoods, or college friends that are enjoying the apartment life away from the family farm, while majoring in agriculture. 

This concept has baffled me prior to today and was quite frankly frustrating because I did not understand this division of work and life, until today with: 

A post shared by Olivia Horning (@practice_farm) on Mar 6, 2017 at 5:40pm PST

"First, determine how you are going to work. 

Then, determine how you are going to live."

For example, lately I have been experiencing a pull toward focusing on my future job as an Agriculture teacher and less on unproductive portions of the farm, such as the pygmy goats I have determined to sell. 

I have established that I am done hobby-ing with livestock and the next time I have any sort of previously owned species (goats, sheep) it will be on a larger productive scale, paired with cattle, because I have a more established knowledge base surrounding managing them now. Haven taken small ruminant management in the fall and currently enrolled in beef cattle management this spring, I shall hobby now with horticulture. 

Thus I have established that animal science is the focus of my Ag teaching career and horticulture is my "hobby" of sorts.

With this concept I have established why I have the hobby farm, it is "living" for me. It is not "work",  as it does not produce monetary income and would be cheeper to buy produce in the grocery store imported from outside of the United States.

But rather, the hard physical labor is good for my body and teaches me discipline. The farm builds character and it is how I want to raise my children. Not necessarily to perpetuate agriculture as I have, expecting them to all be farmers, but rather to teach necessary life skills and equip them to decide:

how they will work and how they will live.

Best Regards,