From Farmer Andrew...
The crops are looking good so far as we’ve had a couple excellent weeks of sunny weather. With the warm temperatures come a burst of new weeds and we are focusing our attention on early cultivation techniques. To help in this effort, we have utilized the newest member of our equipment fleet, the Kress cultivator, to help quickly cultivate crop rows and to save time on manual weed removal from our crew. This implement is equipped with “finger weeders,” which look wheels with soft tines that gently pull weeds close to the crop plant. While we’re still learning the all the adjustments, we’ve had some early success!
The longer days have given us more time to work, of which we have been taking advantage! The crew is busy transplanting, adding and removing row cover, and finishing up our spring clean up projects. In the past few weeks we’ve transplanted over an acre of onions and leeks and another acre of potatoes. Staples like lettuces and brassicas are rooted and looking great, and a whole lot of direct seeding has been in the works over the past week. The strawberries are just starting to flower, a sure sign that the warmer weather is here to stay.
Our new wash station is coming right along, as you may notice a new concrete slab behind the barn, and a beautiful fence (built by our own Appleton Staff) creating the barrier between the farm store picnic area, and our tractor equipment. In the coming weeks the finishing touches will be put in our wash station. We are looking forward to being able to use it!
Fruit Share
We still have a few spots left in our new fruit share for Appleton Farms CSA shareholders! Ask for more info at appletonfarmscsa@thetrustees.org.
Meat CSA
Have you signed up for the Meat CSA yet? Pickup is at Appleton Farms, so it's a convenient, tasty way for shareholders to expand support for our local food system. For more information, check out the Meat CSA page on our website.
What's Happening on the Farm?
All sorts of incredible activities, our Farm Camp, the fantastic selection of local food and Appleton Dairy products at the Farm Store...the list goes on. Stay in touch! For details, head over to the Appleton Farms page – you'll be amazed at what happens at the farm!
