And so it begins….

And it begins… Another Vermont summer! Well-earned after last winter’s deep freeze.

So far at Kingsbury Market Garden things have been going along merrily. The one little hiccup is that we were a little late getting our first salad greens seeded-in so you guys won’t be seeing them in this week’s share. That said, all the plantings to date (we try to seed them every 4 days) look really healthy and happy so it won’t be long.

I’m really fortunate to have all of my employees returning this year. Two of them, Sam and Zeb, are returning for their third season. In the world of vegetable farming, labor is often as big of a headache as weeds and insects so having a great, reliable and experienced crew this is no small thing. It’s seasonal work and changes happen quickly as a farm moves from spring to summer and then fall. Not having to retrain folks is huge and enables me to stay focused on overall farm management.

This spring it is really starting to show – finally. The tractor work is getting done exactly when it should which means crops are getting in the ground when they should. We try to do as much weeding as possible with tractors and that’s happening on time which means less weeds to pull by hand. The hand weeding is getting done on time which means less weeds going to seed for next year.

So far I’m even getting my cover crops in on schedule for the first time in years. Right now it’s buckwheat that’s planted. You can see the succulent leaves from the road these days. In another week it will be a sea of green. Buckwheat is a fantastic attractor of beneficial insects once it flowers so planting it this year means lower insect pressure for the next one.

Farming is a long term venture, it’s about being proactive if its done properly. If it becomes a reaction your in the weeds both figuratively and literally.