Good Earth Farm
living lightly on the Earth
How we Grow
A typical season's condensed journal
Each December we pour through the seed catalogs, dreaming of things to come. The beautiful pictures of ripe tomatoes, purple eggplant, bright green broccoli, and yellow sweet corn inspire us. We order what we know grows well in our climate and a few extras that look too good to pass up.
By the end of January we're doing seed inventory and have finished our current season's planting calendar. Once February arrives we're ready to plant. All plants are started here at the farm as seeds. As growers who practice sustainable methods, it's important for us to know all we can about what is in, on, or around the plants. By starting our own transplants, we can choose specific varieties, know the content of the potting soil, and control what admendments get added to the seedlings as they grow, such as fish fertilizer, kelp, or compost.
In those coldest months, we begin sowing in our indoor contained growing rooms. March arrives with it's warmer days and we're transporting all of the seedlings to the greenhouse. It takes a lot of energy to heat a 30' x 72' greenhouse, so we hold off moving into it as long as possible. Once we've moved over to the greenhouse, we now do all of the seeding and potting there
By April, the tables are filled with hundreds of flats of seedlings growing healthy and strong. Onions, the first to be seeded back in February, are getting hardened off now (set outside daily). In mid-April they'll be the first transplants out into the field. Potato seeds, as well as beet, carrot, and pea seeds are direct sown about this time, too. Of course, this all depends on the weather, and the soil. Is it too wet? Are we able to get into the fields? Even if it is a rainy spring, there's usually a brief window of opportunity to get out there and we have to be ready for it. Whether it's on a Sunday morning or a Tuesday night. The weather forcast gets our full attention now through November.
It's early May and the green house is in full swing. Seeds are still being sown, seedlings are growing, more mature seedlings are being potted-up into larger containers, plants are getting hardened-off, and some plants are leaving the greenhouse for transplanting into the field. Early May also brings the first transplanting of several Brassicas - cold hardy plants like broccoli, cabbages, and cauliflower. Radish, lettuce, corn and spinach seeds will be sown now, too. We're also out in the field sowing a second seeding of carrot and beet seeds. In order to get a continuous supply of certain crops, it's necessary to seed those crops several times throughout season. Crops like carrots, lettuces, radish, spinach, and beets are sown in succession; many times on a regular schedule through mid-September. When mid and late May come, it's time to transplant and seeds the cold sensitive plants, like melons, tomatoes, peppers, winter squash, cucumbers, and eggplant. Remember that this is done without the use of conventional pesticides and fertilizers. Once in the field, some transplants are covered with row cover to keep the insects from feeding on them.
June brings more transplanting and the second transplanting of broccoli, cabbages, and cauliflower. We're also direct seeding kale and more succession crops. The first CSA boxes are packed in early - mid June. Weekly schedules change somewhat to include weeding and harvesting.
July and August bring in the garlic and onion harvests. Thousands of each need to be harvested, cured, and stored until needed. We're still completeing the regular tasks of weeding, sowing, harvesting, washing, and packing.
At the beginning of September we're usually working on next season's brochure and sign-up form . A lot of thought goes into the decisions of next season's prices and how many members we'll grow for. In mid-September, the last succession crops are being seeded. Like spinach, which will overwinter for an early supply of sweet greens in the spring. Winter Squash is now being included in the shares. Most are being field cured on these last hot days of late summer and early autumn. They'll soon be taken in to be stored in a controlled environment so that they keep well into autumn and winter.
October shows up with frost and we know we need to get moving in order to get all of the fall tasks done before hard frost and cold days and nights come to stay. Garlic will get planted from mid-late October, mulched (covered with several inches of grass or straw), then overwinter in the field. It will put down it's roots over the next several weeks. This is also the time when field preparation for next season is in swing. Cover crops, mulching, ridge building are all happening now. We're also adding organic matter, like compost and well-composted manure, to the fields. The popcorn harvest happens anytime we have a spare moment; at end of October or early November.
When November arrives we're still doing field clean-up, organizing the packing shed and harvesting the last of the cold hardy crops for the late season box. You can also find us at the computer, updating the website or filling in any harvest or planting information that we had to write on paper during the busiest of times. Mid- November and we're packing and delivering the last box of the season.
December comes round again and look.........it's the first seed catalog!
2010 ~ Schauer's Good Earth Farm, LLC W8965 Oak Center Road Oakfield, WI 53065 920.583.2121