May 14, 2017
A Day in the Farm Life
By Derek McGeehan

As you can see we were quite excited and relieved to have successfully pushed the 30'x96' high tunnel 200' uphill into an easterly wind with 6 strong farmers (Dana took the photo). Under protection are the heirloom tomatoes. This moveable beast allows us to properly rotate crops using the three positions; lets the soil interact with the weather and climate when not covered; and gives us 2 or 3 protected moves a season. After the heirloom tomatoes wrap up in late summer we'll slide it to another position to protect greens for the winter and then sow a nourishing cover crop of rye and vetch where the tomatoes were.

It was with heavy heart that we had to say goodbye to our flowering crimson clover last Friday before the big rain event. This cover crop was sown along with oats and buckwheat last fall. The oats and buckwheat winter kill from the cold while the crimson clover hibernates and begins growing again in the spring, flowering in late April or early May. The bumblebee enjoyed the blossoms. Fortunately for the nectar loving pollinators there are patches of the clover left around the farm, as well as volunteering buckwheat, and soon our 2.5 acre pollinator habitat should be blooming with a variety of flowers.