So the crocus’ and the daffodils are in flower; the spring peepers (tree frogs) are peeping and the robins and bluebirds have returned. These are all unmistakable signs that my favorite season has finally arrived. I really love this time of year. I love the many shades of pink and red that the trees take on as they begin to bud and then transform into a myriad of different hues of green. Ironically ever since I began farming it’s been harder for me to enjoy the spring. Even though I am outdoors much of the time, I am so busy and often a little stressed out that it just flies by. I’ve been trying of late to allow myself to appreciate the beauty of the season.
We have been busy since early March planting in the greenhouse. My first four field worker arrived on April 3 and another five on the 9th. They have been prepping ground for seeding and planting onions. We plant somewhere around 80,000 onions so they’ll be plugging away at it for the next couple of weeks. I planted the first round of peas last week and will be planting two more batches in the next ten days. Tomorrow I will plant carrots, beets, parsnips and Swiss chard. It’s time to start planting potatoes now too, so we will be in the barn cutting up the seed potatoes whenever those famous April showers chase us out of the field. The garlic crop survived the winter splendidly and is growing nicely. We expect to have lot of delicious garlic scapes for the first delivery and of course lots of juicy hard-neck garlic later in the season! Soon we will begin transplanting the brassicas (cabbage family) and lettuces out and soon after that… well, everything else! OMG how will we do it! It’s never easy but we always manage. We look forward to a bountiful and delicious season- God willing and the creek don’t rise!
Thanks so much to those of you who have purchased your shares early. You support makes a huge difference by enabling the farm to start planting without going heavily in debt. The CSA program has been a tremendous boon to small farmers but due to many factors it is quickly losing popularity. I ask you to urge your friends and family to join a CSA or shop at their local Farmer’s market. Small, local farmers need all the support they can get. Amazon, Hello Fresh and Blue Apron are not buying their produce from us. And even if they did, small farms would not be paid well enough to survive.
I wish you all a Happy Easter and Passover.
Best Regards,
We have been busy since early March planting in the greenhouse. My first four field worker arrived on April 3 and another five on the 9th. They have been prepping ground for seeding and planting onions. We plant somewhere around 80,000 onions so they’ll be plugging away at it for the next couple of weeks. I planted the first round of peas last week and will be planting two more batches in the next ten days. Tomorrow I will plant carrots, beets, parsnips and Swiss chard. It’s time to start planting potatoes now too, so we will be in the barn cutting up the seed potatoes whenever those famous April showers chase us out of the field. The garlic crop survived the winter splendidly and is growing nicely. We expect to have lot of delicious garlic scapes for the first delivery and of course lots of juicy hard-neck garlic later in the season! Soon we will begin transplanting the brassicas (cabbage family) and lettuces out and soon after that… well, everything else! OMG how will we do it! It’s never easy but we always manage. We look forward to a bountiful and delicious season- God willing and the creek don’t rise!
Thanks so much to those of you who have purchased your shares early. You support makes a huge difference by enabling the farm to start planting without going heavily in debt. The CSA program has been a tremendous boon to small farmers but due to many factors it is quickly losing popularity. I ask you to urge your friends and family to join a CSA or shop at their local Farmer’s market. Small, local farmers need all the support they can get. Amazon, Hello Fresh and Blue Apron are not buying their produce from us. And even if they did, small farms would not be paid well enough to survive.
I wish you all a Happy Easter and Passover.
Best Regards,
Farmer John
**********
John Krueger is being honored as
"Farmer of the Year"
at the
2019 Foodshed Alliance Gala Celebration
Of Local Food and Farms
May 16th, 6 PM
Perona Farm, Andover, NJ
The event features 17 chefs, open bar, & silent auctions. For more information or to purchase tickets go to http://foodshedalliance.org/2019-gala