We are planning to plant vegetable seeds in the fields this week: peas, carrots and beets to start. It is exciting to think that we will have food to harvest again soon. The seedlings in the greenhouse have true leaves now and are growing rapidly. They will be ready to be planted next week or the week after. It is exciting to watch the rapid growth that occurs, from a tiny seed to a large head of broccoli soon. We are also preparing the less exciting but just as necessary aspects of growing vegetables: gluing and cutting irrigation, tuning tractors and implements.
The strawberries and garlic that we planted last fall are dark green and growing well. We have been pinching the flowers so that they put their energy into growing rather than fruiting, and because we don't need any fruit yet.
We hosted several events and groups at the farm in the past week. A class from the Oxbow School led by a good friend visited Friday and enjoyed all the young animals. The Ecological Landscaper Immersion participants from the Permaculture Skills Center were here for two days. We were able to offer the land and they shared their skills, restoring the landscape and doing key line plowing. Last night, the monthly Petaluma Farmer's Guild meeting christened our new fire pit. For Oliver's birthday in January, we installed an old cement water trough as a year round fire pit but have not had a chance to use it yet. We hope to use it much more in the future!