Happy April! This month has given us three dry days so far, so we figure we should be grateful for that.
Plants are going in the ground like crazy right now. All the potatoes, onions, and kale are planted.
The earliest (covered) tomatoes are climbing their trellises. Salad surrounds us. The greenhouse is still bursting with baby plants.
An appropriate description of the farm is “A lot of things are growing! And some things are dying.” This stands true for most months of the year, but in the spring it feels most obvious. We are setting out so many plants at this time and have so much of the season’s future harvest vulnerable all at once! We’ve lost some kale and cucumbers so far this year. Loss is inevitable, and each season’s loss is different. Farming involves unavoidable gambling, and we just make the best decisions we can. Thankfully, most things grow!
There’s a lot of exciting things happening in the next month. Here’s an overview of the highlights:
We have plants for you!
We’ll have plants for sale at market the next six weeks or so, ready for you to scoop up and tend in your own garden. We have cool season plants right now (Lettuces, Kale, Chard, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cilantro…) and we’ll have warm season plants later in April (Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, Squash…) plus perennial herbs (Thyme, Rosemary, Mint, Lavender…). Plant a garden!
Our Farm Share is filling up!
There are about 20 Farm Shares left for our main season, May through November. Join us for weekly or bi-weekly vegetables (your choice), and customizable shares! We love software that works for the 21st century farmer *and* Farm Share member. It’s thanks to this slick software that we get to let you know what we have available for harvest, and you get to choose what is in your share. This is just beautiful. Invest in your local, Certified Naturally Grown farm *and* your health! Read details here and please sign up via that link to join our farm.
AND — for members who pick up their share at our farm on Wednesdays, Peacemeal Farm is once again offering a Chicken Share that you can pick up at the same time as your vegetables (and bread).
{photo courtesy of Peacemeal Farm}
Mark your calendars!
Once again, we will be at the Over the River Spring Fling in Bon Air.
This special event on Sunday, April 28 from 10-3 will be full of talented artisans, tasty food and drink, and our plants, veggies, and bread. Plan to stop by!
Finally, we are very grateful to have been nominated for an Elby Award this year! In the “Exemplary Farmer or Producer” category, we are honored to be named and appear along with exceptional peers. These awards celebrate the dining community in Richmond. You can purchase tickets to attend the awards celebration here. Help is needed and welcome to dress Dan and Janet up fancy enough to attend this event.
Whew! That was a lot to cover. We’ll see you all here at the farm and around town – tis the season to see your farmers!
Our harvest this week includes:
Arugula, Dill, Kale, Microgreens, Radishes, Salad, plus
PLANTS for your garden: Kale – Broccoli – Cabbage – Lettuce – Arugula …and our Organic Hearth Baked Bread (Baguettes, Herb, Whole Rye, Raisin, & Seed loaves for this weekend).
{Our farmstand is open with most of the above items…see here for updated inventory}
Everything remaining after our farm stand is shopped (plus the bread we bake Saturday morning)… we’ll bring on Saturday to the Farmer’s Market @ St. Stephen’s – which moves back outside this week. Also keep an eye on what we have available via Richmond’s only online farmers’ market: FallLineFarms.com.
Enjoy ~
Janet, Dan, & the whole Broadfork crew
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