Yesterday was our second market, and we filled the booth with 14 flats of strawberries, bunches of lettuce and bags of salad mix, kale, chard, onions, snap peas, herbs, dried chilis, and veggie starts. That adds up to a lot of green in the harvest – bushels and bushels, in fact. Gia can attest:

And the chilis:

There is a lot of behind-the-scenes preparation that goes on before market that doesn’t necessarily relate to harvest. After a long winter in storage, our table coverings and produce baskets need cleaned and aired out, and our display items accounted for. This season we’re also test-driving a new labeling system for our produce which is taking time to perfect as well.

The real reason I wanted to get this one live is to give an interim update on the status of our latest natural building project here on the farm. It’s come a long way even since these photos, with rough plaster up and ready for action.

To the left: straw bales covered in a thick plaster. To the right: wood frame infilled with light straw clay, waiting to be plastered.

My favorite thing about natural building techniques is that they are incredibly versatile in their application. Natural construction on the farm speaks not only to the truth of the materials, but the reality that they were crafted by people. They are warm and organic, inexpensive and efficient, the materials can decompose completely or be broken down and reused. Someone who has never worked on an earthen building before can learn the basics quickly. The light straw clay and rough plaster pictured here was completed by our interns after only a quick demonstration. The finished product is truly sculpture, molded by many hands. Right angles in modern construction lack the honesty and character of earthen buildings – after finishing something we can step back and see ourselves in it.

Below, the moist soil is a boon to the comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.), a perennial that is priceless on organic farms for its deep roots and prolific growth. It’s taproot acts as a dynamic accumulator, drawing up minerals and nutrients from deep in the soil. Through it’s fast and steady growth, it makes these nutrients available above ground via its leaves, which can be cut and used for mulch or steeped into a fertile tea. Comfrey must be placed carefully however, as it will spread gladly with any disturbance to its roots – so once it is established it is incredibly difficult to eradicate. At the base of out fruit trees it coexists happily by discouraging the growth of weeds, and can easily be cut and left in place as mulch.

The Lambs
These guys are huge! The two brothers, Chip and Clip, could still be lifted by an ambitious individual, but their growth has been overwhelming. They still love to throw their weight around, bucking and galloping with glee, but their stride is decidedly heavier. Their sister, Elsa, is significantly smaller, but putting on weight at a good pace. All are well-adapted and love a good scratch on the head. All are still nursing, but they have developed a healthy appreciation for grass and sun. They are unruly though, and require close supervision when being run out to pasture as they easily become distracted and a little too interested in the crops they pass on the way.

Molly’s Kids
All are growing, but a lot more slowly than the lambs. The biggest of the three is Big Brother, followed closely by his sister Leah. The runt of the bunch is Gus, mostly because he is more timid than the others. He will climb in your lap, jump on your bag, chew your hair and steal your heart. They love butting heads and frolicking, and are getting really good at King of the Mountain. We started separating the kids from Molly at night this week, and are milking her in the mornings. Our first batch of fresh cheese was processed today!

Tilia’s Kids
The youngest of the bunch, Fawns and Elvis are gentle and quiet. They are nursing well but can’t keep up with Tilia’s milk production, so we’re milking her out once a day to keep her healthy.

We plant by hand, dividing up labor into laying out and planting. One person lays out the plugs at their spacing distance in the row, and someone comes behind to put the tiny starts in the ground.

Even with all the rain the last few months, in the sun and breeze the topsoil dries out quickly so if we have a lot of planting to do we run drip irrigating while we plant. If there’s a little or if we’re using overhead irrigation we wait to turn on the water until everything’s finished. Transplanting is so stressful on the little starts, it is critical to keep them well watered until they’re established – if not, even the most robust little starts will succumb to stress and dehydration.

Once we got there, I had rigged a sheep harness as a kind of halter and roped a leash onto the back (lambs also do not like collars), and she trotted along like a champion. At the booth, she was a little shy but took the day in stride, chumming it up with everyone that came her way. When it was time for a feed, she surprised all of us by sipping down goats’ milk straight out of the jar!

We all had a lot of fun greeting new and old friends and answering questions. Especially with so much recent interest in locally grown organic food, we’re proud to show off what we do to the community.

We’ve got our fingers crossed that things will dry out in time for the spring crops and fruit trees to have a good season!