The barn swallows appeared this week,setting up in our barn after their long journey from Central America. Their arrival usually indicates that long-term warmer weather is about to arrive as well, and other than the hummingbirds, they are one of the last to come home.Their diet of mostly insects means the weather has to be warm enough to provide them with a steady supply of food. Since most insects are intolerant of very cold temperatures, the arrival of the swallows is a good indicator of moderate weather trends heading our way. We also rely on the swallows to control our mosquito population, and welcome them. Since the pairs that arrived this week probably nested in our barn last year, it is likely that we already know each other, which is why I don't feel to silly talking to them when I am in the barn. They can travel up to 600 miles per day, which is phenomenal when I think about it. I don't like traveling that far in a car in a day, and they fly under their own power! They are one of the many wonders of nature that fascinate me in the spring. Anyway, we are glad that they made it and are back. The increase in certain activities on our farm indicate warmer weather as well. Our spring chicks are hatched, and running lose in their nursery. Soon they will be running with the big girls eating bugs and scratching for worms and grubs. Also, Friday, we had our annual potato-cutting evening, and we cut up over 1000 lbs of seed potatoes with the help of many people. On Saturday morning, we planted them, over two acres worth. The final yield may approach 15,000 lbs. We also planted about two acres worth of squash, though we won't transplant these until the end of May because they are intolerant of any frost. The spring greens, onions, and radishes are all growing well and on time, and we expect that we will be able to start the summer CSA deliveries on schedule at the end of May.

While the weather is acting a little more normal now, our workload remains about the same. We are planting every week now and starting plants in the greenhouses. We are also constructing a fourth greenhouse in a couple of weeks, a 20 x 84 to help out with early crops in the future. Our cover crops are doing splendidly. I checked our main field for this year, and almost the entire field is a lush green mixture of rye and hairy vetch. These two crops team up to add and hold nitrogen and they release it slowly to the plants throughout the season after they are tilled in. I promise to get pictures in the next couple of weeks of our fields and crops. We have over 30 acres in cover crops right now. Another benefit of cover crops is the that they hold the soil together over the winter. A green cover means that the soil is alive beneath it. We want to keep the soil thriving because it is a symbiotic mixture of millions of organisms working together. Leaving the soil bare over the winter like conventional farms disrupts this delicate ecosystem. By keeping something growing at all times except just before we either plant or transplant crops keeps the natural symbioses healthy. Brown ground is not acceptable to us unless it's just before a crop is planted. The last major benefit of cover crops that I will discuss today is soil aeration. The roots of the cover crops will go down, sometimes over ten feet, to loosen the soil and provide aeration. It does this, once planted without any additional fossil fuel inputs, and as an added benefit, it sequesters tons (literally) of carbon from the atmosphere in the form of biomass, which is released to the soil organisms and the crop that you will eat. So you see, the production of your food that you will eat this summer began late last summer when we planted the cover crops into the fields as individual crops finished production. The art of growing food requires not only hard work, but long term planning to ensure that the soil is prepared for crop that is planted into it. It is our contribution to the circle of food.

Wow! Things are progressing well out here, and with this recent rain,the plants are happy too. Deliveries will begin in about four weeks,but it may be sooner if the weather cooperates. This week, I just thought I would update you on the status of your food:

Lettuce,Spinach, and Misc. Greens: These are planted weekly. Some of the varieties in the greenhouses are almost ready and mature. We have these planted in succession plantings to ensure a supply for many weeks.

Carrots and Beets: These are growing well in the greenhouse, and you will probably be eating these in late June/Early July. Succession plantings beginning next week will provide more of these throughout the summer,especially in August.

Potatoes: 1300 lbs of seed potatoes are already in the ground. They have not sprouted above the ground yet, but we hope to see them growing in about two weeks. We begin sending these around the first week of July and continue through the season.

Peas: Planted last week, and they usually mature around the end of June

Beans: Not planted yet

Kohlrabi,Broccoli, Cabbage, and Brussel Sprouts: About half of these are already transplanted in the ground, and the other half, about 4000 plants, is in the greenhouse maturing. Many of these will mature in late June and Early July. Some will mature later in the summer.

Onions and Garlic: Some in and succession plantings will continue for a few more weeks. Green onions will be ready the first week through the first three or four weeks. Storage onions will be ready in late August. The garlic will be mature in late July.

Sweet Corn: Not in. We start succession plantings next week.

Wheat and Oats: These are in and growing well. They will mature in early August, and we will mill and ship the flour as soon as we can in August. The oats will be rolled and sent about the same time.

Asparagus and Strawberries: As perennials, they are thriving and doing well.Asparagus will be certainly be in your early deliveries and strawberries show up in late June.

Tomatoes, Peppers, Misc.Herbs, and Eggplant: These are up in the greenhouse right now. We will transplant these plants after the threat of frost is gone

Melons,Squash, Pumpkins, Cucumbers: Not planted. They will be planted in successions beginning next weekend in the greenhouse. They will mature from July - October, depending on the variety.

There are others,but this should give you a summary idea of what is going on with your food.

These past few weeks have been a blur. This weekend, we have taken a small breather for a few hours, but the recent rain, which is greatly needed, will ensure that we will be very busy over the next week.  In the past couple of weeks we have planted potatoes, kohlrabi, Brussel sprouts, onions, greens, and broccoli.  We have assembled a walk-in cooler, and planted thousands of plants in pots for transplanting at a later date.

While there is much to do, this is also my favorite time of year. I love the intensity of work. Spring is when we have the most energy. I also enjoy the community that we have out here. Many people come to our farm and assist in the planting, weeding, and harvesting of crops. Some are new to this, while others have been working with us for some time. Still, we laugh, talk, and work towards a common goal. It is the community that shares in the time-honored production of food. We work side-by-side like generations of people before us, and in this simple act of community, we revive something lost in our modern world of instant communication and consumer gratification. We slow down and see each other.

Wow! Just a few weeks ago I was dreaming of spring, and now it's really here. I cannot imagine a better time of year. We are busy, to be sure, but it is organic to be involved in producing food for the next year. We are preparing fields and gardens daily, and we have already begun major plantings. Wheat,oats, garlic, onions, and some greens are already planted. Susan and Lora, a friend of ours, planted 3000 tomatoes, eggplants, and assorted herbs yesterday. We already have about 4000 kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, and broccoli started, which will be transplanted in a few weeks.

In two to three weeks, we will beplanting potatoes in the field and we plant greens, radishes,turnips, etc. almost weekly. Also, the spring chicks arrive in two weeks. Truly, spring has sprung, and we are connected to the rhythms of nature. The birds are already claiming territories for breeding and food supplies and they are building nests. I have spotted a fresh fox den near one of our fields, and I suspect that the kits will soon emerge into the world. Spring is a time for preparation and renewal. The entire natural world participates in this annual ritual, and now,so do we.

Farmers are eternal optimists. Somehow we look at a job that has long hours, low pay, and high risk and feel lucky to live the life that we do. That makes us “glass half full” types operating in perpetual denial of reality. Last season was a horrible season by any standards. Many old-timers said it was the worst year in their memory. Considering the number of times that I heard that last season, I have to believe that it is not hyperbole. Yet, I find myself looking to 2010 with renewed optimism. In fact, I am downright excited about this year.

I have never been so mentally challenged in my life by an undertaking. There are more things that can go wrong than right on a farm. This year has already dealt us our first minor setback. Due to the unseasonable warmth that we had last week, the maple trees did not produce enough sap. We were only able to produce a small amount of maple syrup this year, the worst since we started sugaring. Yet, I find myself thinking that this will be the last setback of 2010. A small batch (about 500) cabbage seeds germinated poorly under the grow lights. Only about 10% germinated. We can, of course, mitigate this by replanting since it is so early; so I do not consider this a true setback.

A semi came tonight to pick up our blue corn from last year. It was about two months late, partially due to other farmers having trouble getting last year's crop off of their fields until a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, due to the high moisture content from the wet fall, and the unseasonably warm weather of last week, the corn went sour. We could not deliver it. It is now compost in one of our fields that will be fallow this year. I don't count that as a setback for this year. Sure, last week's warm weather was a contributor, but I consider this to be last year's problem. That means that I remain optimistic about this year.

The front wheels almost fell off one ofthe tractors this weekend. I can fix it; therefore, it is not aproblem. Besides, spring is about finding surprise mechanical failures. It's like the anticipation of Christmas without the stress.This is certainly not a setback. That means that I am completely expecting 2010 to be a stellar year, and while I take reasonable precautions, I do not expect anything to go wrong this year. I think that there is rain expected later this week . Of course our fields won't flood.

Today was a typical late February day.The morning was cool, but by mid-day the sun, with its increasingly higher angle, warmed the air. The birds were singing, the snow was melting, and something else very relevant started happening. Like lumbering giants awakening from their winter slumber, the maple trees are stretching and in doing so, their blood is beginning to flow.

To be sure, it is a trickle now, but as the days grow longer in the next two weeks, their veins will be coursing with the life-giving sap, required by the buds in desperate need to open up and to begin collecting sunlight. Like every spring,they offer excess to those industrious enough and timely enough to be prepared. No one has accused us of not being industrious, and I believe that we are on time this year. Our taps are in for our small operation, and within a week, we expect to be boiling down the sap 24hours/day for about two weeks.

During this time, we will make ourentire year's supply of maple syrup. For all of this work, we canexpect between seven and twelve gallons of finished syrup. This willbe the direct result of collecting and boiling down between 280 andabout 500 gallons on raw sap. The process is time consuming andgrueling at times, and yet, when we pour the golden brown nectar on astack of pancakes or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, all of this isforgotten.

Growing food can be a dirty business.With March quickly approaching, there is no end to the list that seems to be growing daily of the things that need to be accomplished.We moved over 2000 onions outside today to the high tunnels to make room under the grow lights for the 2100 new plants that we started today. We need to start at least that many from now until the middle of June. Throughout the house, the floor is littered with dirt, both from the newly planted crops and from being tracked in from outside. To be sure, it will be cleaned up in a day or so, but next weekend will bring its own new dirt that will find a home on our floors.

I still cannot imagine a better way to live. It is timed to the rhythms of the seasons. Just when there is more work to be done, there is enough daylight to get the work done.We are not the only creatures getting out and about this time of year. While outside today, it seemed that the chorus of birds has picked up some new singers lately. While the cardinals spend the winter, the males were staking out new territories. Soon they will be making their spring nests. Also, the blue jays were making a ruckus and the geese were congregating, probably holding some town hall meeting to discuss universal goose health care.

Anyway, it was far from quiet outdoorstoday, and with each new week, new travelers will be arriving. Somewill be disappointed with the snow that is coming tonight, but allwill be engaged in survival. We are part of that rhythm, and nothingcould be more natural.

We can work outside until 6:00 and still see. “That is something to write home about,” I told Susan when we came in this evening. We spent the day planting, preparing one of the high tunnels for planting next weekend, and fixing one of the tractor's tires. The sun encouraged us as we worked, and it felt nice to be outside. The temperatures in the high tunnels were approaching the mid 70's today, treating us to an early glimpse of spring. As the days grow longer, so does the requirement to use the day blight. In fact, we just noted yesterday that summer share deliveries begin in about eleven weeks. With the increasing daylight hours, it is clear that the lazy days of winter are quickly drawing to an end.

As expected, the cold weather returned.I could have gotten accustomed to the warmer weather. I think that the dogs felt the same way. Still, I have a perfect excuse to not get any work done outside; so, I guess that I won't complain too much.

When I got home from work today, I put the finishing touches on the maintenance for the grow light rack. We have several thousand onion plants started right now. We can start about 2100 individual plants at a time under grow lights, which we then transfer to the high tunnels once the weather warms a bit more.Soon all of our grow lights will be lit up, and plants will be growing. Throughout the late winter and spring we will start about12,000 plants in pots.

You can't miss our house on our roadthis time of year. It is the one that glows all day long. I suspectthat the DEA has our site on some kind of map of potentiallysuspicious tomato-growing sites. “Honest Mr. Officer, these areoregano plants. Here, try one.” Hey, I have to amuse myself somehowin the long nights of winter!