Asparagus!

The moment many of you have been waiting for is here, the asparagus harvest has begun! We have set up a small area at the farm stand for sales. Today was our first harvest, just 11 bunches, but there is plenty more coming along for another harvest Saturday. At the beginning of the season we will have asparagus available for honor system sales Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday starting at noon each day. As the season progresses we will keep you updated on the harvest and availability. At the stand there is a book for you to record your purchase, a box for payment, and an option to use your Barrett’s Bucks. If you would like more Barrett’s Mill Farm updates and photos check out our new Facebook page. We like old fashion friends too so be sure to stop in say hello if you are here purchasing asparagus or are taking a walk down this beautiful road that we are lucky enough to call home!

A friends and family farm

Our family members are not farmers but Barrett’s Mill Farm is already becoming a family (and friends!) farm. Our parents, brothers and friends have shown up in support, rolling up their sleeves and jumping into farm projects. Friday was a great example. The morning began with preparations for planting, and just as we were ready to begin, Lise’s mom arrived to help transplant lettuce, chard, and beets. In the afternoon, Lise’s husband grabbed a shovel and went to work along side us covering our newly planted seedlings to protect them from cold, animals and pests. Melissa’s mom stopped by in the early evening to drop off a car full of bulb crates, which are a great way to store and display produce. Meanwhile, throughout the day we communicated with our friend Ben (a Concord native!) who was designing a logo for the farm. And what day would be complete without a phone call to Charlie, our enthusiastic tractor and equipment advisor?

In addition to our support network that has followed us here to Concord, we talk daily with our new neighbors and read our mail from those we have not yet met. The family and friends of Barrett's Mill Farm continues to grow daily. Thanks to you all, the farm is off to a great start!

Time to pick up the pace

With the onset of some warmer weather, the pace is really picking up in the fields at Barrett's Mill Farm! Our sugar snap peas and beets started popping up over the weekend. Today we seeded a second round of carrots in the field, as well as our first outdoor seeding of spinach and our first (and only) seeding of parsnips. We've also started moving some of our seedlings out of the greenhouse to harden off before planting in the ground. By the end of the week we're hoping to transplant napa cabbage, scallions, fennel, spinach and kohlrabi.

We've also had a flurry of activity around the farm with deliveries arriving left and right. Yesterday we had our organic fertilizer delivery and Hollis Hill Farm came to spread lime on our western field. (Most vegetable plants have a hard time taking up nutrients from the soil if the pH is too acidic, so the lime helps to balance that out.) Today our cover crop seed arrived, and within the next week we are expecting our seed potatoes, strawberry plants and our tractor and implements!

Spreading lime to raise the pH

Seeding frenzy

Saturday marked another important milestone for us as we began seeding our first crops outside in our freshly tilled fields. While there are a lot of vegetable plants popping up in the greenhouse, the first outdoor seeding of the season always feels special.

The first step on Saturday was to spread some organic fertilizer, as our soil test results showed some nutrient deficiencies. Next, we raked the beds to incorporate the fertilizer and flatten out a few ridges in the soil. Once the beds were flat, we measured out our row spacing and put down string to mark straight lines. Following the string markers, we pushed our handy new precision seeder down the beds to seed carrots and beets. Finally, we covered the freshly seeded beets and carrots with row cover, which involves unfurling a giant white cloth over the beds and burying the edges with soil in order to keep it in place. Fortunately, it wasn't a very windy day, otherwise the row cover would have acted like a giant sail! While row cover is a lot of work to use, it is well worth it early in the season, as it warms the soil a few degrees to ensure speedier germination. It also helps to protect the new seedbeds from the abundant wildlife, especially the deer.

On Monday, we seeded sugar snap peas and snow peas in the field as well. Since our seeder can only handle smaller seeds, we planted these ones by hand. Both of us are used to seeding everything with a tractor, so it was fun for us to get down in the dirt and seed veggies the old-fashioned way. We were fortunate to get a nice bit of rain directly after seeding since we are still working on our irrigation set-up. Now hopefully we'll get some more warm weather and have some seedlings popping up in the field early next week!

A Welcome Sight

Hutchins Farm just gave us the best neighborhood welcome gift we could ask for, a plowed field! I’m not sure we can convey just how wide our smiles were when we saw the first furrow on the McGrath farmland Wednesday. It feels exciting and new, and at the same time connected to the past, a point in the season we and other farmers have experienced many times before. The excitement for us this year comes not only from the mark of the beginning of another farm season (always something to celebrate) but from the many people who have pulled together to help us get a quick start including the Hutchins farmers prepping our first field while we finish up our tractor search, neighbors who have offered their welcome and support, and others who have brought by tools, signed up for our CSA, and dropped by to lend a hand. How could we follow all of this? By seeding peas, carrots and beets of course!!