Pre-spring bed prep: spreading organic alfalfa hay on beds that will get transplants in 4-6 weeks. This gets chopped with the flail mower, watered in and covered with a silage tarp so the earthworms and soil microbes can start incorporating it into the soil.
Dear Farm Friends,
Spring is just about here, and you may be wondering why you haven’t heard from us in a while. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed the farm membership signups. We have just been….well, it’s long story.
In short: the month of February was a black hole of fear and uncertainty, some of the worst weeks of our faming life. In a massive surprise, a state building official was adamant that our greenhouse and packshed did not qualify as a farm building, and we could not use it at all unless we went through a commercial building permit and inspection process. We did not know for a while if we could proceed with our farm year; this infrastructure is core to all of our plans for growing.
We eventually reached a somewhat satisfactory resolution after much phone calling, research, advice seeking, and advocacy that ate weeks of our farming life. We do now have a pathway forward classifying this as farm building. It’s still not straightforward, as it puts some limits on what we can use the building for, and will take another round of problem solving but we were at least able to fire up the greenhouse and start our early starts.
The first few rounds of greens had to make do in the old nursery which was also doubling as the greens-washing area. The new greenhouse, with more reliable heat, better seals, and some automation of venting and fans, is a really exciting improvement.
As we play catch-up from February, a few things are later than ever, but still on. Perhaps most important: We will open up the farm membership signups, just in time for the first official days of spring! Farm members, watch your emails for the advance sign-up form; you’ll have a few days to renew your farm membership before it opens to the general public. Folks who are interested in signing up for the first time, please watch for another email next week!
Local winter food: stir-fry of carrots, onions, garlic, and greens = quick and easy dinner.
There are plenty of exciting developments and good news for you as we head into spring. The ground prep and transplanting are well underway, and all kinds of starts are popping in the greenhouse. The farmstore still has greens along with the storage carrots, potatoes, and so many eggs! We’ve started planting micro greens to help fill any potential gaps between the overwintered and the spring-planted greens, so as soon as next week we should have radish and pea shoots in the farmstore.
The SweetRoot ladies are always working. With the warmer days they are hiking all the way across the pasture to find the alfalfa hay, the new weed shoots, and the good digging spots.
We do have one special request for help, and this is a new one for us: finding a space for a seasonal farm-hand. We are hiring a larger crew this year to make the work sustainable for everyone, but do not have enough on-farm housing to accommodate everyone. We think we have an awesome team lined up but we are looking to help one of our employees find a space to rent in or near Hamilton for herself and her dog as they relocate here from Vermont. They have lived with roommates and in tiny houses before, and are mellow and friendly. If you or anyone you know has a space for rent or room for a new housemate with dog, please let us know and we’ll put you in touch. Additional benefits to this kind of housemate include copious amounts of farmer-grade produce brought home to share, and first-hand tales of behind the scenes life at SweetRoot!
As always, we want to thank you all for your support and encouragement. We are so looking forward to feeding you again through the coming year.
-Mary and Noah, SweetRoot Farm