The race against Mother Nature

Although we are not late with our plantings outside, it sure does feel like it. Since it was warm early, it has made us feel as though spring has been going on for a while. Mother's Day is technically the frost free date, so we're really not that far behind. It just keeps raining as soon as it gets dry enough for Steve to till, not leaving us much time to try to squeeze in plantings.

Also, we have discussed with a fellow farmer and discovered that the damage to the pepper plants is merely mechanical damage from it being so windy on Saturday. Whew! What a relief! That means that they will recover because all new growth looks good and hopefully we won't have another 40 mph windy day before we try to sell these plants at the market so that way they look as healthy as they actually are.

We recently put in 35 fruit trees, making an orchard in the back of the greenhouses. So, within the next few years we should have 5 sour cherry trees, 5 sweet cherry trees, and 25 asian pear trees (34 including the 9 we already have) producing fruit for us. We planted 25 blueberry plants as well. Last year we had 6 blueberry plants producing and it only fruited enough for me to eat because man they were good! We are really looking forward to this too, just another thing to expand our horizon and become more than just flower farmers. This does mean more work though, mulching and weeding even more areas.

This spring has been spent doing lots of weeding. Since it has been wet, all the weeds have been growing like crazy (well, like weeds I suppose). So, we have been trying to clear our beds of weeds now while we have the time instead of waiting until they are out of control in the summertime. So, all in all still feeling a little overwhelmed, but we are getting a lot accomplished so at least it is getting us somewhere. Who knows, maybe someday we will near the end of our to do list!

The trials and tribulations...

Here at the farm, we have had our share of ups and downs lately. Here you can see the greenhouse that was ripped apart by the wind storm that we had, taking 17 poles out of the ground. This is one of two greenhouses, both of them causing us headache right now. So far we have not been successful in making it worth our while to have them. Last year we planted all flowers in them and quickly discovered that we did not get enough production out of sunflowers for it to make sense that we use the space for that.

The second one was planted with all lilies in hopes that we could have them ready to harvest in June for the bridal season. Instead, we had a huge wind storm in Ohio (see first picture) and the plastic to our greenhouse came off, leaving them exposed to the elements as if they were outside. Therefore, they are going to be prepared to harvest at the same time that all of our other lilies out in the field will be, which means we will have lilies coming out of our ears again this year. We got the greenhouse covered recently (see second picture), but not in time enough to make a difference in forcing them to bloom sooner. So be prepared because there will be tons of them!

Also, all of our transplants looked great until recently when we took them outside. Something happened and now they have yellowish, brown spots on them. We have so far been unable to identify them and are hoping that it is just a nutrient deficiency in the plants and that optimum growing conditions will pull them out of this stress. Otherwise, all that hard work and they will just be thrown away. Keep us in your thoughts!

And lastly, due to a recent misunderstanding with the administration of the Upper Arlington Farmer's Market, we will be unable to attend this year. This means that you can find us at Pearl Market which is downtown in Pearl Alley across from the statehouse from 10:30-2 on Tuesdays and at Granville on Saturdays from 8-12. Granville is thinking about having a market that would be in the evening on Tuesdays too and since we will have more time, we will be experimenting with other markets. We are going to be open at farm stand here at the farm though, which will allow us more sales directly off our property. This will give us the ability to make each sale more personal and allow you to see the farm first hand while you are making your purchase. And, coming that direct from the farm means that it is the freshest you can get! So, maybe this lost market won't be a bad thing for the customers after all...

Community Supported Agriculture

Our farm is starting a CSA this year. This is called Community Supported Agriculture because it wouldn't exist without you! It takes someone to develop an entrusting relationship with a farmer by paying upfront for a season's worth of produce. The money upfront gives the farmer the resources to buy seeds and other things to start up the season and ensures that you get a weekly share of the harvest for the season.

This year we are doing a 16 week program starting June 19th and going through the first week in October. You would get enough to feed a family of four, with 5-9 different things per week. Now remember, everything is based upon seasonality so you will not be getting the same thing all season, and what is available is up to Mother Nature!

If you would be interested in something like this contact us at sunnymeadowsflowerfarm@gmail.com. Our farm is southeast Columbus, but we do a market in Granville where it can be picked up also. We invite you out to the farm to check out how we do things and so that you can be an interactive part of the food you put on your family's table. And remember, we do everything organically so you can feel good about making your kids eat your vegetables too!

Welcome to our lives!

Now begins our third season in farming and we are always developing who we are as farmers and what we grow. We recently put in 25 Asian pear trees, 10 cherry trees, and got four chickens. So, it has been a busy spring!

Along with starting seeds under lights in our house, we have been trying to repair the greenhouse that we lost in the wind storm. You wouldn't think that we would get hurricane strength winds in Ohio, but sure enough we did! Seventeen poles were ripped out of the ground, along with the plastic being ripped off of it. After much digging, pulling, planning and a lot of concrete, we think that we have it settled in there. We were planning on having lilies early by planting them in the greenhouse, but since we just got it together, they will be right on time with the ones outside. This means we will have lilies galore, so if you're interested definitely let us know.

This winter was spent keeping warm by the wood burning stove and preparing for the next farm season. A lot of reading and planning ahead, with the goal of being more organized this year than last. Eventually we will get the hang of this organization thing. We also built ourselves a lean-to onto the back of the garage so that we could park our tractor underneath out of the elements and give us some more storage space.

So, all in all, we have got a lot going on here already! We are always welcome to visitors, just let us know when you would like to come out and see us. We want to spark as much interest in our urban farm as we can, with the goal of teaching kids that their food doesn't just come from a grocery store! It would be good for them to come out and get their hands dirty a little bit.