April manual labor brings May seedlings! The beans are shooting up inches by the day, my first sugar snap pea flowers arrived this morning, the radishes are big and bright, my Dahlias from Farmer Steph have poked through the ground after their first season of being divided and replanted, and almost every seed planted has germinated. Unfortunately, the cutworm caterpillars are also loving all these sweet new seedlings and I’m finding myself fighting, what feels like, a losing battle. I eventually had to turn to an organic pesticide, for the first time ever, in order to help me as my digging them out everytime they took down another new seedling was good for the chickens, but the damage was done by that time and I appear to have a full infestation. I will need to spend some time researching the reason they appear in high numbers and what I can do to try to prevent them next spring.
The number of hours required to bring an overwintered garden to life is truly astonishing. I continue to hope that I will streamline the process, make less mistakes and in turn create a few less hours of work for myself, but as of now, I seem to only make more work for myself. The reward this year has been as sweet as can be, as my vision of a picturesque garden has started to come to fruition. At least for now, when the weeds are still under control. I’ll keep you updated as to its photo worthiness as the summer progresses!
I only have a few items on the calendar as the summer seems quite busy and I am experimenting with some different types of classes to see what appeals to the local masses.
On May 16th at 7pm we will have a discussion at the farm on what’s important when buying our food; local, organic, GMO free, free range, etc.. There are so many labels we are encouraged to consider, but the result can be overwhelming when trying to just buy food for the week! $10pp
On May 30 from 10-12 OR from 5:30 – 7:30, I will launch the first of my meal prep 101 series. This first class will be on sauces, dips and dressings, as it is my strong opinion that having these items on hand is a game changer for being able to put a quick, easy and nutrient dense meal in front of ourselves and our families. $30pp
My main goal over the next couple months, other than managing the daily pest control, is to get my website updated with a page that focuses on connecting consumers in North GA with suppliers of meat and produce that is grown/raised in a way that makes me feel good about eating it. We currently order our beef, by the 1/4 cow, from Summer Owens at The Farms at Hickory Flat and I was thrilled to have Summer join our book discussion this week as her insider perspective into Will Harris’ book A Bold Return to Giving a Damn was invaluable and much appreciated. The overall opinion was that it’s a fantastic book and that both the farmer and consumer have a variety of obstacles to overcome in order to live by the standards that Mr. Harris is putting forth, but we can all make steps in the right direction.
I have also recently received my first order of pork from Riverview Farms, who offer pasture raised beef and pork and they are hoping to partner with a farm that raises pasture raised chickens here soon. We are looking into having Table Root Farm as a pickup site for orders from Riverview later this summer. In the meantime, they have pickup sites in the Atlanta area or charge a $10 delivery fee to deliver directly to your door.
If you have a local farmer that you believe deserves a spot on our website, please email me so I can include them as I put the list together.
Enjoy the longer days, the buds of spring and the sounds of children out and about enjoying the sunshine.
All my best,
Kalee Tilli – MSHN