July Update

Oops I missed a blog post for June- read on to see why!

This months blog could be written solely on the many different and exciting types of to do lists that I have... But I will do my best to keep that short and talk about all the other awesome things growing and growing and growing on the farm. 

The month of June is always the busiest month of the year for us farmers. While a large portion of the seeding and planting is already done, there is usually a game of catch up that I always experience. Sometimes the wild Wisconsin spring weather is so rainy that I get really behind on weeding and transplanting (like this year!) which carries over to the following successions of plants needing to get into the ground. And then all of a sudden the first CSA shares must be harvested, packed and delivered knocking my available catch up days in half. Of course I love harvesting and packing the shares much more than weeding but I still get anxious that I will loose certain beds to the weeds. This is where my various to do lists come in.

Every week I take 15 minutes with pen, paper and clip board to walk my field. No stopping to weed or pinch some blossoms off the new strawberry plants- I just walk, observe and write down. I write down what is ready for next weeks CSA share and how much and then what is almost ready for possibly going in the following weeks share. I write down what can go on my wholesale list for my restaurant and wholesale customers. I write down what needs to be weeded and what needs to be weeded BADLY. I notice what needs to be tilled in, what needs to be amended and tilled for planting. I also look at my master planting plan every Sunday night to see what needs to seeded or transplanted the following week which affects what needs to be tilled and prepped. I also make notes of things to remember for next season. For example, next year I want to plant more spinach and plant one less succession of salad mix (I planted too much this year!). Lastly, I have a list of things to do in winter for the farm that I definitely don't have time to prioritize right now. This weekly field walk allows me to get everything I need to get done out of my head and onto paper where it belongs! And I often think of things at home or in the truck which is why I usually keep my clip board with me all the time. Keeping track of 60+ weekly shares and several restaurant accounts while also doing 90% of the farm work is daunting and would keep me up at night if I didn't keep things (mostly) out of my head and on paper.

The greatest thing about all these crazy OCD lists is that beautiful and bountiful produce results and that makes me happy.

This seasons first CSA share!