June-Ready/Believe It Or Not

The 45 degrees Farenheit registered on our outdoor thermometer is validated by the hens' hesistance to come outside the warmth of their coop this morning. So I had to consult the wall calendar, and yes it is the morning of June first. But the 6 am sunrise could have told me that, and the first fireflies with their opening act of bioluminescence could have provided confirmation too. Make no mistake about it, time pulled a fast one again and we have slipped into June.

Rich and I have been so preoccupied playing catch up from the wet spring delays that June is earlier than usual. If we were going to get doused with wild rains in early spring, at least we have had a mild second half to work with. Despite dramatic weather events, there are always windows to be found for us farmers to summon all our energy and get seeds and plants in the ground before its close. And so when that window opens, you set aside all else, reschedule other plans much to the chagrin of the kids, disregard your body asking for a sleep-in, and get the truck loaded with trays of seedlings. Because, you see, that window can close with a change in the forecast: a wind storm that bleeds into multiple inches of rain, or more likely by June: dry spells and full-sun days in the 80's when the local pools are cashing in and we're irrigating a little extra as the young crops get their roots set deeply enough to weather the weather.

We're in good company between our local farmer pals who we confer with and the empathetic customers who check in on the farm at our weekly market. As singular as we can feel on the farm, toiling each spring with its unique set of challenges, it's a wholly communal experience. You don't have to be a grower to be in touch with the elements and to understand the impact of a severe storm or a challenging dry spell. We humans are hardwired to pay heed to our environment and experience the conditions together. And so, commiserate we must to expel concerns and doubtless frustrations, and to move on with a fresh start the morning after.

But it is June after all and this is the month that I tend to feel a bit of relief as peak tornado season in Ohio has passed and we have our six am sunrises, guaranteeing more hours of daylight available to soak up whatever rain may come. Photosynthesis is set free in the longest days of the year, giving this Ohio Valley that lush effect that calls you outside. It's been calling me outside to play circa 1991 and here I am years later, having dragged Rich back from the east coast with me to play in it until the sun goes down in our fields.

Farm Updates:

-Oakwood Farmers Market Begins: This Saturday June 7th- October we will be selling at the Oakwood Farmers Market. The market runs from 9-noon. Rich and are attempting to both be behind the booth as often as possible to serve you all :). We are so very excited for this season and have a lot in store for our tables.

-New Tractor: Just when we finished paying off our first tractor, purchased the spring of 2018 when we started the farm, we took on a second tractor payment. We have been hoping to make this investment in a cultivating tractor since the beginning. This tractor will allow us to invest in a tractor mounted transplanter, so that we don't have to transplant our crops by hand anymore. Yes! Last week over the course of two days Rich and I hand transplanted 5000 plants by hand. Very hard on our bodies and inefficient at our scale, we are so excited to be able to afford to farm smarter and more efficiently. This tractor will also allow us to convert our fields to a new design which has a grass pathway in between each bed which is HUGE for soil health, water conservation and absorption, etc. We really needed this tractor to build and maintain this new bed system. Again: smarter than harder and building a farm for resiliency and to handle the more erratic and ever-changing climatic conditions. This tool means so much to us.

-Henhouse: If you are on our weekly order reminder email list, you already know this story. We had a big loss in our coop last month and lost a lot of our flock to predation overnight. These things happen, but undoubtedly we were disappointed and saddened to lose a number of our birds. We have twelve hens and Aladdin the rooster who survived and so we will not be bringing many eggs to market this summer. I will be bringing more layer chicks or hens in this winter to add more life to the coop. But in the meantime we won't be taking anymore recycled egg cartons in as we have a stockpile now :). And in the meantime, you can buy great local eggs from Minnick Family Farm and Shire Farm who both vend at the Oakwood Farmers Market on Saturdays beside us.

Thank you for reading.

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