Farm update / Sabato

The market garden can look a bit damn boring in the late winter into early spring. The lettuces are still on their winter unimpressive grow-slow and our in-ground crops are all covered full-time with weather protecting row covers. But - what's all the colour over there? Check out the edible flowers. Bright and cheerful and pretty to boot. Over the years we've extended the edible flower beds and now we have 120 meters of beds dedicated to growing them. We've just started supplying Farro Fresh Grey Lynn and Fruitworld Silverdale with our edible flowers. 

I pick the edible flowers almost daily, after the morning dew has dried but before they get warm in the sun. After flower harvest, I tip over the basket ... and the crazy big bright pile of edible flowers on the bench in front of me is ... just beautiful. 

And so, on a day off, I draw a big pile of edible flowers, trying to capture the attitude of each flower face.

I hide in my drawing the critters that I encounter out in the flower beds. Skinks, honeybees, bumblebees, snails, and ants. Friends and foes of our market garden.

This slower time in the garden is a good time to get odd jobs done, turn deliveries into picnics, have 2 coffees in bed before getting up, and enjoy the farm instead of just working on the farm ... and spend time with family and friends.

We were excited about hosting our nephew and one of his little boys on the farm. It led me to remember when our boys were little and all the wonder they found in the little things around them. Finding tiny crabs under rocks on the mudflats, watching trapped flies stuck in spiderwebs, taking hours to dig a big hole in the sand at the beach.

So it didn't surprise me when our great nephew found great delight in discovering cow pats for the first time. It's not something I give alot of thought to usually. But it reminded me that cow pats are big, funny and worth a photo. It was fun to see the farm through the eyes of a child.

In past years we've attended the farmer's market through winter. Winter markets can be slow, especially in cold wet weather. This year we have been conducting a bit of a controversial experiment by not attending the farmer's market and soley selling through our stockists. And we're pleased with the results. Sales have been consistent and aren't so effected by weather. We've learned over the years not to be scared of trying new ways of running our small business. 

Spring is officially here according to the calendar. This feels like the starting line of a race. We're suddenly busy getting in all the supplies we need for spring preparations for summer crops. Seeds, soil, organic fertilisers and supports for tomatoes and taller edible flowers in our in-ground beds, and building materials for more hydroponic infrastructure to appease our increased customer base. 

We've done our summer planning which involves making final decisions on what we'll grow, where it will be grown and how much of it we'll grow. Every year we tweak what we grow. It seems to be getting more hot and humid here each summer, and the kinds of produce we grow reflects that. Last year we had a drought, so water plays on our minds ... alot. How can we be even more water efficient?

This summer we'll grow:

San Marzano style tomatoes

Edible flowers 

Blue Lake Runner beans

Lebanese zucchini

Little cornito capsicums

Various lettuce varieties for our salad mixes

A new crop for us: sunflower microgreens