summitspringsfarm.net

Greetings, and apologies for the silence of the blog these past couple of weeks.  My old computer finally gave up the ghost, resulting in a scramble for a new one and some necessary time spent getting my new ‘puter up to speed…as well as, you know, farming.  And boy are we doing some farming!  This week, we’ve begun transplanting in earnest, getting seedlings out of our crowded greenhouse and putting them in the ground.  So far:  lettuce, Napa cabbage, broccoli, Red Russian and green kale, onions, kohlrabi, beets, and spinach.  The seeds continue to go in, too, including salad mix, peas, and carrots.  And this is only the beginning!

Thanks to everyone who has come by to visit me on Wednesdays at Monument Square in Portland.  We sold eggs exclusively for a couple of weeks, and yesterday, we were able to send some delicious baby kale, chives, and seedlings (tomatoes, flowers, kale, broccoli, onions, etc.)  The Wednesday market actually officially begins next week, so look for many more vendors to be present.  And, this coming Saturday, May 1, is the opening day for the Portland Farmer’s Market in Deering Oaks Park.  We’ll be doing that market, too, this season, so look for us in the park.  The forecast looks fabulous:  sunny with high temps up near 70 degrees.  Come on down!

Rachael Oyer, one of our 2010 apprentices, has been living at the farm and working with us for almost 3 weeks now and is doing a great job.  She’s slipped seamlessly into the flow of chicken care chores and has helped us out with all manner of projects since she arrived:  the planting mentioned above, sowing seeds in the greenhouse, prepping for the planting of our greenhouse tomatoes as well as the actual planting, and much more.  Our second apprentice, Corey Maddox, is set to arrive next week, and we’re very excited to meet her and get her up to speed.  Once Corey gets here and gets a couple weeks of work under her belt, I’ll ask both gals to write a little something about themselves to be posted here.

Many thanks to all who came to our most recent potluck last Saturday!  We’ll be announcing the date for the May potluck in the very near future.

A blog or two ago, I mentioned some recent updates to the Recipes page here on the website.  I invite folks to look around even more.  I’ve updated much of the info. on most of the pages and added a new page with information for perspective apprentices, WWOOFers, and volunteers.  I still want to overhaul the overall look of the site, but alas, that may not happen until this season has passed!  So, take a look around…feedback is encouraged!

I’ve heard through the Facebook grapevine that one or two intrepid farmers have already begun setting up on Wednesdays in Portland’s Monument Square.  This week, I’ll be joining them!  We have a ton of eggs…the production from the older hens has increased with the longer days and warmer weather, and the new hens are coming on strong, too.  So, I’ll be bringing a truckload down to Monument Square this Weds. 4/14 between about 7:30 AM and noon.  Drop on by!

I should mention that we are increasing our egg prices this season, starting at the Weds. market.  From then on out, our eggs will be $5 a dozen.  We’re not happy about the increase, but it’s necessary.  We crunched the numbers a couple of weeks ago and realized that we actually lost money on the chickens last season.  Some of that loss was in materials that we won’t need to purchase again this year, like more fencing and a second chicken tractor.  Still, something had to give.  The birds and their eggs require a fair amount of time and labor each day, but the chief culprit is the organic feed we purchase for them.  It is double the price of conventional feed, and the girls motor through about 200 pounds of the stuff a week.  We could save a lot of money by switching their feed away from organic, but our consciences just won’t let us do that.  Please try to understand!  (I should add that the benefits of having the hens go beyond the dollar value of the eggs.  Intangible benefits…as bug eaters, crop debris chompers, manure producers, children entertainers…abound.)

In other news…  This season at our markets, Summit Springs Farm is proud to accept WIC checks.  WIC stands for “Women, Infants, and Children”.  As described on the USDA WIC website “WIC provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.”  Here in Maine, much of the benefit comes via vouchers that participating families can use at stores, farm stands, and farmers’ markets.  WIC participants can visit us at our Portland and Bridgton markets this season and use their WIC checks for fresh produce (alas, eggs are excluded).  Please visit the link above for more information, including participation guidelines.

After a spectacular run of sunny and very warm days, today is cool and overcast with a little rain here and there, a perfect day for paperwork and blogging.  All is well on the farm.  For the first time in a long while, Sonya, Lydi, and I are alone.  Pete, the intrepid English WWOOFer, left this morning, bound by bus to visit a friend in Boston.  During his 10-day stay he cheerfully did a ton of grunt work for us:  Digging up (and then reburying) a problematic spigot by the greenhouse, removing sod and adding earth to three new perennial beds in the yard, filling the infamous dip between the road and the yard by the barn with gravel, collecting eggs, etc.  On an especially rainy morning early last week, he even babysat Lydia while Son and I got some paperwork done.  Many thanks again, Pete!  Kate Jones is also gone, southbound to visit friends and relatives for a few weeks before starting her preceptorship in New Hampshire.  Thanks to you, too!  We won’t be alone for long, though.  The first of our 2010 apprentices, Rachael Oyer, arrives on Saturday!

Sonya’s been keeping busy out in the greenhouse.  Spinach, lettuce, broccoli, and celery have all been sown this week.  Also, little pepper, eggplant, and herb seedlings have been transferred from drill trays into individually-celled trays, a process called “pricking out”.  It’s thrilling to me every time I go out there and see more and more trays!

We’ve set the date for our next potluck:  Saturday, April 24th from 5 - 9 PM.  Bring a dish to share!  As always, if it’s warm and inviting outside, we’ll set up and eat out there and perhaps get a bonfire going, too.