The farm is really coming into full swing. The spring crops are tilled under and the summer crops are starting to come around. We’ve tasted our first few cherry tomatoes with many more coming down the pipeline. The fall carrots, broccoli, cabbage, winter squash, and popcorn all look good so far.

One of the long term projects here at the farm is to rehab our back field. The field had been growing corn for twenty or so years before we bought the land, so we decided to give it a rest this season. We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of clover that self seeded, as the clover fixes nitrogen in the soil, as well as provides a massive amount of organic matter when it is cut. I began mowing a small field in the back that will serve as a vegetable garden at some point, probably the 2016 growing season. The field is basically entirely clover, and with each successive mowing a more substantial mat of organic matter gets laid down on the soil. The clover continues to grow right through it, coming back stronger and thicker after each cutting.

Part of the beauty of the farm is seeing just how nature takes care of the open soil that was the corn field. Besides the clover, there has been an abundance of daisies, goldenrod, a few wild raspberries, and countless other varieties of plants that I have yet to identify. Along with the plants come a wide array of animal and insect life, particularly birds and various pollinators. It really is amazing to see how nature brings herself back into an equilibrium. As the years go by we hope to manipulate the field in such a way as to make it bear bountiful fruits and veggies for us, while also maintaining large areas of open space where nature can take charge.