Father Earth Organic Farm welcomes
you to 2024!

Another year is upon us, and it is time to begin planning for the greatness this new year has to offer. But before we move forward, we must reflect on past years so that we know what to focus on this year, in order to make this year Great, or at least better than previous years. The year 2023 brought us many unexpected obstacles that caused a few vegetable growing problems. In a "normal" year, I would begin sowing and planting some veggie seeds such as carrots, beets, lettuce, greens, and turnips, outdoors in March and April. We had a very cold winter in 2023 which caused a lot of ground to be frozen, or not workable. So, we got a later than usual start with planting those crops. The planting of crops in hoophouses was also delayed because the nights in March and April were not warm enough to keep baby seedlings from freezing.

What few plants that were beginning to establish themselves in March and April, were soon to be overcome by the wetness of the soil and lack of sunshine in the months of May and June. There was rain of some intensity every day in May except for just 4 days. June was about the same but had sun five full days. With all that rain, most days were cloudy and no sun. Plants need sun to grow and produce fruit or vegetables. Some plants just sat there in the ground without an inch of growth for two or three weeks. While the veggie plants were waiting for the sun, the weeds took over and outgrew most of the veggie starts. I had SOME help with weeding, but not enough to keep up with all the weed growth. By the middle of July, I had mowed down 15 to 20 rows of veggies and began prepping the beds to start over with some new plantings.

And if that wasn't enough to discourage or frustrate someone, the abundance of rain helped to produce lots and lots and lots of grasshoppers. It was more grasshoppers that I have ever seen on my farm. You could walk through my farm and with every step, 30 to 40 grasshoppers would jump to a new location, and sometimes, jump on you. Grasshoppers can cause a lot of damage to vegetation, and so they did! But we can't blame all the plant destruction on the grasshoppers. We had a lot more earwigs, pill bugs, crickets and Japanese beetles than I have ever seen on my farm. OH yes, I almost forgot Tomato worms. Hundreds!! I taught my garden crew how to spot tomato worm damage and locate them and pick them off the plants. Every day we would take 30 minutes and go through the hoop houses and greenhouse and hunt tomato worms. I tried using a couple of organic sprays to ward off these pests but wasn't very successful.

July and August were hot months. The temps were above 90 most days. We started work most days at 8:00 am and my crew was done at 1:00 pm. Most crops did well as long as I kept them watered daily. Lettuce didn't do that well and my strawberries stop producing. I found out that some varieties of strawberries do better than others in the hot days of summer. I ordered 250 "hot weather" strawberry plants for this year to be delivered first week in April. Cucumbers did well from July to about mid-August when the hoop houses begin to get spider mites. Again, I tried some organic sprays that helped some, but eventually, I was forced to remove the cucumber plants from the hoop house. Earwigs were also a problem on the cucumbers.

Recently, one of my grand-daughters introduced me to "JADAM" method of ultra-low-cost organic agriculture. My granddaughter is starting an organic farm and shared this author's information with me. I bought the book and will be studying how to make my own organic pesticides that will kill or suppress 167 kinds of insects, so I'm told.

As I write this blog, the current temperature is -8 degrees. For the past few days, the night temperatures have been below zero and the day temps have only been in the single digits. I am so looking forward to warmer days and nights when I can get outside and get this growing season started. All I can do now is stay inside and get my seeds tested and ready for planting. I am also starting a few flowers and herbs started. Looking forward to a year of growth and prosperity.

Father Earth Organic Farm Welcomes you to 2023!

People have asked if I take the winter off, or what do I do during the winter? This has been a very cold winter here in Colorado, and I would love to be on a warm beach somewhere, but there is a lot to do to get things ready so that my customers can begin enjoying my fresh organic produce by the time the Farmers market opens in May. I have already planted garlic, but that's just one item.

Seed and plant ordering is another task that takes a lot of figuring and timing, but what and how much do I order? Before I order anything, I need to know WHAT to order. I have over 300 varieties of vegetables that I grow or have grown here on the farm. I have over 30 varieties of tomatoes alone. So, at least every other year, I go through a "seed testing" process to make sure my current seeds are viable for the upcoming season. Here is a brief description of the "seed testing" procedure that I use, and the same information that I share with my gardening group and with the apprentice who come to the farm to learn gardening.

Before we place our orders for new seed, here are a few tips that may prevent re-ordering later. Years ago, I would order seeds in December or January, only to end up re-ordering some seed again in May, June or July. It was frustrating to find out in June or July that some seed I planted in April or May, did not germinate. I'm certain that most gardeners have planted seed and waited, and waited, for something to sprout, but nothing happened.

There are many reasons why "nothing" happened, but for sure, "something" happened... just not what we expected. Maybe the seeds were washed away by a week of rain, or a 4-hour down pour of rain. It could have been a late snow that killed the sprout, or insects, animals, or birds eating the seed. Many times we waste time and energy pondering over what might have happened, when, in my experience, the problem has been in the seed itself 90% of the time. I find that testing the seed will eliminate a lot of the guessing when your seed does not germinate as expected.

I normally begin the seed testing process in November. I have hundreds of seeds to test, and that process takes several weeks. You can use any absorbent paper (tissue, toilet paper, paper towel), but for larger seed (beans, fava, corn), the paper towel works better.

Tear or cut the size of paper you need to be able to fold it to secure the seed. Using a color marker, dab a spot on a corner of the paper. Use the same color to dab a spot on the notebook or paper you are using to keep a record of what you are testing. Write down the seed name, date, company, and variety of seed being tested beside the color dot. (you may use the attached record keeping tool or other means). Place 3 - 5 seeds on the paper. Fold the paper to secure the seeds. Dip the seed towel in a cup or bowl of water and place the folded paper with seeds in a clear plastic cup or glass jar. You can save space by placing 4 or 5 seed packs in the same jar or cup, as long as you can identify them. As an example, I would place 5 different varieties of tomato seed towels in the same cup, each with a different color code for identification. I would place a removable label or piece of tape on the jar or cup that just says, "tomatoes". I use less labels or tape if everything in the cup or jar is the same type of veggie or flower.

The two most controlling factors for seed germination are heat and light requirements. Most seed will germinate is a warm (65 to 75 degrees), dark place (in a closet, or cardboard box that can be closed or covered). If the seed pack says to plant the seed 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch deep, the seed will need some light to germinate (near a window, or in a place where some light is available). Read the seed package. Spinach, cilantro, and lettuce will probably not germinate at 70 to 80 degrees like tomatoes or beans. So you will need to find a cooler place for your testing of these types of seeds. Read the seed package to see what growing requirements each seed needs. The package will tell you how many days it will take the seed to germinate, given the right conditions of course. Check your test seeds daily. I usually give the seeds one and a half times the germination time that the package says to show a sprout. If the package says germination in 4 days, and there is no sprout in 4 days (plus 2 more days), I will toss the test seed and package, and place that seed on my new order list.

Now that I have my list of seeds to order, from whom do I order? I have several seed companies that I order from here in the US. Johnny's, Fedco, Harris, Territorial, Baker Creek, Swallowtail, Totally Tomatoes, and a couple more. All these companies sell "Non-GMO" (Genetically Modified Organism) seed, and I can purchase organic seeds from them when available.
For fruit trees or berry plants, I order from Stark brothers, Indiana Berry Co, Nourse Berry Farm, and Raintree Nursery. Many times, it's a matter of where can I get the best seeds or plants at the most cost-effective price. As an example, I could buy 25 strawberry plants from Johnny's for a price of $35, or I can get them from Indiana Berry Co for a price of $24. And because Indiana Berry Co is in Indiana, and Johnny's is in Maine, Shipping charges from Indiana is so much less than packages coming from Maine.

So here we are in the middle of February 2023. Ninety percent of all the seeds and plants I ordered in December and January, have arrived and I have begun planting seeds in containers in my basement.

The process for having fresh Organic produce available for my customers by May, began in December 2022, when I searched through several seed catalogues looking for the best veggie varieties that would do well here in Colorado. I went though my current inventory of veggie, flower, and herb seeds to see what I needed to restock for this 2023 season. I remembered using the last seed in multiple seed packs last year and was reminded of such actions by the empty seed packs that I had saved from last year. I wanted to get any early start on ordering seed for the 2023 season because several varieties of seeds were "out of stock", in several companies that I had ordered from last year. Since Covid began in 2020 and 2021, more and more people were growing their own produce and hence companies were running out. Even though I ordered some items in December, there were items that were out of stock and will not be restocked until April or May. For some veggies such as tomatoes, the months of April and May are too late to get tomatoes started.

I usually start flower seeds in late December or early January. Some flowers take as long as 6 months to produce a flower. So, starting in January will produce a flower in late June or early July. Lisianthus is one such flower. It is a beautiful (annual flower here in Colorado) flower that looks a bit like a rose, but with less fragrance and will last twice as long as a cut flower than a rose. Some veggies that take 3 or 4 months to be ready for harvest are also planted in December and January. Onions, scallions, parsley, and chives have been planted and are growing nicely in the basement. I am patiently waiting for some warmer nights so that these veggies can be placed in an unheated greenhouse so they can continue to grow before being transplanted in the fields in April and May. The nights here are still very cold and if plants are placed in the greenhouse now, they would certainly freeze. Last night had a low of 12 degrees and it is expected to be 8 degrees tonight.

Before the winter began, I installed a heating system on one of the shelves in the greenhouse. Two days ago, I placed a couple of potted plants of onions and parsley on the shelf as a test to see how the heated shelf would work. Today, February 15th, I put my boots on and walked through 5 inches of snow to check on the plants in the greenhouse. I was surprised to see that the plants were still alive and healthy and showed no signs of frostbite, even though I had placed a tray of water on the shelf above the heated shelf, and the water in the tray was frozen. So, I will check again tomorrow after we have 8 degrees tonight and see if the heated shelf is really going to work.

February 28, 2023: If you read the above paragraph, you are probably awaiting the results of the "experiment" I tried with the heated shelf. Well, that was two weeks ago, and a lot has happened since then. Over the past two weeks, we have night temperatures of anywhere between -9 degrees up to 21 degrees. Even on a heated shelf, the plants could not survive. So, back to the drawing board. I believe I will wait until the night temperatures are in the mid twenties and try again. More to come.

Father Earth Organic Farm
8881 Elgin Drive
Lafayette, CO 80026
Phone: 303-494-4500
Cell: 720-849-3484

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