Reclaim. Reorganize. Grow. April Week 3

Welcome to the farm, Kathleen :) The first week as an intern included helping to weed the garlic by hand (about 3 days), start the microgreen operation (ready to eat at our first farmer's markets coming up in May), make dandelion wine, seed tomatoes, basil and cucumbers and prep for winter squash, summer squash, cut flowers and a second wave of peppers and eggplant. Morgan also direct seeded spinach, peas, and more lettuce. At the beginning of the week, we saw two hard frost days and we had to cover and protect the strawberries.

On the flower side of things, old beds are being reclaimed, reimagined and redesigned. The perennial herb garden was remapped and re-planned to fill in holes and start new plants.

Property projects include repairing two driveways with gravel, building four parking spots along the road for guests and building a new driveway for the intern house. A total of 10 tons of gravel was shoveled, spread and poured on this property this week. Also, we are beginning the process of doubling our storage and counter top space in the kitchen after a crucial thrift find.

 14 Cups = 2 Gallons Dandelion wine (in 3 months)

 

 

 Spring Farm

 New wildflowers beds in the original compost pile. Liquid gold soil.

 

Creek rock and reclaiming old beds in front of the cabin. 

Filled in the low spots in front of the porch steps that can stay wet with gravel.

 Red hot poker bed that came with the property. Six beds done, four more to go.

 

Junk on the left. Discovering holes to be filled in with new life.

 New parking spots along the road.

 

Soon to be our new kitchen. Thanks Habitat for Humanity. 

A little sandpaper and paint, our kitchen doubles in size.

Found these old classics cleaning under the porch.

We went for a hike behind the farm on Sunday and found wild onions, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. Can't wait to get back up there this Summer.

First plantings and Spring weeding. April Week 2

    This week: Morgan started tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, collards, kale, chard and lettuce in the greenhouse. He direct seeded scallions, carrots, beets, lettuce, arugula, Asian greens, spinach and kale in the field. We transplanted onions in the field. We potted up gooseberries, jostaberries, black currants, forstythia bushes, butterfly bushes, lilies, lily of the valley and a few early flowers that will be established in various places around the farm. I weeded the herb garden, strawberries, blueberries, 1/2 the garlic crop and the established flower beds. And we got the mower running so I could start the cycle of mowing for 2 1/2 hours a week. In a few days, the microgreen side of the farm will be in production. As Morgan says, "You know, just doing a bunch of nothing."

 

Office view. Berries and garlic in the background.

  

Weeding the herb garden.

   

Currently blooming.

 

 Found this little island while weeding.

 

 Morgan's first cast of the year!

 

Planting berry bushes until their site is ready.

 

First asparagus is showing up!

 

 This is our guest house swing. This is not our rooster.

 Onions.

 

 Direct seeding in the lower field.

 1/2 the garlic is weeded.

 I found this little nest today. There was ALOT of gray hair in it. Haha.

Spring is here. Fields are tilled. Life is good.

The annual veggie and flower field. 

To the right of the frame is the garlic crop, blackberries and raspberries.

Perennial strawberries, blackberries and asparagus. The new tilled area (melons last year) will be spring greens, carrots and beets. In the back of the field there is a new rectangle plot that we will plant for the first time this year.

 Greenhouse Before and After.
This year we will build another greenhouse, the same size, just for tomatoes.

Microgreens in the news....

Check out Root Bottom Farm in the Asheville Citizen Times!

FLOWERS!!

From Ageratum to Zinnia (plus 46 annuals and 64 perennials in between), 

Root Bottom Farm is establishing the flower side of things this year.

Many, many more photos to come as we build, plant and bloom 

all over the property in the coming months.

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Stay connected with us as we embark on another great growing season.

Farm planning 2014. Fruit trees and berry bushes.

Farm planning 2014. Last order: fruit trees and berry bushes. 

This year we will reap the benefits of the strawberries, raspberries and asparagus 

we have established and fill in a few holes in the orchard and blackberry patch. 

Going in this year: rhubarb, gooseberry, currants, mulberry, jostaberry and serviceberry.