As the farm grows it is important to us to improve our growing techniques and efficiencies.  We are excited to report that this year we have a brand new mulch layer!

When most people think of mulch they think of wood chips.  Plastic mulch is a product used to suppress weeds and conserve water in our crops.

This nifty little machine has many talents.  In addition to laying the mulch (plastic), it also creates a bed and lays down two rows of drip tape – all in one swoop!

Plastic mulch reduces the amount of water lost from the soil due to evaporation. This means less water will be needed for irrigation. Plastic mulches also aid in evenly distributing moisture to the soil which reduces plant stress.

Plastic mulch also keeps ripening fruit off the dirt which keeps the produce cleaner.

We are very excited to have this new tool on the farm!

Onions usually get planted around our place in early April, but because of all the early moisture, this year’s onion crop didn’t go in until the first part of May.

We like to use onion sets because they are fairly hardy and have a higher success rate that direct seeded or transplants.

Although you may think that everything is high tech around the farm, we often use the most basic methods.  Note the fork that we use to punch holes in the plastic.

After crawling on your hands and knees for the better part of a half day, all you want is a truck ride and a drink of water.  Thank goodness we have such a good crew.

Well, we didn’t quite make the April 1 deadline, but the weather didn’t really cooperate with us.  Thats ok though, because we love to see rain on the farm!

We’ve had the frame completed for some time now.  But the weather conditions have to be just right to pull plastic over the tunnel.

The wind can’t be blowing, so in Nebraska that is a huge constraint.  It’s best if the sun is out, because the plastic can be stretched.  AND it’s easiest to pull with 4-5 people.

Well, we finally got a calm morning when we could get people to the farm, but it was foggy.  We’ll happily take what we can get.

Not only did we need to pull plastic over the tunnel, we also needed to put up the end walls.

Did I forget to mention that coffee is a must when building a high tunnel?

Stay tuned to see what got planted in the tunnel!

Oh my goodness, there has been a lot of action on the farm lately.  Remember last year when it turned 80 degrees in March?  Well, this year its been very cold – not to mention rain and hail!  Luckily we have not had crops outside during April to deal with hail.

Since May 3, we’ve been seeding, transplanting, learning to use new equipment and prepping land.  So starting today, we will try to post every Wednesday and Friday about what’s happening on the farm.

Our biggest accomplishment has been on the high tunnel.  We had a goal of completion by April 1, but it ended up being May 2 before we got plants in.

The 1st high tunnel has been yielding a great harvest.  We’ve had radishes and red romaine lettuce.  Its so exciting to have fresh vegetables again 🙂

With so much happening, you can be sure that you will see the produce soon!

Easy. Simple. Healthful. And tastes good! In short, a winner recipe.

For a long time, I would only eat kohlrabi raw, almost like apples except peeled and sliced. Kohlrabi is full of flavor, moisture and most importantly for pre- and post-supper munchies, crunch.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fresh kohlrabi, ends trimmed, thick green skin sliced off with a knife, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic (garlic is optional, to my taste)
Salt
Good vinegar

Directions
Set oven to 450F. Toss the diced kohlrabi with olive oil, garlic and salt in a bowl. (The kohlrabi can be tossed with oil and seasonings right on the pan but uses more oil.) Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and put into oven (it needn’t be fully preheated) and roast for 30 – 35 minutes, stirring every five minutes after about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with a good vinegar (probably at the table so the kohlrabi doesn’t get squishy).

It feels like we should be planting onions any day… and then it decides to snow again!  

Is it finally time to start planting? Our seed was all ordered during the first week of January and we’ve received our seed potatoes this week.  So what does that mean for us?  Cutting lots and lots of seed potatoes to get ready to plant!  Fortunately, there is a very nice machine and nice friend that assists us with the process of cutting potatoes.

I know you are wondering how we plant sooo many potatoes and the answer is – just like you.  Hands and knees.  One seed potato at a time!  Before we know it, they’ll be in the ground…

Fertilizer typically contains three primary macronutrients: N-P-K or Nitrogen – Phosphorus – Potassium.

Starter is a condensed form of fertilizer applied to the soil before planting.  This allows for easier nutrient absorption by the plants.

The Floater you see in the pictures is doing the application for Pekarek’s Produce.

Well, Ryan said his goal was to get the second high tunnel ready for plastic by April 1.  This was our progress on March 29:

The frame is mostly up, but we need to put up the end walls.  Ryan is using the post hole digger to clean out the holes.  Jacob has a different method….if you can fit in the hole, you can clean it out 🙂

After we get the end wall stood up, it was time to pour concrete. Jacob is careful to smooth it out.

So did we make our April 1 deadline?  Not quite.  As of last night, everything was framed out on the east wall and we had begun the west wall.  Now its just a race to the finish line!