April
Harvesting
- Along with March, April is often-times referred to as the Hunger Gap. This is the time in the PNW when our winter stocks of squash and onions have run out, we have harvested the last storage roots from the field, and the greens we seeded in the greenhouse have not put on enough growth to harvest yet.
- Brassica Raab – coming in to fill in the Hunger Gap, raab is a farmer’s and eater’s best friend. For those unfamiliar with this delectably sweet last hurrah from the brassica family, let your fall and overwintering plants grow into the spring. As they enter their last life cycle, they will begin to flower – the apical stem will flower, and once you snap that off and devour it, they will begin flowering at each of the apexes of their apical stem and leaves. Once these shoots set their florets and before they flower, snap them off at the base while they are still succulent. You will be amazed and instantly addicted to their sweet and tender nature. Welcome to Raabtown, USA! You’ll be very happy here.
- Microgreens are always a quick and reliable source of greens through the winter and spring. The shallow open flats are very useful for microgreen production, which we carry in the Concentrates’ showroom, as well as coir and kelp extract.
Perennial Maintenance
- Apply Michael Phillips holistic spray, consisting of pure neem oil, liquid fish, effective microbes, and seaweed extract. Aim at the buds, trunk, and branch structure. From his book The Holistic Orchard, “The fatty oils in the fish and neem fuel microorganism colonization on the leaf surface…Other constituents in the neem oil coat insect eggs tucked into bark crevices and get ingested by larvae feeding directly on the tree, which causes the molting cycle of certain pests to crash.”
- Hang white sticky traps for European apple sawfly.
Infrastructure
Crop Planning
- Summer cover crops: Buckwheat, sorghum-sudan, sudangrass, for added organic matter and weed suppression.
Bed Prep
- Cover crop mowing and incorporation takes place when they first begin flowering. Consider submitting a cover crop analysis to OSU’s Central Analytic Lab. Sampling and lab submission instructions here.
- Amend your fields as you prepare for planting. Consider soil temperature when timing your nitrogen application: remember than the phase of rapid N uptake, which varies by species, is about four weeks from germination; but nitrogen does not mineralize very quickly in cold soils. Give your amendments time to become available, or plan to use highly soluble sources like fish emulsion.
- Spreaders should be calibrated and maintained.
Propagation
- Source/purchase/organize your potting soil(s) and germinating mixes, or their components.
- Gather and inspect your trays, source/purchase as needed.
- Organize your work area and tools–dibblers, seeders, mixing equipment, writing implements, record-keeping paperwork, tray labels, heat mats/lights, wicking irrigation.
- Compost tea can efficiently be applied to starts as you water them. Does your brewer work, and do you have the ingredients on hand? Molasses, worm castings?
- Do you fertigate your seedlings? Gather your fish emulsion, or other soluble nitrogen source.
- Do you provide trace minerals and myco inoculants? Gather your kelp emulsion and mycorrhizal inoculants for a pre-transplant dunk.
- Tomatillo, ground cherry, cucumber, melons, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash, basil, globe amaranth, tithonia, amaranth
Planting in the Ground
- Carrots, chervil, dill, fennel, leeks, onions, lovage, parsnip, parsley, arugula, broccoli, cress, kohlrabi, radish, turnip, chois, beets, chard, spinach, quinoa, orach, burdock, lettuce, sunchoke, salsify, scorzonera, shungiku, peas, anise hyssop, sorrel, potatoes, cabbage, purslane, calendula, nasturtium, flax, cosmos, zinnia, sunflowers
- Calibrate and maintain your bed marking tools
Animals
- Check all new animals delivered on-farm for overall health and thrift. Hands-on examinations including tracking the weights of new arrivals as they grow can help ensure healthy animals.
- Provide environmental stimuli for new creatures that will be pen raised. A bail of hay to play in, hidden or suspended food treats, large sturdy balls to push and toss, and logs or stumps to climb all keep growing minds of all species active and occupied.
- Clean feed and water dishes as needed to prevent creatures from ingesting waste. A hot water and soap scrub is sufficient to remove debris. If illness is present, consider washing and sanitizing equipment and spaces frequently.
- Check bedding and shelters to ensure clean, dry and draft-free.
- Get market ready! Prepare signs, flyers and other materials for farmers markets or other sales avenues. Make sure product packaging is ready to go and that all coolers and equipment is in clean, ready-to-work order.
May
Harvesting
Perennial Maintenance
- Install or replace mason bee nesting tubes.
- Hang pheromone wing traps for monitoring moth presence and timing of first-generation egg hatch.
- Lightly cultivate areas to prepare for a summer cover crop.
Infrastructure
Crop Planning
Bed Prep
Seeding Indoors for Transplants
- Any and all succession plantings of lettuce, fennel, broccoli, chicory, summer squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, etc.
Planting in the Ground
- Carrots, cilantro, dill, parsnip, leeks, onions, amaranth grain and greens, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, radish, chois, beets, magentaspreen, spinach, orach, chard, quinoa, burdock, lettuce, peas, bush and pole beans, dry beans, corn, potatoes, purslane, calendula, aster, cosmos, zinnia, amaranth, marigold, tithonia, sunflower
- If night temperatures are warm enough and the weather is dry enough in certain parts of Cascadia, tomatoes may be planted out under plastic or row cover this month. Watch for slug pressure, and hold off til night temperatures are over 50F if you’re unsure.
Animals
- Prepare livestock sales advertisements. Good photos of animals being listed for sale and a clear, clean description of the critter and their selling points help move sales.
- Make sure all registered stock paperwork is ready to go with animals that are listed for sale.
- Plant livestock feeds such as sunflowers, beans, beets and greens.
June
Harvesting
Perennial Maintenance
- Apply Michael Phillips’ third holistic spring spray as described in The Holistic Orchard (liquid fish, pure neem oil, effective microbes). Aim at leaf canopy and developing fruitlets.
- Apply kaolin clay. Phillips recommends repeating every five to seven days for the next 2-3 weeks.
- Gather sticky traps.
- Begin mowing of ground cover and mulch thickly around the dripline of trees.
- Watch for scap this time of year. Phillips recommends an application of microbes and seaweed, but also acknowledges some growers will apply sulfur.
Infrastructure
Crop Planning
Bed Prep
Seeding Indoors for Transplants
Planting in the Ground
Animals
- Plan for breeding. Locate studs if needed and start tracking heat cycles.
- Swap paperwork with any intended studs or leases to ensure that all animals involved have been tested clean and are registered if applicable.
- Ensure animals are healthy and up to date on bio-security screenings and vaccinations.
- Check fence lines and ensure that all fences are in good repair.
- Consider electric fencing to enable easy rotational grazing.