Wowza, the cold is here!

And now it is cold. It sure is nice to see the sun! And with the cold, the mud stays frozen for a bit which keeps the rest of us a little content. For Maggie and Ray who tend to the animals, they are doing a lot of cracking ice and changing water and feeding a bit extra to keep all our four legged and feathered friends warm and watered.

Quite a few people asked about how the rain affected the farm. Is it good for the farm? Does it benefit us now? Those are great questions and the answer is yes! It might not feel like it at this exact moment, but it is a good thing.

All the rain that fell has definitely created a muddy mess that we get to navigate right now: making sure to drive in the correct spots, keeping our animals content and dry with good bedding and footing. But all that rain has soaked into the farm’s fields and gardens and that is a good thing.

The water that fell and soaked into the ground is being absorbed by all the organic matter we have mixed into our soil over the years essentially being saved in the bank for the future.

The mycorrhizal bacteria and fungi are using that water to fuel themselves and the biome of our soil which maintains and increases the nutrient density of our future crops.

The water is fueling the current growth of our garlic and wheat crops that have both sprouted and are busy growing in the 25-acre. Here is evidence of our 2025 future garlic harvest!

The added benefit of this is that it is free water and, even though it has fallen now around the winter solstice, it will provide the foundation of our spring planting.

I have to admit, now that I am a bit dried out and the mud has begun to think about moving on, I am stating to think about snow. Because that is a whole other type of water bank. The one up high that provides the insurance policy for summer crops to flourish.

Ah well, here we are talking about the weather again ;). It is like what we eat and how we live goes hand in hand with it!

See you on Friday and Saturday!

Alison