Our Farm Today - Building Resiliance
These days we run a U-pick flower farm. We strive to provide a relaxing family atmosphere where everyone can have some fun. The young ones can stretch their legs and explore. You can pick a bucket of flowers and take great family photos. Relax, bring a snack, and enjoy God's beauty.
We are planning some changes to how we farm. We have noticed a distinct change in weather patterns over the last 10 years. Dramatic changes that are making it more difficult to produce crops. 40 years ago, it seemed like summer afternoon showers were a predictable, dependable thing. Lately, long stretches of near drought and other stretches of excessive rains seem much more common.
We have divided our farm into 2 different sections with different soil types in each place. We will treat them differently and plant some of the areas by different methods.
We are making increased use of "cover crops." Cover crops are grown on your soil when your main crop is finished. The purpose is to improve the nutrition and tilth of the soil.
We will grow a summer cover crop on the South Field, and try to plant a March/April flower crop there in the early spring. In the North Field we will do just the opposite. We will grow a winter cover crop in the North Field, and plant our May/June and Fall flowers there, after the cover crop has been cut down and worked into the soil to decay.
We have divided our farm into 2 different sections with different soil types in each place. We will treat them differently and plant some of the areas by different methods.
We are making increased use of "cover crops." Cover crops are grown on your soil when your main crop is finished. The purpose is to improve the nutrition and tilth of the soil.
We will grow a summer cover crop on the South Field, and try to plant a March/April flower crop there in the early spring. In the North Field we will do just the opposite. We will grow a winter cover crop in the North Field, and plant our May/June and Fall flowers there, after the cover crop has been cut down and worked into the soil to decay.
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Another thing we are hoping to do is increase butterfly habitat. We are planning to establish more plants that butterflies, hummingbirds, and songbirds like. A "butterfly puddling station" by the water faucets will assure butterflies of the damp soil they need. Certain types of flowers will provide nectar for all sorts of pollinators. Some perennial flowers will provide seeds for songbirds, and other specific plants will provide habitat for butterflies to lay eggs. We have a lot to do.