FIELD JOURNAL

Our log of experiences and experiments growing our own food.

Since 2014 we have been growing food on borrowed land in the city. Some of it we sell and some of it we eat. These are the stories of our experiences along the way. Use the search bar on the right to look for posts in the blog that match your interests. For more specific information about our growing methods and record keeping, check out the educational opportunities on our Grow With Us page.

Some Jobs Call for Bigger Shovels

December is typically a month of rest and renewal on the farm. While that happened to some degree, there were some significant changes...

Jan 11, 20182 min read

Fall Harvest Wraps Up and Winter Market Begins

November is here and that means it's the first official week of our winter market! This is a new option that we are experimenting with...

Nov 8, 20171 min read

A New Plot for Storage Crops

Back in spring this year, we had several last minute changes to our land base. It was quite stressful at the time, but turned out for...

Oct 6, 20173 min read

The First Fall Frost

I stepped out my front door to discover a solid layer of frost on our greenhouse this morning. While the low appears to have only...

Sep 21, 20172 min read

We're Going Solar!

We have had a big project underway here for the last few months and now that it's wrapped up I can describe for you the transformation...

Jun 15, 20173 min read

So How Are Those Crops Looking?

Well it sure feels great to sit down and write for a while! As rewarding as it is to start seeing the growth of our produce outside, the...

Jun 8, 20172 min read

Our New Greenhouse Heats Up

Back in 2015, we thought it sure would be nice to have some kind of greenhouse for raising our vegetable seedlings. Actually, I can...

May 4, 20172 min read

Planting Has Begun!

Yes, it's finally time to transition from the book keeping and planning back into the "dirty" work. Our indoor nursery is already at...

Apr 6, 20172 min read

The Lay of the Land

Some of the most common farm questions we get are about how many plots we use to grow all of the food and where they are located, so I'll...

Mar 9, 20172 min read

Tomato Seed Selection for 2017

One of the major tasks on the farm in the last couple of weeks has been finalizing our seed selection. Thankfully, the minus 30 degree...

Jan 6, 20172 min read

A New Plot Takes Shape

Our harvesting tasks wrapped up in late October, but we have been able to get a head start on preparing a couple of new plots for next...

Nov 22, 20163 min read

Early Snow Complicates Fall Harvest

At the start of October we were treated to an early dump of snow here on the prairies and that has made things interesting for the last...

Oct 20, 20162 min read

The Year of the Cucumber

This is very likely the last week when we will have enough cucumbers to include in the Standard Share. After their prolific performance...

Sep 23, 20163 min read

Fall Planting

I have learned that there are two really key points in the farming season when things need to go well. The first period is during May...

Sep 1, 20162 min read

Troubles in the Tomato Patch

The subject of our tomato troubles isn't that enjoyable for me to talk about, but I wanted to share it to present an honest picture of...

Aug 24, 20163 min read

A Lesson in Pepper Production

One of our largest annual investments on the farm is in compost. It is the key to soil fertility and healthy crops so we have used it...

Jul 16, 20163 min read

The Spring Hustle

If one word could describe the last month, it would be "hustle". The May workload on the farm is very heavy, but the urgency of the...

Jun 2, 20162 min read

Breaking New Ground

In an earlier journal entry, I mentioned that we are going to be putting a boulevard space into production this season. It happens to be...

May 9, 20163 min read

Starting the First Transplants of the Season

After several months of darkness, it's a pleasure to able to work with something green again. We have a lot growing on the farm...

Apr 16, 20161 min read

A Planning Method to Stick With

So this is what a typical quiet evening at home looks like these days. Rachel snuck this photo while I was in full head scratching...

Mar 9, 20162 min read