Crop Mob #1 of 2016

We held our first Crop Mob of the 2016 season on Saturday, March 26th with the DCH. 

We had perfect weather for the day. It wasn't to warm but there was a nice breeze as well. It was the perfect day to get your hands dirty. There were a few things that were tasked to get done during the Crop Mob. So with the tasks given out the volunteers were sent off to "work in the fields".

The Dark Red Norland Potatoes as well as the blue potatoes needed to be planted. The rows were already prepped for the volunteers to plant the seed potatoes in. Be sure to look for the the creamy Red Norlands and the solid blue potatoes on the stand later in the season. Fun fact about the blue potatoes; they are one of the few blue vegetables that keep their color once cooked!

The garlic is well on it's way. To help it along further some of the volunteers helped weed the garlic. This prevents the garlic from losing any nutrients. 

Another group of volunteers were sent along to tend the raspberry canes. They are trimmed back early in the season to promote new healthy growth and more fruit. 

The volunteers put in hard work to help get some of the needed tasks done around the farm. Once lunch time rolled around, they all sat down to talk over a delicious lunch from Talula's Table. 

Even Willow joined the group for lunch!

We would love to thank everyone that came out to help! If this looks like a fun day to you, join us at the next Crop Mob on April 30th! Email siwveggies@gmail.com and let us know you're interested in attending. 

Garlic, Onions, Sweet Corn & Crop Mob?

Spring is upon us at the Farm...

Although, the first day of Spring brought us some rain and cooler temps (even some snowflakes!) we're seeing green on the farm. The birds are chirping, the resident farm cats are on the prowl, and the fields are being prepped for the upcoming season.

The garlic that was planted in November is beginning to sprout and is well on its way. Although, it still has a while to go before it'll be harvested. Things are moving right along; peas will be planted this week, onions will go in soon and in the next three weeks the first sweet corn will be planted.

We're gearing up for our first Crop Mob of the season. SIW will be holding its 6th annual Crop Mob with the Delaware Center for Horticulture on March 26th and April 30th from 9-12 am . This is a chance for participants to learn about some of the processes on the farm such as; "why onions are grown in plastic". Once the "work" is complete we all enjoy lunch from Talula's Table in Kennett Square. It has been a huge success in past years so we are excited to get to work this year! Spots fill up fast, if you are interested in helping us out on March 26th please email us at siwveggies@gmail.com no later then Wednesday, March 23rd, this will guarantee you get a delicious lunch!

PEONY SEASON IS RAPIDLY APPROACHING!

You Know Spring is just around the corner when we start to talk about:

Styer's Peonies

 Some of these beauties will become available for Mother's Day!
They will be online for delivery!
www.styerspeonies.com

   




We are looking for a few great hard working people to work for a month or so to harvest our beautiful peonies!
If interested please send an email to siwveggies@gmail.com

Spring is on the way!

With the warm weather we are having this week we've seen a lot of growth in the greenhouse...

The tomatoes are coming along well in the greenhouse. In just a few short weeks they'll be moved outside next to the greenhouse to go through a process that is called hardening off. The process of hardening off is to prepare plants that have been started indoors (the greenhouse) for the change in environmental conditions they will encounter when permanently moved outdoors. This strengthens the plants to be able to withstand any dips in temperature since we are having some pretty unpredictable weather these last couple days. 

Soon enough the greenhouse will be full of trays of tomato seedlings that will be transplanted outside to begin producing those HG tomatoes we all love! Stay tuned to see how they're progressing.

In fact HG is in the high tunnel preparing for the tomatoes right now...

The first glimmers of what’s to come…

We are just seeing the first tomato sprouts poke their heads up from the soil. You know all those HG tomatoes everyone loves? Well this is the beginning sign of them. This is where the magic starts to happen! We grow over 100 varieties throughout the summer here at SIW.

The tomatoes journey is well on its way. In a few short weeks they’ll begin to look like the tomato plants we all recognize. We will keep you updated on their progress here on the blog so you can see what we’re up to on the farm. Soon it will look like a green forest of tomato plants in the greenhouse. We’ll let you know where the tomatoes are headed after their time in the greenhouse so be sure to check back.

This is an exciting time around the farm because it signifies the start of the growing season for us. New life is emerging and that means spring is right around the corner!