Farmer’s Perspective
Author: August Stubler, Skyfarm Farmer
In early February at the Skyfarm, we hosted a group of delightful students from the School of the Woods who volunteered as part of their service week. Together, we planted seeds for radishes, swiss chard, wildflowers, arugula, and cover crops as well as small strawberry starts. This week, barely two weeks after we received snow in Houston, the temperatures are climbing back into the 80s. The snow was a reprieve for many of the plants at the Skyfarm as they waited in anticipation for cooler weather to jump start their spring growth. Our fields are full of kale, broccoli, lettuce, arugula, mustards and cabbages, preparing for spring harvests. As the days heat up and evenings stay warm, our cilantro, dill, asparagus, and strawberry plants begin to pop out of the soil and start their seasons.
The fennel are putting on larger fronds and their bulbs grow bigger. In another field, the onions and garlic continue their quiet growth under a layer of hay that will decompose as the year progresses. Their green leaves above ground let me know that they are well on their way through their season, preparing for harvest in May and June having been planted in October. Our leek seedlings grow tall now in the spring sun; they belong to the allium family, along with onions and garlic.
The rest brought by the cold weather combined with the recently returned sunlight means the farm is gearing up for the big boom of growth that comes before the sweltering heat of summer. We have prepared spaces for the summertime crops to be planted in February and March, hopefully to be harvested in May and through the rest of the summer. Many of these spaces are growing lush and green with combinations of cover crops, ground covers, and volunteer plants that we mow down to feed the soil microbes and to protect them from the sun. These spots on the farm will be filled with tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, eggplants, basil, and other plants come summer time and the winter crops will be switched out for a heat tolerant cover crop. By alternating the spots where we grow our crops for various seasons, we can ensure we have a healthy soil microbiome and better manage pest populations on the farm.
As the farmer, this time calls me to be grateful for the toil of the winter and to enjoy the eager growth that spring brings. Summer will be upon us soon enough and until then, the farm is resting and growing as the seasons allow.
Last week, our Open Farm Day discussed Swiss Chard, which is an adaptable, nutrient dense autumn and spring crop. You can find the Swiss Chard lesson included in the blog.
Join us each week for seasonal, activity based plant and sustainability lessons at the Skyfarm, Wednesday evenings from 4:30-6:30pm; always free and open to the public.
