Welcome to May

Welcome to May and to our first farm report of the growing season.  This is going to focus on information, so it may be a bit terse.  (HA! You all know I can't do that - but I'll try anyway.)

Crop Report
There isn't too much to report because there is not much in the ground yet.  We put in the Spring peas (all 800 feet of them) yesterday.  We also put the first succession of cucumber seed into trays the day before.  So, we can officially say the season of minding your peas and cukes has begun!

We are beginning to transplant tomatoes into pots and have many other trays of seedlings going at this time. 

Asparagus is starting to pop up, so keep an eye on announcements, we should have some for you at the farmers' market starting the 2nd week of Saturday markets.

The spinach in the high tunnel is starting to bolt, but we've gotten a good crop out of it.  We'll pick LOTS of it for sale for this week's farmers market.

Farmers' Market
The Waverly Farmers' Market opens starting this Saturday, May 2.  8:30 to 11:30 AM. 
We will have spinach, eggs and some Silvery Fir Tree tomato plants.  These work great in pots.  The rest of our transplants need to grow up a bit more before we sell them.  Usually the 3rd and 4th weeks of May are our peak.

Transplants for Sale
Yes, we will have transplants for sale again this season.  Our range of heirloom tomatoes, peppers and eggplants will be available yet again.  We also will have basil and we expect to have a few broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber and other plants as the season goes on.

We will sell these primarily at the Waverly Farmers' Market and during two Fridays at Hansen's Outlet in Cedar Falls (the 15th and 22nd).  We may add a 3rd Friday event in Cedar Falls and a Tripoli sales date.  Stay tuned.

CSA
The CSA is not full yet.  Keep sending people our way.  The deadlines on our brochures are not accurate since we are not full.
You may also notice, if you listen to Iowa Public Radio, that our annual radio spot is going to start running on May 4th this year. 
Billing is being sent out and on its way.  Patience!  We're getting there.  The nice weather has forced our hand to get outside since we see rain in the forecast for next week.

Bird Flu?
Are we concerned about bird flu?  Well, let's just say we're always concerned about the health of the birds in our flocks.  That's why we raise them the way we do, providing them with the best environment for them to be and remain healthy.  Does that mean our birds cannot get the flu?  Of course not.  All creatures are subject to illness at some point or another.  We just have to do what we've been doing to keep them strong.  This includes, sadly, removing a weak bird every once in a while that might be susceptible to a disease that could spread.  In short, we'll do what we feel is necessary to keep things going well at the farm.

At this point, our biggest concern is the blanket approach we fear might be applied to all operations in areas that discover bird flu. 

Festival Schedule
Tammy and I finally had a moment to sit down and hammer out the rest of the festival schedule for 2015.  We've had a number of things hanging over us waiting for some conclusion - hence the delay.
IRIS FEST - May 25
GFF Whole Farm Revenue Protection Field Day - June 28
SUMMER FEST and HEIRLOOM TOMATO TASTING - August 30
GF7 - October 3
and somewhere in May will be the High Tunnel Build!

High Tunnel
 We've just been informed that the high tunnel will be ready to ship out in the next couple of weeks.  We're now trying to hammer out some other schedule things so we can get this thing up and running as soon as we can.  We were hoping this could be done sooner than this because May is already jam packed with things to do.  Ah well, such is life.  We'll make it work!