Stoney Beach Farm - Notes from the Field

~Notes from the field...

February 27, 2008: The planning for the season has begun! I met with Tom Smedes in Empire this evening to discuss some of the details for ordering our seed. I met Tom last year as a result of involvement as a Master Gardener Volunteer through MSUE. The volunteer coordinator, Pam Schmidt, had received wind that he had numerous tomato and pepper plants he needed to be rid of. Lucky for me since a number of our tomatoes had been killed by an unexpected cold snap coupled with some little critters who were a bit hungry for tender seedlings. His plants did so well and he was such a pleasure to work with that I thought I would see if he would like to start some plants for 2008. Before I had the chance to contact him I received a message from him stating that he was wondering if I wanted him to start some seeds for us this year! Providential? I think so!

We spent some time looking through some seed catalogs, discussing the logistics of the project, and philosophising on the state of agriculture. A few cups of coffee and a slip off the road later I found myself back home. Tom, myself and a few others will probably have a planting party some time in March or April for the initial massive seed start. If you see Tom at the farmers' market look for the tall gentleman with all of the colorful pepper plants. They really are some beautiful plants.

April 12, 2008: Today we went out to Empire to begin planting seeds. We huddled into Tom's greenhouse and started seed for 12 varieties of tomatoes, 2 types of onion, and 2 types of lettuce...and that's just the beginning. We started around 6:30 and worked until dark. It seems like not too long ago that it would have been too dark to work outside. Winter still reminded us of its waning presence as it snowed outside. Once we were finished planting, we moved them inside the seed starting greenhouses where they would incubate until germination. It was difficult to look at the dirt and remind myself that it takes time for seeds to germinate. I just wanted to see them all pop up and begin their growth.