November farming

Ok I am no longer 57 but I am still technically a rookie.  My rookie farmer year began in March so I am a rookie thru February.

Currently we have 4 Bar-T Kid Clubs and the MAC kids working in the greenhouse as we move to the inclement weather months.  The kids have planted lettuce, kale, carrots and beets in the greenhouse and we are already seeing sprouts.  The children spend time picking the late fall crops that are still growing in the garden, they are monitoring the seedlings in the greenhouse and they spend time making salsa or baking sunflower seeds.  It is amazing to me what is still growing in the garden and I am acquiring a taste for Kohlrabi.  I hope some of you don't know what that is because I had never seen it before much less tasted it.  What is so engaging to me at this time of year, when every yard, plant, and tree is going dormant, is that there is still so much to grow and harvest.

The beauty of all this is that when we approach schools with curriculum that ties into the "life cycle of a plant" we will be able to grow plants regardless of the season.  We have not chosen to heat the greenhouse at this time which will mean that January and February will force us to shut down.  But planting seeds in the classrooms or after school programs can begin in early February and those seedlings will be greenhouse ready by the first of March.  My hope is that we can get at least two 6 week growth cycles in the greenhouse before June, and harvesting will progress throughout the summer.  Josh has promised me that we will have August tomatoes in May.  The five school pilot program totaling 70 students should be able accommodate 18 to twenty schools with 200 or more participants this Spring.

Additionally (do you start a new paragraph with additionally?) we will have a full on mushroom production facility that will run all year long.  As a kid I never cared for mushrooms but I can't get enough of them now.   I have been told that mushrooms are gone within the first 2 hours of any farmers market.  I would love to have the children who are helping grow mushrooms, join Josh and Charlie at the markets and help them sell them as well. They might leave the market with a few dollars in their pockets.  We will call the program "Dirt to Dollars" or "Mushrooms to Money".

The cold weather may not be great to be picking vegetables in.  If you look back at some of my older posts, we have kids wearing tee shirts or bathing suits in the garden.  Last Friday it was flat out cold, heck it was almost painful to be in the garden.  What is important to note is that the interest and enthusiasm the children have is the same.