The girls are working giving me fresh eggs. The chickens have a community nest and love to be outside.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Cherries almost here!
The cherries are ripening. We have been told by the field man that we should be able to begin picking on the 25th of June. I have been sneaking a taste and each day the true cherry flavor is appearing!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Pictures from Readying the Garden
So here are a few pictures from readying the garden for planting....
Scott prunes one of the apricot trees. The bud set looks good and baring any really cold nights the bud swell looks good. The bees for the tree fruit arrives this month.
Scott & Josh burn last year's garden residue. This action kills random seeds & returning nutrients to the soil; plus it kept us warm for a bit on a cold day.
Marsha plants carrots, radishes and onions in a raised bed. The beds get warmer and gives the plants a bit of a head start.
One of our steers enjoys some of last year's cornstalks. "Bear"
provides us with the manure needed for the soil and we give him treats every once in a while.
Josh roto-tills the garden space. We opened up a few new spaces this year in order to plant new crops and varieties. We're looking forward to trying everything as much as you are! :)
We are putting more stuff in the ground this weekend - I will keep you updated. Think spring, sunshine and warm thoughts!
Scott prunes one of the apricot trees. The bud set looks good and baring any really cold nights the bud swell looks good. The bees for the tree fruit arrives this month.
Scott & Josh burn last year's garden residue. This action kills random seeds & returning nutrients to the soil; plus it kept us warm for a bit on a cold day.
Marsha plants carrots, radishes and onions in a raised bed. The beds get warmer and gives the plants a bit of a head start.One of our steers enjoys some of last year's cornstalks. "Bear"
provides us with the manure needed for the soil and we give him treats every once in a while.
Josh roto-tills the garden space. We opened up a few new spaces this year in order to plant new crops and varieties. We're looking forward to trying everything as much as you are! :)We are putting more stuff in the ground this weekend - I will keep you updated. Think spring, sunshine and warm thoughts!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The planting has begun!
Hello to all! We were busy this weekend getting the garden ready and even planting a few seeds. Our root crops are in the raised beds - yellow onions; white onions; Walla Walla sweet onions; four different types of carrots; two or three varieties of radishes. More of these along with kolrabi, beets and parsnips will be going in the ground this coming weekend.
Your thoughts of spring seem to be working! The ground is warming up and the planting in earnest will begin soon. We built a coldframe this weekend from old greenhouse parts and an old chicken coop. We're going to start hardening off our starts soon - we've got one more transplant to do. We also built a new raised bed and have two more to go. Yay!
We're really excited to get all of this up and running and begin our growing season! I will post more next week.
Your thoughts of spring seem to be working! The ground is warming up and the planting in earnest will begin soon. We built a coldframe this weekend from old greenhouse parts and an old chicken coop. We're going to start hardening off our starts soon - we've got one more transplant to do. We also built a new raised bed and have two more to go. Yay!
We're really excited to get all of this up and running and begin our growing season! I will post more next week.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Think Spring - 2 more CSA slots available
Our CSA has successfully taken off and we only have two slots left - either two small boxes or one medium box. Yay! We are excited to be working with our customers this year and have big plans for our boxes. We've expanded our expected plantings and hopefully our season. We're excited!
We will be doing rota-tilling and planting this weekend so keep warm thoughts in your head. We will be planting our root crops like carrots, onions, parsnips to name a few. We will also be planting our cool weather crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, bok choi and swiss chard. Depending on the weather outlook we might be putting peas, beans and corn into the ground. Think spring!
Our eldest daughter Samantha has begun to build her raised beds and will be pitching in with some things from her garden as well. She lives in town and practices something called intensive companion planting which requires a small amount of space and attention to soil health. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Agriculture with minors in agricultural economics and soil science so she is quite capable of making sure her dirt is healthy. :) She is also the flower grower and is looking forward to being able to get her seeds and starts into the ground.
Clint and Scott are helping out other family members with pruning juice grapes and blueberries. They are keeping busy during the early frost season as well. When the temperatures reach below 30F then those two head out to run the wind machines to protect the cherries and fire up the smudge pots to protect the apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums. Think warm thoughts!
The chickens are doing well and producing some eggs. Production will pick up as the weather gets warmer and the days get longer. We are ordering some Buff Orpingtons to supplement our Columbian Wyandottes. It will be nice to have baby chicks on the farm again. I'm not sure if we will be keeping our ducks and turkeys...they are getting up there in age so we will have to see.
Well I think that's it for now. We will keep you all updated on the progress of the CSA. Keep sunshine and warm weather forward in your thoughts - think Spring!
Sunny thoughts,
The Graf Cherries Crew
We will be doing rota-tilling and planting this weekend so keep warm thoughts in your head. We will be planting our root crops like carrots, onions, parsnips to name a few. We will also be planting our cool weather crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, bok choi and swiss chard. Depending on the weather outlook we might be putting peas, beans and corn into the ground. Think spring!
Our eldest daughter Samantha has begun to build her raised beds and will be pitching in with some things from her garden as well. She lives in town and practices something called intensive companion planting which requires a small amount of space and attention to soil health. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Agriculture with minors in agricultural economics and soil science so she is quite capable of making sure her dirt is healthy. :) She is also the flower grower and is looking forward to being able to get her seeds and starts into the ground.
Clint and Scott are helping out other family members with pruning juice grapes and blueberries. They are keeping busy during the early frost season as well. When the temperatures reach below 30F then those two head out to run the wind machines to protect the cherries and fire up the smudge pots to protect the apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums. Think warm thoughts!
The chickens are doing well and producing some eggs. Production will pick up as the weather gets warmer and the days get longer. We are ordering some Buff Orpingtons to supplement our Columbian Wyandottes. It will be nice to have baby chicks on the farm again. I'm not sure if we will be keeping our ducks and turkeys...they are getting up there in age so we will have to see.
Well I think that's it for now. We will keep you all updated on the progress of the CSA. Keep sunshine and warm weather forward in your thoughts - think Spring!
Sunny thoughts,
The Graf Cherries Crew
Monday, March 2, 2009
Beginning a Veggie Cooperative (CSA)
Welcome March! Graf Cherries has completed its winter pruning to give the trees all the opportunity to produce a bumper crop this year. We also had some "sick" trees this fall; they were removed and cut into firewood for our home. We love having a nice worm fire to come into after working out in the orchard.
The order form for the bee hives arrived in the mail the other day and we're excited to get them. We're hoping for good pollination weather so we can get a good fruit set. One calm, sunny and warm afternoon can make our crop.
Marsha is starting seeds indoors for her garden this spring. She is planning a vegetable garden to take to the local farmers market. We're expanding our garden this year and plan to plant a large amount; we are beginning a small community supported agriculture program in the lower Yakima Valley.
We're taking orders for small (1-2 people) medium (3-4+ people) and large (6+ people) boxes. The boxes would begin around the first of June and contain seasonal vegetables, fruits, small bouquet of fresh cut flowers and a proportionate amount of fresh eggs. Recipes and ideas on how to use the items in your box will also be included.
The boxes would be delivered each week on scheduled days and times beginning the first of June and running through September or October depending on Mother Nature. A small box costs $300, a medium box runs $500 and a large box is $700 for the season. We are willing to negotiate a payment plan too.
We will also have farm fresh eggs available throughout the year and pork available in the fall. Please feel free to contact us at grafcherries@gmail.com.
Keep in touch!
The Graf Cherries Crew
The order form for the bee hives arrived in the mail the other day and we're excited to get them. We're hoping for good pollination weather so we can get a good fruit set. One calm, sunny and warm afternoon can make our crop.
Marsha is starting seeds indoors for her garden this spring. She is planning a vegetable garden to take to the local farmers market. We're expanding our garden this year and plan to plant a large amount; we are beginning a small community supported agriculture program in the lower Yakima Valley.
We're taking orders for small (1-2 people) medium (3-4+ people) and large (6+ people) boxes. The boxes would begin around the first of June and contain seasonal vegetables, fruits, small bouquet of fresh cut flowers and a proportionate amount of fresh eggs. Recipes and ideas on how to use the items in your box will also be included.
The boxes would be delivered each week on scheduled days and times beginning the first of June and running through September or October depending on Mother Nature. A small box costs $300, a medium box runs $500 and a large box is $700 for the season. We are willing to negotiate a payment plan too.
We will also have farm fresh eggs available throughout the year and pork available in the fall. Please feel free to contact us at grafcherries@gmail.com.
Keep in touch!
The Graf Cherries Crew
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