One of the greatest advantages of our California climate is that we can grow vegetables year round. And this winter our record breaking dry and warm December has kept our winter vegetable crops growing steadily. Leading up to the holidays, with a surge in volunteer support, we busily potted up young seedlings in the greenhouse, turned compost piles, finished constructing greenhouse tables, and added large amounts of nutrient rich compost to our fields.
The month of December also saw an increased amount of food available at our weekly Saturday farmstands, something we hope will draw more regular customers to the farm. December marked the end of a very successful year at Veggielution, including nearly 23,000 pounds of food grown by our community volunteers!
With the New Year upon us and spring not too far around the corner, there is a lot of planning to be done. New crop maps will allow the farm to operate smoothly, with consistent successions of crops starting in the spring and lasting all the way to next winter. We will finalize the curriculum for our highly anticipated workday leader training class that will begin in February. Starting our tomato varieties this month on heat-pads and under fluorescent lights will result in three foot tomato plants ready for planting come late march. The green house will quickly become overloaded with late winter and early spring crops too. A busy January will undoubtedly be the jump start we need for another successful year on the farm!
Tommy Pierson
Asst. Farm Manager
