farm friday

farmer zeb
Originally uploaded by anneke boudreau

We started off farm friday with a visit to South 47 Farm's Tots program.  Today, we - along with several of the mom/child(ren) pairs from our co-op - learned about worms.  We made a worm purse, filled it with dirt, then dug in another pile of dirt for a worm.  Zeb's worm was dark red and wiggly - Zeb was fascinated.  We picked fresh spinach, but Zeb's favorite part of the day was the hay ride - he was *all* about the tractors (just like his grandpa and great-grandpa, eh?).  After we rode the trailer full of hay around the farm (pulled by the tractor), he went looking for more tractors, and watched the tractor pull other people around the farm.  When it was time to leave, he bid the tractor farewell...with tears in his eyes.  Apparently, we'll be going back there often.  They have the tots program regularly and teach a different subject each time.  

I almost forgot, when we first arrived, we looked at chickens, alpacas, goats, and ducks.  Zeb wasn't too interested in the animals, but *really* interested in how the chicken coop worked - the doors that slid for harvesting eggs, the hooks that kept the pens shut, and lifting the lid to peer inside the hen house.  I'm seeing a lot of "engineer" in this little dude. 

After we got home, we went to the neighbor's house to care for their veggies and chickens.  They have 3 hens in a coop in their yard.  We opened the door and talked with them for a while.  I really enjoy their yard.  It's a  city lot but it is so fertile and private. I'm green with envy. (heh).  Coming back to our house, it makes me realize how many more places I can tuck more growing things...but also how much natural space we lack.  I'm torn between going up (growing veggies on the roof and on a rooftop deck) and going out (looking for a larger, different property).  I still think there's quite a lot of potential in our lot, and if not, I can always help out the neighbors or sign up for a p-patch.

When he went down for his nap, I tended to my own garden.  I harvested three more heads of lettuce (that's 6 so far) and watered everything.  I also cleaned up the spinach we picked at the farm.  In doing so, I snacked on the fresh, crispy greens. mmmm.

My tomatoes are not looking good - especially compared to the starts at the farm and my neighbor's.  If we hope to eat any tomatoes that we've grown, I'll have to get some fresh starts.  Maybe after nap we'll walk up to Swanson's to look for locally grown veggies.

Seeing the rows and rows of veggies on the farm today and reading about the summer harvest in "Vegetable, Mineral, Miracle" I really want more things growing on our land/deck/whatever...I'm already thinking about next year.