Once again it’s been a couple of weeks since the last post, and once again there is lots to report.  There is some snow lingering on the ground still, just a reminder that winter may not be completely over, but spring is certainly in the air.  The greenhouse transition went smoothly.  The regular seedling house had a chance to sit idle and with this funny weather we were actually able to heat it up and freeze it out, and get it all cleaned up and orgnized.  The newly heated second greenhouse has been humming along nicely too, and has been a great asset as much needed overflow space.  It wasn’t too long ago that we started seeding some onions, and at the time it felt like a nice treat.   By now it’s a regular and ongoing part of our week, and we’ve added oregeno, thyme, edible flowers, chard, broccoli, bok choy, tat soi, lavender, sage, tomatoes, and kohlrabi to the list.  And I’m probably fogetting a few more.  And those onions that we started with a while back? they’re scheduled to get planted in just two weeks.

What’s more exciting though, is the recent approval of two grants.  One is through the NRCS and is for an additional moveable high tunnel, or hoophouse.  I think I am excited enough just to get in on the action of setting up another hoophouse, let alone what it means for season extension and expanded growing options.  The other grant is the one I mentioned a few months ago, the one that Matt and Jacy (and Anna) were working on around the clock and up until the last minute to get it turned in on time.  This is a Growth Through Agriculture grant, by the Montana Department of Agriculture, and will be a major addition to the investments being made this year to expand the farm.  This makes it possible to greatly advance our greens production by switching from single row seeders and hand harvesting to a mechanical, multi-row high-density seeder and mechanical greens harvester.  Efficiency across the board will also be improved including seeding with a vaccum seeder in the greenhouse, and a bed-shaper in the field.  I’ll be sure to post pics of all these things as they make their debut out here.

We’ve also turned in our application for organic certification as well.  It may be a long process still, but it is exciting nonetheless.  In reality it won’t change much as far as how vegetables are grown out here, but will expand marketing options, and involve more paperwork and record keeping, and be great to have.  Most of all, all these things getting done means Matt now has time to get back to the original “off season” project of putting siding up on the barn!  it’s looking pretty nice too…