Putting the farm to rest
Greetings!
The farm has quieted down significantly over the past couple of weeks, and we’re all relishing the time that we get to spend tidying up the fields, making wreaths, and harvesting the last odds and ends scattered about the farm. This weekend we’ll have our final farmer’s market of the year at Johnny’s, and then we’ll finish out the year with some pop-ups and online wreath sales over the course of the next month.
We’ve enjoyed some absolutely gorgeous weather this week— always welcome in the midst of the tedious farm cleanup process!
Last week we finished putting our dahlia beds to rest for the winter. I took lots of photos so that I could share the process with you all. If you’re interested in a deep dive into dahlia overwintering how-to, we learned how to do it from Jennie Love’s fantastic blog post and had great success last year. It saved us a ton of time and energy and we had a wonderful dahlia crop that started blooming much earlier than it would’ve had we not overwintered. We tried another method for overwintering dahlias in 2018 and didn’t have much success, and so we were relieved when this worked well for us!
Once a hard frost hit the farm, we knew it was time to begin the dahlia cleanup process. First, we removed our trellising system and drip irrigation.
Next, Meg and I took turns using our new hedge trimmer to cut down the plants. We made three passes over each plant-- one up high, one through the middle, and one at the base. This was a lot faster than using loppers to cut down the plants, which is what we’ve done in the past. We tried to get everything cut into pieces that would break down over the next few months of laying in the field. The plant matter stays in the field to decompose, feeding the future dahlias!
After using the hedge trimmers, we made a quick pass through the field with loppers to chop down anything we’d missed with the hedge trimmer. We use long metal staples to label the dahlias and we leave those in the field over the winter, so we had to be careful not to hit them with the trimmer. Anywhere there was a tag we opted to lop.
While Meg and I finished with the loppers, Jenna put amendments down over the beds.
After amendments, Meg and Jenna put down a healthy layer of compost.
While Jenna and Meg worked on compost, I went down the edges of the beds and gently broadforked to loosen and aerate the soil. My goal was not to turn the soil, just create spac for oxygen exchange along the edges of the beds.
Next we lay down a heavy layer of straw to insulate the tubers over the winter.
I neglected to take photos of the final steps, spraying leaf mold tea to stimulate soil biology, and covering the beds with a silage tarp to keep the tubers warm and undisturbed by water. In lieu of those photos, I offer this image of Harry enjoying his first jaunt through a field full of straw. Kind of like a puppy’s first snow day!
Sunday, November 21st, 8:00 am - 11:00 am: Johnny’s
This is the last weekend of our market at Johnny’s!
This week we’ll have carrots, celery, garlic, radishes, hakurei turnips and spring mix. Our produce selection is dwindling, but what we do have is absolutely gorgeous. I’m so proud of our carrots and celery, and they’ll make a fantastic addition to your Thanksgiving tables.
We’ll have a few eucalyptus bunches available, in addition to succulents to brighten your home.
And, of course, we will have plenty of wreaths!
Though this week marks our last market at Johnny’s for 2021, you’ll be able to find us at the YNot Lot on 11/27 for the Station North Holiday Market! We’ll bring as many wreaths as we can make.
On Saturday, November 27th from 1- 6pm, visit the Station North Arts District for the first annual Station North Holiday Market, presented by Central Baltimore Partnership on Small Business Saturday to keep the love local! Come for the unique, handmade, artful gifts from Made in Baltimore makers, sample delicious holiday specials from local restaurants, and stay for our pop-up performance series in the newly reopened North Ave Market! RSVP on Eventbrite to get a reminder here.
Wishing you well,
Amelia and the rest of the Two Boots crew.
The fields may be quite bare right now, but the tunnels are brimming with life!
