Farm to Table Project: Planting Day

As promised, I have many pictures from my day visiting the farm on Tuesday.  The day’s plan was planting.  Many of the plants that started in the flats of the greenhouse were ready to be put into the ground.  At the same time a new batch of soil mix needed to be made for the starting of new plants.

farm to table project: rhizosphere farm

Terra shared with me her formula for the soil mix they use to start the seeds.  It is much like a recipe, each ingredient having an important role in the final product.  As is everything with the work on the farm, sustainability is always considered.  This is why coco fiber (made from coconut husks) is used over peat moss, which takes years to develop for harvest.  The coco fiber and worm castings are filtered through a screen as part of the soil mixing process.

farm to table project: rhizosphere farm

1 wheelbarrow coco fiber (sifted through a screen)
1 wheelbarrow vermiculite
1.5 30 lb bags of worm castings
1.5 pints kelp
1.5 pints lime
1.5 pints bone meal
Big handful mychorrhizae
Mix four times.
farm to table project: rhizosphere farm
farm to table project: rhizosphere farm
Seeds are sown into each cell of the flats.  Each cell generally contains 2-4 seeds, with the exception of crops like parsley and green onions, where more seeds will be sown.  They can be thinned out later, depending on how they’ve grown.  From these cells many of the crops are transplanted directly into the field once they’ve grown in size and established a vigorous root system.  Others, such as tomatoes, will be transplanted into 4 inch pots where they will continue to grow in the greenhouse until both the ground and air temperature can support the growing conditions they’ll need.
farm to table project: rhizosphere farm
farm to table project: rhizosphere farm
On the day I was visiting many of the flats were ready for planting, this included salad greens, fennel and green onions.  The small plants where taken from their cells and planted into the tilled rows where they’ll continue to grow.  There were several flats, with many cells, each one planted individually.  Planting a few myself, I was surprised by the sturdiness of the delicate looking crops.  Although the work goes quickly, there is a lot of planning that goes into the entire process.  I have a new respect for all the work that goes into growing my beloved bowl of salad greens!
farm to table project: rhizosphere farm
farm to table project: rhizosphere farm
To read more about my Farm to Table Project with Rhizosphere Farm, follow the links below…
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2 Responses to Farm to Table Project: Planting Day

  1. Heather says:
    April 20, 2012 at

    Hi Alison!

    You probably don’t know who I am but I absolutely adore your blog, I have passed along the Very Inspiring Blogger Award to you – you can read about it in my latest blog post:

    http://sundaymorningbananapancakes.blogspot.com/2012/04/coconut-quinoa-pudding-very-inspiring.html

    Thank you for being such an inspiration!

    Reply

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