What’s Happening on the Farm in June?

Hi there all my future farmers and gardeners! You may be thinking to yourself how could I be a farmer? There are many ways to farm, While we farm on several acres and use large equipment, that is not the only option. Did you know you can create your own container garden? You can use buckets, pots, a rain gutter, even a wooden pallet. My challenge to you is to take a look around your home. What containers could you repurpose? Does a local store have pallets they are getting rid of? Is your bakery selling plastic buckets?

Pick the perfect spot for your containers that works for the plants you have selected. For example, if you’re growing tomatoes, you’ll want to pick a sunny spot. If you are trying lettuce which is an easy, fast-growing crop, pick a shady area to protect it from the hot summer sun. If this is your first time growing, pick your favorite veggie or maybe even flowers. The best part of gardening is getting to enjoy it so you want to grow something you like.

Start your own Farm

  • Container of your choice
  • Seeds or Plants
  • Topsoil mixed with compost or garden potting soil

Pick your favorite flowers, herbs or veggies. You can use either seeds (be sure to check how long it takes to grow) or baby plants, called starts. Add your soil to your containers  and plant away! Water and watch it grow!

*If using plastic containers get an adult’s help to add drainage holes using a drill*

While you’re busy creating your own little farms, Let’s chat about what we are doing on the farm now. We are still busy planting away. In order to have plenty of crops coming in throughout the summer, each week we will plant rows or sections depending on how much we think we will sell of each product. Right now we are planting more of your summer favorites like cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes. Maybe some you don’t know about other veggies like Swiss Chard, pictured below. But it’s also almost time to plant fall favorites, pumpkins can take around 90 to 120 days to grow depending on the variety. When you are planting your own gardens it’s important to learn about a plant’s growing times. For example you’ll want to make sure your pumpkins have plenty of growing time to make your Jack O’ Lanterns for Halloween.

In Season Right Now:

  • Strawberries
  • Leafy greens
  • Lettuce
  • Asparagus
  • Rhubarb
  • Spring onions
  • Radishes
This year we are trying something a little new and exciting! Can you guess what this plant is?

It’s a peanut plant! These take about 4 to 5 months to grow. Then you can harvest the pods which will grow underground. Each plant should produce around 25 to 50 peanuts. But that is quite a large range because the pods do not ripen evenly so you must harvest when the greatest number of pods have matured. I can’t wait to share their progress over the next few months. We have 10 plants that we will be testing in our raised beds on the farm. We are using raised beds because peanuts like well drained soil and these allow us to control that aspect more.

Come back next month for the peanut check in and we will show you how the summer harvest is coming along including our flower patch.

Check out a few more photos from around the farm during the beginning of the summer season below!