Rain, rain, come again, oh won’t you help my plant’s life to begin. It’s spring again! After a very
wet start to the winter we hit a dry spell; nonetheless, farm activities must go on. Without further
ado let us begin! Since March we have spaded the field, incorporated
compost, listed the beds, set up irrigation, picked crops that we are planting for the season,
planted the crops, built a fence, sowed seeds and built a compost pile!
They say April showers bring May flowers, well they also bring in the weeds and they came in
many shapes and sizes making it our first U pick of the season – U pick weeds, free weeds take
as much as you want! Luckily help comes in many shapes and sizes as well – from pre-k to
adults from all over the county ranging from Watsonville to Los Gatos and Santa Cruz. The
students took a break from being in the classroom to come and help sow seeds in the farm. I
enjoyed their enthusiastic attitude and the answers they gave me when I asked questions like,
“who likes to play in the dirt?” They all raise their hands and shout “I do!” “Who likes to get
dirty?” Once again in unison they shout “I do!” It took the effort and help of all who came to set
the foundation for what is to come in the summer, which is one of my favorite times of the
growing season. Being able to witness all the crops bare fruit is such a beautiful sight to see.
Farm tip: Weeds. Weeds are a pest that not only compete with your cash crop for water, light,
and nutrients; they are expensive and labor intensive to get rid of. There are some rules that are
important to follow when it comes to weed management. One of the most important is, don’t let
your weeds start seed production, that takes away their ability to disperse seeds and reproduce.
Remember this, when it comes to weeds get them when they are small
before they get big and out of control.
What an inviting place for insects and rodents to live.