By Jackson Yow, Assistant Farm Manager
Hello, everyone! It’s Jackson here again to share what is happening on the ground (and in it) at Green Earth Harvest. The slow trickle of seeding, watering, and tractor work has become a deluge as the plant sale and spring share pickups draw near. Our farm crew, complete with some new faces, has been hard at work laying the foundation for the 2023 season. From braving cold, wet mornings to shedding sweaty layers preparing our hoop-houses, the wild swings of spring have been taken in full-stride. “Many hands make light work” is a common proverb in team situations for a reason- it is generally true. In farming, however, there is no light work. Many hands on the farm make light-er work, and I am truly excited to work, learn, and grow with our team this year.
Sunny skies and temperatures expected to soar into the upper 70s mean one thing is certain this week- irrigation. What are we irrigating? I’m glad you asked! Our allium field is packed with garlic and will be filled out with scallion
s, fresh onions, shallots, and storage onions by the end of the week. Also, on the to-do list this week is direct seeding (and irrigating) 2,000+ pounds of seed potatoes and 8,000 row-feet of beets. The beets will be seeded next to our carrot and pea beds, soon to be followed by several lovely spring greens in the weeks to come. Spring brassicas are growing vigorously in our greenhouse and awaiting their graduation to the field by the end of the month. Herbs, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and more are sizing up along-side them, and I’m counting down the days until I have Green Earth hot peppers falling out of my fridge!
As much as I would love to keep all of the hot peppers for myself, there are exciting new plans in place for the distribution of our produce this year. In addition to our normal farmshares, farm stands, etc., we are partnering with Itasca Bank & Trust, possibly DuPage County and five DuPage County food pantries to bring our local, organic, nutritious produce from farm to pantry. This opportunity is possible due to the generosity of Itasca Bank and their partners and falls directly in line with the mission and values of Green Earth Harvest and The Conservation Foundation, as a whole. We are incredibly excited to expand our relationships with local food pantries and support our community in a way that lifts (and fills) everyone up.
We will have more updates on this project, as well as other farm happenings, as the season progresses. Be sure to stay tapped into to our newsletters and social media channels to get the latest on what’s happening at Green Earth- there’s a lot! I’d also like to express my deep gratitude to the farm crew members that add spice to my life and keep me smiling, the TCF staff that support us, the volunteers that make our lives easier, and everyone that contributes to the success of this unique organization- including those reading this!
- Farmer Jackson
