The season is well under way. Every day new soil is being made from our compost, a bit of peat, sand and water. The soil is then fed into our soilblocker making the blocks into which our seedlings are grown, and so there are now in the greenhouse growing onions, different kinds of beans, salads, asian leaves, reddish, paprika, herbs, and different kales. Last week the first fresh produce of the year figured into our bags : redishes and for the Järvenpää and Tuusula spinach leaves! (sometimes when there is not yet a full amount of something ripened, we simply have to make a wise division of different produce going into different bags, whilst we are aiming at an even spread throughout the year for the different bag days and destinations).
As also last year, the greenhouse is at this time of the year serving the starting up of the planting season, and its first produce will be serving all of the foodbags. From June on we will again be making it possible for members to order a greenhouse bag along the same terms as last year – we will very soon be sending further word on this (you can read more on the plans for this season in the report from our first Coop day on 7.2 referred to one more time further in this newsletter).
In the raised beds behind the greenhouse, where we planted last year a range of different fruit and nut trees as well as berry bushes, once again also different vegetables are being planted. The aim is to also this year continue with the making of several more arched raised bed rows of fruittrees and vegetables. The fruittrees are expecting to bear fruits in some 5-7 years, whilst the trees mature at 10 years of age. Oma maa is at its core a continuous banking and investing not only on the present but also on a healthy future! At the same time different other areas on the farm are prepared for sowing and plantings.
We also have been working on the weeding and taking care of our strawberries (on Kaukon tila, the second farm in our cooperative), as well as working further on our seed sovereignty , recently of our carrots and turnips. Did you know that carrots, turnips, swedes have a two year life cycle? They are bienials : First they grow their roots which we can eat, and then, if we protect them well over winter against frost and being eaten (by spreading a hay cover over their rows and for instance by planting garlic in their rows), in their second year they will grow seeds, which we can harvest and again sow for a next season of edible roots – Such the endeavour!
In the meantime also our honeybees have been waking up from their wintersleep, and our new beekeeper Michaela Mostynova was happy to find both colonies doing very well! Some 30 coop members have now signed up for this 2021 honey season.
This spring was still governed by the restrictions set in terms of this Covid19 year – and we were not yet able to resume for instance our communities farmdining evenings. Wonderful however that a number of you have been coming out to the farm!
Our foodbag orders remained at a steady 80 foodbag orders per week (the sum of every week and every other week bag orders), which presents a figure more or less as imagined in this year’s budget. Thanking with this also those of you that have been coming out to the farm on a regular basis for the making of our wonderful foodbags, including the cooperation with Aslihan Oguz, aka my dear kitchen in Helsinki! For June there are currently 72 bagorders placed, and this is a number we certainly hope and need to see rising in the coming weeks!