| Join Us..... |
Saturday, March 15 at 8:00
Matthews Farmer's Market
Blueberry, Grape, Red Raspberry, Thornless Blackberry plants ready for Spring Planting
Saturday, March 15 at 2 pm
Organic Gardening - Monroe Library
Get ready for Spring! Mary Roberts will present an introduction to backyard organic gardening. Mary will talk about what the term "organic" means and she will discuss topics such as organic pest management, fertilizing with organics, weed management, and seed starting and transplanting. Call 704-283-8184, ext. 232 for more information.
Saturday, March 22 at 8:00
Learn where Shiitake Mushrooms come from and help start the process. Limited space - please let us know you are coming.
Saturday, April 5 at 1:00
Open house at Windcrest Farm Greenhouse. Come get your veggie seedlings!
Saturday, April 12 at 7:15
Opening day at the Matthews Community Farmer's Market |
| Organic Gardening & Farming Supplies |
|
| |
|
Greetings!
|
Are you ready to get food and fruit as local as your own backyard? It's easy! Whether you have a patio pot or a good-sized plot, we have lots of plants and products to help you grow your own. Not sure how to do it? We've got help for that too. Come see us at the Market or at an event, or contact us with your questions. We love to talk about our love of growing food! |
| Windcrest Farm receives USDA Organic Certification |
 We did the paperwork, we paid the fee, we had the inspection, but we didn't change anything we have done at Windcrest Farm in order to receive our organic certification. So why did we do it? Because we feel this certification gives us more business opportunties for the farm and therefore more chances to survive as a farm family.
As a certified organic greenhouse, we can now supply other certified organic market growers with vegetable, herb and flower transplants. From the field, our produce and flowers will carry an easily recognizable symbol that these products have been grown with organic practices. While we love to personally tell our customers about how we grow our produce, we do want to expand our markets and this symbol with help tell part of our farm's story.
There has certainly been discussion and debate about the merits and burdens that this government program has placed on the small farmer. We certainly have our own opinion about where the National Organics Program falls short and where its regulations makes no sense. In the end, we believe in growing food in a sustainable manner, which includes, but is not limited to using local resources and organic practices.
Please let us know if you have any questions about the National Organic Program (NOP) and the USDA Organic Certification. |
|
Shiitake Mushrooms Workday, Saturday, March 22nd |
|
If you are curious about where we get those wonderful Shiitake Mushrooms and would like to help make it happen, come join us on Saturday, March 22nd from 8:00 until 4:00 to help inoculate local oak logs with NC Shiitake mushroom spore. We'll be drilling holes, planting spores and playing with cheese wax! Please let us know you are coming - we have limited space and need to plan for lunch. Email mroberts@windcrestorganics.com and let us know if you can join us. | |
| Seed or Transplant? |
| What is the best way to start your garden - by direct seeding or by transplanting? Which gives the best produce or flower. Which is the most fun? As the proud manager of a greenhouse, you would expect me to encourage gardening with transplants, but remember, I get to enjoy browsing the seed catalogs and planting those babies . So let's explore both seeding and transplanting.
A packet tomato seeds costs around $2.25 and will give you dozens of seeds depending on the variety. By starting with seeds, you can grow varieties you will not find at the big box home improvement stores or even at local garden centers (check out Windcrest Farm's plant list however). Compare the cost of a seed packet to the cost of an heirloom tomato plant and it may look like the seed pack is the clear winner. But if you have ever looked at the pictures of dozens of beautiful tomatoes varieties in a seed catalog in January, you know you can't just buy one kind. They all look good! And before you know it, your seed bill can rival your cell phone bill. Then add in supplies and time. And where are you going to grow all those babies? You start seeding indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost date for the earliest harvest. The average date for the last frost in Union County is April 12th (not counting last year's late April killer) so get started somewhere around the middle to end of February. This can be great winter therapy - the smell of soil and the promise of fresh food and flowers in those little seeds can lift you up on the coldest days. You will need a good organic potting soil, some containers, warmth, plenty of sunlight, some consistent attention and room enough to accomodate all those seeds that were just to hard to resist. It is always a thrill to see seedlings pop up and it is a great activity for both children and the young at heart.
If you don't have a sunny, warm, spacious area to start seedlings approximately 2 months before planting in the garden, you can start seeds outside after the last frost and start them in pots for transplanting. Or you can direct seed in the garden. Some plants do not tranplant well (carrots for example) so they must be direct seeded. One of the main benefits to direct seeding is it will make you an expert at weed identification - as in "Is that the tomato or is it a weed?" Wildflowers are a great choice for direct seeding - you don't reallly worry about the weeds.
Tranplants give you a jump-start in the garden. You know what they are and where they are when you plant them and you are weeks ahead to harvest. (Don't worry, you will still get the chance to become a weed identification expert.)
Of course you can always do both seeding and tranplanting like we do and garden all year round. Please look for seeds and tranplants that have not been chemically treated and are not genetically modified (GM). Buying organic seeds means the farm families that harvest the seeds are not exposed to chemicals also. By buying heirloom or open pollinated seeds you can even save your seeds from year to year and promote biodiversity (but that's a whole other topic!). |
|
Best regards,
Mary Roberts
Windcrest Farm
When the solution is simple, God is answering.
-Albert Einstein
All photos in the Windcrest Newsletter and on our website have been taken at Windcrest Farm unless otherwise noted. | |
