Late Winter Changes
Goodness, here we are in the middle of February. I am delighted to share some updates as the farm begins to wake from its’ winter sleep.
It seems that I often write my first newsletter of the season on a cold, rainy day. Tradition continues and while today is not necessarily cold, it is rainy. I am grateful for a moment’s pause on the couch after yesterday’s long farm day. My muscles need to get accustomed to the labor after a winter’s rest. We were laughing at ourselves after a few hours of tilling, raking and measuring out beds, lamenting our slow aging bodies, suggesting we find some 20 year olds to do some of this work! But we have definitely found some ergonomic ways to farm that protect our bodies and this gives me hope!
There are so many exciting changes happening on the farm this year! First, we will be farming on about 3/4 of an acre. This more than doubles our production space from last year and while we are nervous, we trust this is the next step towards growing a more sustainable farm. We are grateful for the generosity of the two landowners and as we continue to look for land of our own, we give thanks for the gift of land that we have lived with, tended and nurtured for the last 10 years. We feel deep connection to it.
With this new space, we are making some changes to our existing space (seen below), including landscape fabric for weed control, plant spacing for more bio-intensive production, and season extension techniques for a longer growing season.
Scott and I measured out bed space increasing our rows’ width to 4 feet, allowing for more plantings per row.
Scott made a fabric burning template out of metal creating an easy way to perfectly space each hole quickly and efficiently. Each flower seedling will be tucked into the fabric and will serve as a weed barrier for each row. Gone are the days of endless hours of weeding!
Our new low hope tunnels for season extension and crop protection.
A few avenues of support have made some of this change possible. Through a scholarship, Little Sparrow has had the opportunity to participate in a Floret flower farming workshop over the last couple of months. This has been both a refresh and a way to learn more efficient and productive methods on our small piece of land.
Additionally, Little Sparrow was a recipient of a ‘common good fund’ award this past year. This fund was inspired and formed by a small group of neighbors, friends and families as a means of taking small, faithful steps towards financial justice in Durham. It casts a vision of economic exchange that is relational at its core and I just want to give a shout out to the people behind it. I am SO inspired by your attentiveness to the many small businesses and projects in Durham that might be overlooked and am incredibly grateful for your generosity and support. THANK YOU!
While these changes were already in the works, these small gestures of support have helped usher us in more seamlessly. We are encouraged and hopeful that with these small changes we will be able to grow more flowers than ever and that many of you can be the beneficiaries of the beauty. The flower subscription (CSA) is just around the corner, along with a couple other ways of participating in the fruit of Little Sparrow Farm so check out all the happenings below.
Thank you SO much for continuing to support a small flower farm!