January Update & New Logo!

January Update & New Logo! 

Hello Folks!

It's official! After months of negotiating and piles of paperwork, we have purchased a new (to us) 58.7 acre farm! Closer to the home farm than any of our leased fields we hope to expand production, and dodge the water shortage we seem to have each year around August. You can view some pictures of the property on our Facebook page here.

After a mild start to the Winter, we've finally dipped into the low teens this past week. Despite the cold temperatures we're already gearing up for the 2012 growing season, and last Friday started the first transplants of the 2012 season! We hope to be able to keep more of the "staple crops" like: Carrots, Lettuce, Onions, Garlic, and Potatoes coming in with more regularity this season--we have nothing against kohlrabi or leeks, but we want to do our best to keep basic crops coming in regularly too!

New crops for this season: Globe Artichokes,Jerusalem Artichokes, Celeriac, Horseradish, and we are also planting a large patch of Asparagus this year--that doesn't mean that you'll get Asparagus this Spring, but you'll be able to look forward to it come 2013! Do you have a crop you'd like us to grow this year? Let us know now while we're still in the planning stage!

If you can, please be sure to help us out with our Feedback Drive! We are trying to learn from our customers, as well as incorporate feedback into our Website!

Thank you for your support, and encouragement--keep warm, and we look forward to seeing you come Spring!

Adam Colvin
1-866-865-8329
www.ColvinFamilyFarm.com

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January Update & New Logo:

For years, we've used logos built on our computer designed with clip art and graphics programs--I (Adam) have always wanted a "real" professionally designed logo that was customized to "be us." After amassing piles of paper, and spending hours researching different companies, I pleaded my case to Dad--for months I bugged him (whenever my "chosen company" sent an email newsletter) to join the burgeoning ranks of farms that had a "real" logo, and finally I have won! We ended up with a seal shaped logo, with a crate of produce drawn from actual pictures of our produce, in the background silhouetted against a rolling TN farm background is our Massey Ferguson 165 tractor! I'm tickled.



Even though the trees are bare, and there's no sign of Spring outside.....



....we are already starting our Spring transplants in the greenhouses!



Caleb took the old van to Knoxville and purchased a LOAD of flats--according to our calculations we should have nearly enough for the entire 2012 planting season. The rest are ordered and on their way.



We use the best of the best organic starting mixes--Johnny's 512 mix. The first year we tried an organic mix, we nearly lost our shirts because it didn't work (we lost Tomatoes, Peppers and other crops that we depended on for a large share of our income)--every year since, we've invested a large chunk of our annual operating expenses into this media. We calculate we are going to be using nearly 40 cubic yards this year--the equivalent of two tandem dump truck loads!



This closeup shot of a plug flat shows the "home" for the first seven weeks of the life of a cabbage on our farm.



After we fill the flats with the media, we mark them with the variety name, or a short "code" with a paint pen.



After they're filled and marked, we lay the flats out on tables in the greenhouse.



Next we "dibble" holes in each cell at the right depth for the seed we're planting...



...Get a handful of seeds...



...and drop one seed per cell--as best as we can anyhow. On average we drop about seven "doubles" per 98 cell flat when we're planting Brassicas (Cabbage, Kale, Collards etc...) we don't really worry about that amount of doubles as it kind of offsets the germination being in the mid 90's.



After we're done seeding, we sift some media over the seeds, and then "water them in." Now we've got a batch of cabbage started, and we can't wait for them to start growing!