We’ve gotten through all danger of frost, so it’s time to plant our hearts out. Just before the rain we got in a second seeding of beans, more tatsoi and arugula, herbs, salad mix and lettuce. Then we spend a nice drizzly day yesterday planting flowers, squash, and cucumbers. We’ll see you at market this later this week!
Spring came early this year! We’ve been busy. More pics will be up shortly to introduce this years fantastic farm apprentices Helen and Beverly!
Below, see our lovable pup Tiller, huge sweet turnips, tillage operations, the new (used) equipment purchases from this winter, our fantastic cover crop growth (check out the nitrogen fixation on those roots!), a delicious looking garlic patch, and scenes from the greenhouse. More to come soon…back to work!
By Cara Townsend
Chickadee Creek Farms owner Jess Niederer is half the age of the average U.S. farmer. Though she grew up working on her family’s 80-acre farm in Pennington, Niederer approaches a small plot she leases on the farm with newfound vigor.
And she does it without chemicals, instead cultivating her produce using organic methods.
“After learning more about our food system, I decided I want to change the parts I don’t like,” the 28-year-old said.
There is a growing market for high quality, organic food and products, but finding farmers like Niederer to meet the demand is complicated, says Camille Miller, executive director of the New Jersey Northeast Organic Farming Association chapter.
While the number of small farms across the United States is dwindling, the age of the average farmer, 55 years as of 2002, is rising.
Read the full article here.
Pics from 2011
Chickadee Creek Farm 