Sometimes the way we go about farming challenges ones aesthetic sensibilities. This occurred to me last week as I was mowing down the most gorgeous crimson clover ever. How could I not only bring myself to blast these flowers, but actually relish doing it?

First of all, why was the crimson clover there? Well, last fall as the transplanted brassicas (broccoli etc) were starting to get big and healthy, Casey decided to overseed with crimson clover. Usually after a broccoli crop is finished, it’s much too late and wet out to turn it under to plant a cover crop. (Yeah, so a cover crop is something we plant in the Fall to keep the soil covered, and the soil microbes engaged, and the nutrients tied up in a live system. It’s a Best Management Practice that is too often neglected by conventional agriculture.) So, usually we just have a cover crop of rotting broccoli and weeds in those patches.

Casey’s idea was that the clover get planted in a timely way right over top of the broccoli,  would begin to grow, but wouldn’t compete with the cash crop. Here’s what it looked like in March.

The broccoli wasn’t nearly as far gone as in a normal year because it was such a warm winter. But, but by the time the clover was blooming in May, there was no sign of it!

And, of course, taking down the clover was done with a very specific and wonderful machine = the flail mower. This mower is not like a bush hog (rotary mower) or a lawn mower. It spins perpendicular to the plant with tens of tiny knives flailing away cutting the greenery into tiny shreds. Why do we care? Because we want the plant residue (read microbe food!) to be evenly distributed, not in great hunks. And, we want the residue in small pieces, exposing more surface area for the microbes to attack and digest it!

So, is it making any sense yet? We worked that shredded clover into the soil the same day – adding organic matter, microbe friendly nutrients and lots of naturally fixed nitrogen. Now it’s ready for the next crop.

It’s great fun to make an acre size salad to feed our hard working soil microbes.

I’ve been studying soil testing for a couple of years now. Taking the test is the easy part, the hard part if figuring out what to do with the numbers you get back from the lab! I discovered that a few of our newer vegetable fields had a lower than optimum pH. The term pH refers to “the power of hydrogen”, and is matched to a scale that ranges from acidic to alkaline (1 to 14). The goal on a crop farm is neutral, or a pH of 7. It is at neutral that the greatest number of plant essential elements are in a state of chemical availability. Some of our patches were at 6.2, not far off from 7, but still in need of assistance.

The method of choice to raise the pH is to spread lime. There are two types of locally available agricultural lime – high calcium (calcium carbonate) and dolomitic (calcium magnesium carbonate). Since our magnesium levels are perfect, we chose high cal lime. The part of the lime that does the pH adjusting is the carbonate part – it releases hydrogen from the soil and allows calcium and other cations to take its place.

This is the time to call in a professional lime spreader. We ordered 2 tons per acre and needed to lime 13 acres. The complicated part is to time this operation. In order to allow a 20 ton rig to roll across a field, it needs to either be frozen solid, or dry enough that the soil won’t compact under all that weight. We ordered the lime in early February, hoping that we’d catch a good hard freeze one morning. That never happened. Instead, this strangely warm dry winter/spring gave us soil moisture levels so low that we could have the lime spread in March.

Kevin Baker came out on a cool March morning and spread the lime.

This is exciting for a farm! It’s wonderful to have someone who can do this job well for us.

Here’s what it looked like when Kevin was done.

That’s the winter cover crop of wheat and lots of finely ground limestone. Once we till that in, the carbonate can start to do it’s thing and our pH will rise toward neutral.

Finally, after waiting for perfect soil conditions for a couple of years, we had the chance to get this job done. Cheers to a perfect pH and lots of calcium to feed your vegetables!

PVF East’s (in Vienna)  CSA registration is now full. The summer shares for PVF-East are now sold out for  2012.  Fall shares will open up again in August.  If you would like to be on a waiting list for a summer share, please send a message to hana@potomacvegetablefarms.com and be specific about which pickup location you want. We hope you will come see us at the farmers markets and our roadside stands!

How cool would it be if the CSA community, which includes the farm and the members, could support some of its members and help them to have access to these great vegetables?!

PVF East is developing a pilot program that could make the CSA financially accessible to people who would like to participate but can’t quite pay the full price –with your help. The farm is proposing to offer six shares in 2012 at a reduced cost –half of the price will be absorbed by the farm and the rest will be paid for by those who are willing and able to contribute (including the recipient).  If we get a big response to this, we might be able to offer more shares.

Market Style CSA at PVF West

So, if you know someone who would really appreciate the opportunity to be part of the CSA but would need a reduced price, please ask them to contact hana@potomacvegetablefarms.com. We will not require financial documentation, but we will ask for a written personal statement.

And if you are a CSA member who would like to “Close the Circle” by donating some of the cost of a share, please contact Hana.

Here is what we are imagining:
Donate half the cost of a mini share for 4 weeks:  $40, all the way up to a full summer  for  $160.
Donate half the cost of a regular share for 4 weeks: $60, all the way up to a full summer share for $240.

Please send any questions or comments, too.  We are still developing the concept.

CSA boxes ready to be picked up in Vienna.

PVF West is open for new and returning member registration. Sign up before March 1 to get the early bird discount (it’s huge–20%!). If you’re a returning member, refer a friend and receive a $25 coupon for the Purcellville roadside stand. PVF West is offering a market-style CSA on Tuesdays from 2pm-7pm. Pick up is at the Purcellville farm’s Roadside Stand on the corner of John Wolford Road and  Berlin Turnpike. Register now!

PVF East’s (in Vienna)  CSA registration is now open to all. We will once again offer the option to pick up on the farm in Vienna or at one of our dropoff locations in Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Sterling, Herndon, Ashburn, Reston, Fairfax or at specific employee-only offices (you know who you are).

PVF West–the farm in Purcellville ONLY– is open for new and returning member registration as of Wednesday, February 1. Sign up before March 1 to take advantage of the early bird discount. If you’re a returning member, refer a friend and receive a $25 coupon for the Purcellville roadside stand. Register now!

PVF East’s (in Vienna)  CSA registration is not yet open. It will open up for new members  on February 15, 2012. Keep an eye on this page for the registration link.

Returning members: You’ll receive a registration message delivered to your email inbox on February 1. You’ll have 10 days to sign up before we open up to new members. There are always a few folks who forget to sign up on time, and it is getting harder to hold those spaces. Please remember to mark a calendar for February 1 if you want more of this CSA experience. If our message gets dumped into a junk mail box or your address has changed we won’t know, so send Hana a message at hana@potomacvegetablefarms.com if you don’t hear from her by February 2.

Inquiries have begun to trickle in about CSA registration for 2012. Registration for new members will open up on February 15, 2012. Mark you calendars!

Returning members: please watch for a registration message delivered to your email inbox on February 1. You’ll have 10 days to sign up before we open up to new members. There are always a few folks who forget to sign up on time, and it is getting harder to hold those spaces. Please remember to mark a calendar for February 1 if you want more of this CSA experience. If our message gets dumped into a junk mail box or your address has changed we won’t know, so send Hana a message at hana@potomacvegetablefarms.com if you don’t hear from her by February 2.

As we get closer to the date we’ll update our CSA information page with information about the 2012 season including drop off locations, share sizes, share options, and dates.

I hope everyone had a happy holiday season. We wish you all peace, happiness, and good veggies in the new year.

PVF East Roadside Stand

The Autumn 2011 CSA Shares are sold out. Registration for the 2012 season will open on February 15, 2012. There is no waiting list.

For more information about our CSA, please see the CSA information page.