Posts in How We Farm
Innovative Farming - Sap Testing 101

We've started this innovative technique of testing the sap in our plants (very similar to a blood test in an animal) to see what's going on inside...

“The results of these tests give us a snapshot of what the plant currently has to metabolize for growth, which is a good indicator of what nutrients it will need in the near future. This allows us to amend our soil in time so that the plants are receiving exactly what they need, when they need it, particularly during the time when they are fruiting, since they expend a tremendous amount of energy and resources to produce fruit.”

This is Leah taking leaf samples in our tomato field a few weeks ago.  

We begin to sample at 7:00am so that the leaves can retain sufficient leaf-tension and moisture in transit. Each sample includes one set of 100 grams of young, fully developed leaves and one set of 100 grams of old, vital leaves. Each crop varies in how many leaves it takes to get to 100 grams: tomato leaves are quite small, so we need about 100 young leaves for 100 grams, and 50-60 old leaves for 100 grams. Zucchini leaves are so big that we only need 3-4 old leaves and 6-8 young leaves to reach 100 grams each!

Correctly identifying young, fully developed leaves vs. old, vital leaves is perhaps the most important part of the sap analysis sampling process. This is because some nutrients are mobile, some are partially mobile, and others are immobile. Nutrient mobility means that the plant can “move” the nutrient from old tissue to new tissue. Mobile nutrients include macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium; deficiencies of these nutrients in old leaves indicate that the plant has begun to move them from old to young leaves, which means the plant will soon need to be supplemented. Nutrients that are partially mobile and immobile include micronutrients such as copper, manganese, zinc and boron. Plants can’t “recycle” immobile nutrients, so we look for deficiencies of these nutrients in young leaves. The results of these tests give us a snapshot of what the plant currently has to metabolize for growth, which is a good indicator of what nutrients it will need in the near future. This allows us to amend our soil in time so that the plants are receiving exactly what they need, when they need it, particularly during the time when they are fruiting, since they expend a tremendous amount of energy and resources to produce fruit.

Leaves must be sampled very carefully as even the slightest amount of contamination will alter the results. We have to wear gloves, sterilize the scissors we use to cut the leaf, and place leaves into untreated paper bags. We cut each leaf right at its base to ensure that no petiole remains – since the petiole contains nutrients, it can influence what is going on inside the leaf.
 
Once the samples have been collected, we place each set into a ziplock bag and put the corresponding label on the bag. We have to pack the samples with icepacks to make sure the leaves survive the two-day journey to Ohio. There, Crop Health Labs repackages the leaves and overnights them to the Netherlands, where the analyses take place.

We sample each crop every two weeks. Depending on the crop, we sample three to four different times, which makes the whole process last six to eight weeks. Typically we begin to sample just before the plants begin to fruit, and then continue while it fruits. Results arrive one week after each sampling, which gives us time to apply organic amendments to our soil before the next sampling occurs. The results from the next sampling then show us whether or not our amendments actually helped the plants.
 
This year, we did sap analysis with our strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes and we're starting on the fall brassicas...

A huge thank you to Leah for taking the samples for us all season.  We really couldn't be doing this without her working with us this year.  It's been fascinating to see how our plants respond to what's in the soil and what we apply.  Farmers often think that if nutrients are in the soil (via a soil test) that they're in the plant.  The next step for most farmers is to take leaf samples, but that only tells you what was going on in the plant a few weeks prior.  And there is nothing to be done with that information - essentially it's too late to make any difference in the health of the plant.  But with this real-time information provided by the sap test analyses, we are able to work with our plants to give them what they need, when they need it.  And healthier plants produce healthier food for you!

We hope this wasn't too technical (or boring) for you!  We think it's pretty cool and we're excited to share it with you!

How We Farmeb
April Update from the Fields...
Clockwise from top left: lettuce seedlings newly transplanted in the field (and irrigated since it's been so dry); seeding carrots by floodlight (because there just aren't enough hours in the day); leveling the vacuum seeder (A vacuum sucks up the s…

Clockwise from top left: lettuce seedlings newly transplanted in the field (and irrigated since it's been so dry); seeding carrots by floodlight (because there just aren't enough hours in the day); leveling the vacuum seeder (A vacuum sucks up the seeds and deposits them from a rotating plate into the ground.  This keeps them perfectly spaced.); mulching strawberries to smother the weeds and keep the berries clean.

April showers bring May...vegetables!  Our focus has shifted from greenhouse work to field work this past month.  Most of our greenhouse seedlings (lettuces, kales, broccoli) are now happily growing out in the fields, and Farmer Matt and Orlando have been seeding our direct-seeded crops like carrots, spinach, lettuce mix and cilantro in the fields.  We will continue to prep our fields and fill them up with crops over the coming weeks. It's beautiful watching the farm come to life!

SEE US IN ACTION!
A picture is worth a thousand words.  Watch some videos of our recent work on the farm...
- Transplanting Lettuce into the Field
- Mulching Strawberries

FIRST WEEK OF CSA
Mark your calendars!  Our CSA Program begins the week of May 23rd.  We will be in touch again in a few weeks reminding you where and when to pick-up your share.  Please remember that your pick-up day of the week will depend on your chosen pick-up site.

FARM TOURS
Your membership in our CSA means that you are an essential (and much-loved!) part of our farm community!  We encourage all members to come visit the farm to meet us, your farmers, and learn about how we grow your food.  We are located in Riverhead, which is on the North Fork of Long Island.  We're close to lots of vineyards and gorgeous beaches.  Make a day of it!  Tours are FREE for members and their guests.  Reservations are not required.  Our Farm Shop will be open Fridays & Saturdays during the month of June.
CSA Farm Tours - 2:00-3:00pm - Saturdays in June - 6/4, 6/11, 6/18, 6/25
Kids' Farm Tours - 11:00am-11:45am - Saturday, 6/11 and 6/25
Farmer Galen, age 6, will lead this special tour specifically for kids.  (Parents welcome, of course!)

We're looking forward to our first harvest in just 4 short weeks!  Grow plants, grow!

 

How We Farmeb
Spring has sprung!
Clockwise from top left: Garlic coming up in the field, Seeding onions by hand, Onions germinating in the greenhouse, Tractor maintenance.

Clockwise from top left: Garlic coming up in the field, Seeding onions by hand, Onions germinating in the greenhouse, Tractor maintenance.

Spring has sprung on the farm!  We planted our very first seed in the greenhouse two weeks ago and now our two greenhouses are filled with hundreds of flats of baby plants. Zinny (the littlest farmer) and I tour the greenhouses every morning to check on our “babies”.  He is enjoying watching them grow bigger each day. (Photo below.) We started out seeding scallions and onions and have moved on to kale, lettuce, radicchio and fennel.  Not all plants start their life in the greenhouse.  Baby greens and root crops will be direct-seeded in the field.  But for the majority of our crops, the greenhouse is where it all begins.  Seeding will continue in earnest for the next several months.  We schedule successive plantings of many crops to ensure that we will have a steady supply of them to harvest for you over the course of the season.  

How do we plant our seedlings?  Our plastic flats (trays) are filled with soil, small holes are dibbled in each cell, and the seeds are dropped into the holes before being covered with more soil.  We have a vacuum seeder that helps us seed our pelleted brassica seeds by the flat, but the majority of seeds are planted by hand. (See photo above.) When you cut up your first Walla Walla onion this July, you can think about Noe, Mario, Orlando and Leah sitting in the warm greenhouse seeding these one by one during the early weeks of March.

Tractor field work has also begun! We are starting to rototill our cover crops to incorporate the organic matter into the soil.  It will take several months for it to break down completely, so it was good to get a head start and take advantage of the beautiful warm weather.  We don’t usually start any field work until April when the ground is fully defrosted.

Days are getting longer, and so is our to-do list.  There is never a quiet moment on the farm!  If you’d like to get a behind-the-scenes look at what we’re up to, follow us on Instagram!  -Maggie

How We Farmeb