December 2019 - Welcome!

We decided to make a seperate blog about all of the projects that were completed and continue to go on here at the farm. I really can't believe all of the work we have done. A BIG thank you to my father, friends and others who have made these improvements possible.

We arranged all of pictures below in chronological order from the start of the season to the present.

Scroll down to see how far we have come!

Installing electrical conduit in HT1

Organizing pipes for HT2 and finishing ground leveling

Ground has been leveled and piping and bows starting to get installed for HT2 and GH1

Starting end wall construction on HT2 and digging the roadway for all the greenhouses

More road construction and getting ready to put fill in

Digging trenches for water pipes for all greenhouse 5' down

Materials for HT2 and GH1, endwall and plastic

The endwalls are underway

Digging test well points for our irrigation system to ensure good water flow

HT2 is ready for plastic, an exciting moment in August

Installing electrical conduit for all 3 structures

The main lead for electricity to all structures

Three well points going in for 3 greenhouses

These are precast hictical pears that we are putting in for the "Tool Shed" for the irrigation pump and electrical panel

Mixing and poring concrete for new foundations under the back barns

Plastic going on HT2, thank you to the crew who came to help! Today would also be the storm of the season...we are lucky the plastic was still intact!

More digging? Yes! This is a drainage system for the back of the farm so things stay a little drier!

New catch basin to keep water flowing in the right direction

Terminating our first cover crop and now are seeding in some new crops to continue building the soil heath

Spencer and Collin my wonderful brothers helping digging out old foundations on the barn

Mix mix mix, new foundations for the barn, she shouldn't go anywhere now!

Concrete board going in to keep barn protected from erosion

Finally that time, bows for GH1 are under way

More layout for barn additions and improvements!

Building our new tool shed space

Malanowski Farm dropping fill for the new addition

Greenhouse construction continues! Cross bows going up!

The new road, looks great!

We took a speedy turn to finish the metal structure of the GH, next-up frame work for the endwalls

Polycarbonate goes on GH1, so close now

One side complete, on to the next!

My father and I contemplating the next step on the roof vent for GH1

We finally have plastic coverings on all greenhouse structures

Digging trenches for the GH propane heating system

To be continued...

It has been a year to remember!

As we settle down after a very long and eventful season we took a moment to reflect on all the fun and good times we had.

Here are some of our favorite moments of 2019!

March

March started with a decent snow cover and our high tunnel was all about growth. We focused on getting seeds organized to begin planting and we filled the high tunnel with early starts. We also received new tools like harvest crates and bins. Senator Jo Comerford stopped by for a short visit and discuss farm issues we were facing and how she may be able to help. We hope to see her more next season!

April

April was a wet one! We were still recovering from last year and we were well underway with high tunnel crops and even had plows in the soil. We were busy burning the asparagus field and getting the first seeded crops in. We also played with our custom built germination chamber and the farmstand opened early with flowers!

May

May was a busy month! The harvest began while we were in full planting mode! In between the madness we were busy cultivating the first plantings of brassicas and laying plastic for long season crops. The soil was finally workable after the wet spring we had and we were bustling now. We really started to get our feet wet with our new MaterMacc planter as well!

June

We participated in our first event of the year, the Asparagus Fest in Hadley! This was also the first month of the CSA farm share 2019 program. We continued planting away by hand and testing the new no-till planter. We had plenty of field work staking tomatoes and pulling garlic scapes.

July

July was garlic month! Harvest, cure, harvest, cure! Our high tunnel tomatoes were growing as tall as Navi and we were super busy trellising. We had the first field tomatoes in the area and the winter squash was looking fantastic. We had a fun farm visit with the Hatfield Recreation Camp too!

August

August sure threw us a curveball, we started the month with the biggest storm of the season. Heavy rains, wind, and hail destroyed acres of tobacco, leafy greens and other crops. It was also one of the busiest harvest months of the year. Sweetcorn, cucumbers and tomatoes were abundant! We said goodbye to our amazing summer crew as they prepared for a new school year. We tried new exciting things like cover crop no-till drilling, planting our first round of spinach and having our first ever tomato tasting. There were many late nights in the moonlight washing tomatoes and some of the crew went "tomato blind", long story :)

September

September sure felt like fall! The overwintering onions started to pop in the high tunnel and our first setting of spinach looked absolutely amazing. The stand was packed to the gills and the new greenhouse frame started to emerge. We were still full steam ahead harvesting tomatoes and squash by the truckloads. The month flew by, with lots to do! 14 hours a day, 7 days a week!

October

October blessed us with more pumpkins than we could imagine! The harvest was in full swing and we kept the stand stocked and overflowing. We introduced many fall greens that people had been looking forward to. We had a visit from the second grade class and preschoolers from the Hatfield Elementary School. They learned lots about farming, planting seeds, and the value of a dollar. We finished our last week of CSA farm share and it felt bittersweet. Navi and I attended the CISA fall gathering to have some fun with local farmers and celebrate the amazing season we had. The Malanowski boys helped us donate and decorate Smith Academy for Homecoming.

November

November was another busy month, when we are usually slowing down, we were full steam ahead! We started the month off with planting the overwintering onions along with the 2020 garlic crop. We had the largest spinach harvest of the season right before the cold snap. We helped out Malanowski Farm with their tobacco and in return they helped us install plastic on the new greenhouse. We rounded out the month with a mini vacation to celebrate the incredible season we had!

We want to thank you for another amazing season, we feel blessed with the support you show us year after year. Without you, it wouldn't have been possible.

Season 2020 will be bigger and better than the last, stay tuned for all things Bardwell Farm :)

From myself and the crew, Happy Holidays!

Tags

2019 Projects Year in Review

2019 Year in Review