We attended our first day of orientation for the Boulder County Farmer's Market. How do we feel? Excited and scared.
It's the 25th anniversary of the market, and Patrick is the youngest farmer to date in its history.
Jenn Ross, market manager, explained that we should anticipate selling more than we expect. Dirk and I both wanted to rush home and till more soil. Patrick wanted to buy more flats and grow lights to turn our already fluorescent glowing living room into a light show extravaganza.
Our operation is in full swing. Starter seeds are growing in every window of our house. Our signature giant pumpkins are taking off in only five days. They're already a few inches high. They're so Willy Wonka.
Dirk went to Western Disposal today for a truck load of free compost which he described as hand-to-hand combat at 8:00 am for the rich soil. Everybody wants the good stuff. Patrick spent the early morning unloading and spreading it in our raised beds.
Dirk built a hoop house this afternoon for the transplants that we'll get in the ground in the next month.
Patrick got a prime spot in the "atrium" of the market across from a prominent local bakery and next to an established farm. The owners can help us out in terms of managing our customers. We learned a lot about how to properly give samples within strict safe food handling requirements and load and unload our produce every weekend. Dirk and Patrick will be out and ready to go by 6:00 am each week. A gong starts the market at precisely 8:00 am.
Fresh Mouth Farms is in full swing already. We will probably start the market in May. April will be a bit early for us. It's the "shoulder" season. Only a few vendors will have produce that early. We're learning that this farming biz requires a lot of early planning and rising. We can hear the rooster crowing already.
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