Beyond the beauty, one of the biggest surprises for farm guests is how much work goes into every little morsel. This year we took on the added challenge of growing most of our food, about 50 items, from seed. Though tedious work, the advantages of starting from scratch are cost, as well as healthier, stronger crops since they’ve been acclimated to the farm’s soil and climate from the get-go.
The right soil blend is crucial; we’re constantly making huge batches of compost. While filling up hundreds of shallow germination trays in the grow-house, seeds are planted in multiples in furrows, or singly in holes, as is the case with nasturtium flowers, which have big seeds. Produce that’s transplanted and harvested in bunches like spring onion is planted in cell trays for efficiency.
Once plants enter the seedling phase, which takes from four days to four weeks here, we prick (thin) them out into new trays, so they have more room to grow. Healthy space is also achieved by creating an equidistant pattern, such as row of 6 plants followed by a row of 5 and then repeated until the tray is full. Depending on which variety you’re working with, this can take an hour to the whole day; snapdragons, for example, are so tiny and delicate, they make you cross-eyed from concentration.
But compared to farmers up north, we can’t complain. Thanks to our balmy weather, we don’t have to heat trays. Our timeframe is much faster too. Whereas peppers may take weeks to emerge into seedlings up north, they only take about 5 days here.
After growing in the shade—Florida’s intense sun scorches young, tender leaves—for another 4-6 weeks, plants are ready to be transplanted into the ground in raised beds of rich soil. But the work is never done. With restaurant orders and weekly farmer’s markets, it’s grow, grow, grow, harvest, harvest, harvest.
So if you thought your job was long and hard, think again!
Below are pictures of compost, cell trays filled with compost
seedlings in furrows before "pricking out", seedlings after "pricking out"
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