Tom Douglas

Prosser Farm Report/ by Jackie Cross, TDR Owner and Farmer-in- Chief

Hey all you vegetable lovers, here is the farm report from across the mountains:

Woohoo! It has been a very busy off-season what with perusing tons of seed catalogs, plotting plots, getting 320 yards of Cedar Grove compost delivered and spread, tracking down composted chicken manure, peat pots, and supplies.  Miles of new irrigation has been laid and new rabbit-proof fencing is in the works.

The barn is about halfway finished, structure is up, should be completed about mid to late May (hopefully).  It will have a big two compartment sink and an 8X8 walk in, which should help keep the produce in much better shape for transport.  Also, will have a bathroom (yeah!) and a couple spare bedrooms for farm laborers- that’s all you friends, family, and staff, hopefully.

The greenhouse, a 12×8 kit model has been built and is just awaiting the electricity.   Together with  a trusty team, I’ve  started approximately 1300 tomatoes (see photo) and also 200 eggplant and 450 peppers along with many, many other assorted vegetables.  I am not sure if they are all going to fit, but it will be so much nicer than trying to keep all the seedlings going in the spare room at the farm!

The upper garden bed, across from the house, has been tilled up, and it is now larger than the bed down below!  Yikes!! The irrigation has been laid and the new fence started.  And three new raised beds for herbs have been built.  I believe that there is now about three and a half acres under cultivation.  That doesn’t sound like much but it is actually twice as much as last year.

The raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries look like they all survived the winter and are starting to bud out.  I am very anxious to see how they produce on their first full year.  No buds yet on the apricots.  Most of the herbs look good, will pull the mulch off in the next week or so.

March 15th, 2011