Irrigation
Name the two types of irrigation we use on the farm.
Overhead sprinklers and drip line irrigation
Which crop forms a spherical head and stores in the cold room?
Cabbage
Chestnuts like what kind of PH in the soil?
Acidic
What is the ideal temperature we try to keep our cold cooler around?
Between 33 and 40 degrees
Why do we use shade cloth on the lettuce tunnels?
The shade from the cloth helps reduce ambient temperatures inside of the tunnel which slows down evaporation and discourages bolting that can occur from high temperatures
Explain what DU is and why it's important for high production.
Distribution Uniformity is a quantitative metric to describe how evenly water is distributed within a given area ranging from 0 to 1. It's important to be high (close to 1) in order to minimize over/under watering in the field.
A popular vegetable crop. We eat a swollen underground root.
Carrot
In ideal conditions, how many years does it take for chestnut trees to produce fruits?
6 years
What is the ideal temperature we try to keep our warm cooler around?
Name the baby greens we grow in caterpillar tunnels. What quantity do we put in the bags and how much does one sell for?
arugula, mesculin, baby chard, baby kale: 4 oz, $2.5
baby lettuce: 4 oz, $3.0
How many inches per week of precipitation do we aim to apply to the fields?
2 inches.
Proper spacing in the cat tunnels is important for this head forming crop.
Lettuce
How high do tree tubes need to be to protect trees from predation?
5 foot tall
Name the 2 ways we harvest and package carrots.
In bunches with their tops for immediate sale, or in bulk with the tops cut off to be stored in the storage cooler for long periods of time.
Why do we have a sizing guide for harvesting zucchinis?
To prevent giant fruits from going to market and to encourage the plant to produce more fruits.
How long would it take 3 sprinklers (each emitting 6 gpm) to apply 1.5 inches to a 30' x 50' area?
t = V/Q
V = 187.5 cu ft
Q = 2.41 cu ft/min
t = 77.8 min = 1.3 hrs
What crop do we save time harvesting and transplanting by planting multiple seeds per cell?
Scallions
What breed of sheep does Tom use and why?
When a plant is bolting, what is it doing?
Flower, produce seed, reproduce
Why is it important to pasteurize straw before inoculating with mushroom spawn?
To eliminate potential contaminants from competing with the mycelium.
How many inches would be applied in a plot (40' x 100') if two lines of wobblers (5 gpm each) ran for 2 hours? How much would this cost if water cost $0.0486/cu ft?
d = Q/A * t
Q = 6.68 cu ft
A = 4,000 sq ft
t = 120 min
d = 2.4 in
$ = V * 0.0486 = $38.88
This herb is stoloniferous, aromatic, and has a square stem.
What is Mint
What spacing does Tom plant his chestnuts at planting, at 10 years, at 20 years, at 50 years, at 100 years, at 1000 years
What is 20 ft., 40 ft., 60 ft., 100 ft., 1000 ft.... =)
Why is it difficult for a small carrot grower to compete with grocery store carrots based on price?
Hand harvest is labor-intensive and mechanical harvesters are very expensive.
Name 3 factors we use to determine which vegetables are supplied to our CSA each week.
Current availability, how often it has been supplied, when it will be available again, quality, desires of the CSA customers