Day in the life of a farm manager… the infamous Garden Walk
An essential aspect of farming, gardening, and life in general, is observation. At the beginning of each farm shift, I lead what I like to call a Garden Walk. Along with a few of our lovely interns, I walk through the whole farm and take detailed notes on anything I notice, while narrating the sorts of things we need to look for. We must observe closely in order to understand what it is our plants need and properly diagnose any issues that arise. It’s both an informative and meditative practice. It does take time, but is an essential part of farm management, and your plants will thank you!
Here are some of the things we look for in our garden…
Presence of pests (or other insects) or diseases
We’re always sure to check underneath leaves as well, since many pests like to camp out there. The mere presence of a pest is not enough to take action, since established plants can handle some level of pest activity. Only when it becomes rampant and the plants are suffering do we make an action plan.
Diagnosing disease hinges on knowledge and experience, so we always make note of exact symptoms if we are unsure of the diagnosis. Some common symptoms to look out for are: yellowing, discoloration, wilting, bullseye spots, white powder or “mold”, brittle leaves, brown spots within leaf veins…
Note: If there is ever a garden bug or disease you can’t identify, I’d recommend using UC Davis’s Integrated Pest Management fact sheets for Home & Garden. Just select the plant, and you’ll find a detailed inventory of the pest and diseases associated with it, along with photos and recommendations for what you can do.
Pruning & Pinching flowers
Particularly with tomatoes, perennial herbs, and flowers. We look for tomato suckers, dead leaves or diseased branches, overgrowth of herbs into another plant’s space, and flowers that are ready to be cut for bouquets!
For the first couple months after planting, we pinch off the flowers of plants that are still working hard to establish themselves. This includes tomatoes, peppers, basil, cucumbers, and young flowers (zinnias, strawflower, etc). Basil likes to keep flowering during the season, so continuous pinching is recommended.
Staking up
If there are any plants that are getting unruly (*cough* tomatoes…), then we make a plan to stake them with extra supports.
Watering
A tried-and-true method for determining if something needs to be watered in sticking your pointer finger straight down into the soil! If the soil feels dry, we then hand water.
We also steward California native plants at our farms. We water them on a regular schedule (every 10 days) during the warmer months, and ease off once winter comes around.
Weeding
Keeping weeds at bay is very important for a successful crop. Working in pairs makes weeding much more fun, and knowing some word games or riddles always helps too…
Harvest List
This one is arguably the most fun. We create a harvest list of what is ready that day, and post it online for our community!
This is, of course, a non-exhaustive list of things we pay attention to. Many other things come up in the course of a farm day. In the world of growing plants, second-most to observation is adaptability. Keep a high level of flexibility and expect the unexpected!