Hello and Welcome to the First Issue!
 

Happy New Year from your friends at Locs and Heritage Farm! This year, we’re focused on growing, building, and expanding for an exciting new season. In this issue, we’ll dive into crop planning tips, our plans for building a geodesic dome greenhouse, essential hand tools tips, and the all-important task of seed purchasing.

🌱Crop Planning for 2025

Planning your crops efficiently is crucial to ensure you have a productive season. Here’s how we’re organizing our beds and thinking about what to grow:

• Focus on High-Demand Crops: This year, we’re prioritizing cherry and pear tomatoes, okra, basil, onion, garlic and potatoes as they’re popular at the market and easy to grow in our climate (Zone 8b).
• Interplanting Herbs and Vegetables: Many of our herbs will be interplanted with vegetables to maximize space, improve plant health and control pests (e.g., basil with tomatoes, oregano with peppers).
• Niche Crops for Market: We’re also growing specialty peppers, roselle, and luffa sponge, which are unique and will make our farm table stand out at the market.
• Rotate Crops: Plan for crop rotation to maintain healthy soil and reduce pest issues. This also helps optimize space, especially when interplanting herbs with vegetables.
• Document and Track: Use a farm journal and spreadsheets to track planting schedules, growth progress, pest issues, and harvest dates to continuously improve our planning each year.

🌿Seed Purchasing for 2025

We’re getting ready for our first real year of sales, so here’s what we’ve been doing to ensure we have the best seeds for this season:

• Choosing Heirloom Varieties: We’re focusing on heirloom and organic varieties, ensuring we’re growing the best and most sustainable crops.
• Diversity in Seeds: We’re purchasing seeds for vegetables, herbs, and flowers to support pollinators and boost the farm's biodiversity.
• Sourcing: We’ve chosen reputable seed companies that focus on organic and sustainable practices. Our goal is to support companies with values similar to ours.

🏗️Building a Geodesic Dome Greenhouse

We’re excited to start the “Rage Against the Weeds” geodesic dome greenhouse project! Here’s our plan for construction and what we aim to grow inside:

• Structure: The dome will be a low-cost, eco-friendly way to extend our growing season, especially for herbs, lettuce, and early-season tomatoes. We also want to focus on starting all our seedlings onsite and in the dome this year. Its construction will consist of heat-treated lumber (to stay within certified organic guidelines) and greenhouse plastic with a foundation.
• Benefits: A geodesic dome allows for maximum sunlight exposure and air circulation, making it perfect for organic farming in Zone 8b.
• Timeline: Construction will begin in early spring, and we hope to have it ready for use by late spring to accommodate our crop plan.

🛠️ Essential Tools and Supplies for the Season

The right tools make a huge difference in the efficiency of your farm/garden operations. Here’s what we’re gearing up with for this season:

• Seed Starting Supplies: Seed trays, soil blockers, and heating mats to get our seeds off to a good start, especially for tomatoes and peppers.
• Hand Tools: A good stirrup hoe, rake, and pruning shears will be essential for maintaining crops and keeping weeds at bay.
• Compost and Fertilizers: We’ll be using organic fertilizers and compost to maintain soil health. We’re also planning on making our own worm compost with organic farm waste to reduce costs.
• Watering System: A quality irrigation system will be crucial for the hot summer months. We will be installing drip irrigation for efficiency and conservation. 

📅 What’s Coming Up

• Farm Events: We’ll be hosting a Juneteenth Educational Farm Event this year, highlighting African American achievements in agriculture. Stay tuned for more details!
• Workshops: We’re planning to host workshops in the greenhouse once it’s built—focusing on organic growing methods and sustainable farming practices.

Thank You for Reading!
 

We’re excited to share this journey with you, and we can’t wait to update you on our progress. If you have any questions or suggestions for future newsletter topics, feel free to reach out! Cheers to a productive growing season! See you in February’s issue.

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