"Dayspring farmers regard building a healthy soil as
the foundation for responsible, sustainable agriculture."
Dayspring Farm operates based off of the principles of good, ecological sustainable agriculture. In accordance with this, the farm uses compost and natural soil amendments for fertilization, cover crops, natural pest control and crop rotation. Dayspring farmers regard building a healthy soil as the foundation for responsible, sustainable agriculture.
More specifically, the farming equipment consists of a John Deere utility tractor, a '53 Farmall Cub tractor, tiller, disc, chisel plow, moldboard plow, a water wheel transplanter, mulch layer, 2 walk-behind tillers, Earthway seeders, Jang seeder, and plenty of hand tools. In addition, specific farm facilities include: 1 extra large multipurpose barn (built by Jason Maloney, Tall Pine Builder) 1 packing shed, 1 storage sheds, covered washing area, 20 by 48 greenhouse for starting plants; and 3 unheated hoophouses for extended season crops (lettuce, greens) and raising some cool season transplants .
Leading pests are Colorado potato beetles, cucumber beetles, and flea beetles. Handpicking, row covers, succession planting and attracting beneficial insects are the primary control strategies. We avoid pest control sprays such as pyrethrum, especially since a neighbor began to keep hives of bees on the farm a couple years ago. We have seen substantial increase in cucurbit pollination with the presence of the bees. We also had a deep well drilled for both the house and the farm. We ran out a main line to the fields and installed 14 faucets around the fields, so that we can now irrigate about half our 16 acres with drip irrigation (mostly drip tubing and emitters, some t-tape).
Though Dayspring Farm follows organic practices, our crops are not USDA certified.
More specifically, the farming equipment consists of a John Deere utility tractor, a '53 Farmall Cub tractor, tiller, disc, chisel plow, moldboard plow, a water wheel transplanter, mulch layer, 2 walk-behind tillers, Earthway seeders, Jang seeder, and plenty of hand tools. In addition, specific farm facilities include: 1 extra large multipurpose barn (built by Jason Maloney, Tall Pine Builder) 1 packing shed, 1 storage sheds, covered washing area, 20 by 48 greenhouse for starting plants; and 3 unheated hoophouses for extended season crops (lettuce, greens) and raising some cool season transplants .
Leading pests are Colorado potato beetles, cucumber beetles, and flea beetles. Handpicking, row covers, succession planting and attracting beneficial insects are the primary control strategies. We avoid pest control sprays such as pyrethrum, especially since a neighbor began to keep hives of bees on the farm a couple years ago. We have seen substantial increase in cucurbit pollination with the presence of the bees. We also had a deep well drilled for both the house and the farm. We ran out a main line to the fields and installed 14 faucets around the fields, so that we can now irrigate about half our 16 acres with drip irrigation (mostly drip tubing and emitters, some t-tape).
Though Dayspring Farm follows organic practices, our crops are not USDA certified.
