Ute City Farms - First Day

Jennifer Craig, owner of Ute City Farms in Woody Creek, has graciously offered her land for the development of a CSA farm and training facility. The farm is a beautiful 40 acre section of a sprawling 1,000 acre ranch. Ute City Farms is a 30 year old established farm with very rich soil and a nearly unlimited water supply provided by a rain reclamation ditch and a large pond. The farm is located in a sheltered valley that provides a  wind break, and the the beds are on an incline to maximize solar potential.

The class will have the unprecedented opportunity to take over the operation and management of a well-established organic farm and apply the CSA model that they are learning. Jennifer Craig will help oversee and assist the class, but the responsibility for future success of the farm will be theirs. This will be an excellent hands-on learning experience for the class and will provide valuable practical training not contained in books. The class is currently scheduled to work at Ute City two days a weeks and may increase visits as needed.

On the morning of Tuesday, May 27th, the class received a tour and lessons about planting and farm equipment safety before beginning work in the field. Pulling up perennial plants and weeds was the first task of the day, followed by weed-eating and tilling to prepare the beds. The class shoveled and raked the carefully measured bed structure, and then brought compost up from one of many large piles on the property and spread it over the tops of the beds. A short primer on seeding given by Jennifer Craig followed, and the class went back to the field to sow the chosen seeds in the prepared beds.

A delicious organic lunch was provided by CRMPI and Ute City which provided a break for the volunteers and a time to recap the morning's events. Wild hummingbirds whizzed around the property and a nest of red-tailed hawks could be observed in a tall tree behind the barn.

The afternoon work consisted of more weeding, bed prep and seeding. The class ended with a participatory round up of a small herd of Wagyu Kobe Beef cattle in the adjacent field. The day was a great success and hopefully heralds a promising future for the CSA school.

For the full photo set for this event please click here.