Over the past few weeks, Landon and I have been dealing with the realities of our hardpan. It’s a nasty, compact layer of soil about 4-6 inches beneath the topmost layer that causes all sorts of problems. Most maddeningly, it interferes with root growth and prevents proper drainage. We’re not […]
Lindsey
This past Thursday, Landon and I celebrated our unofficial six year anniversary. We had long-standing plans to get some portable speakers for the iPod, but things were a little too hectic last week to make that happen. Instead, we celebrated by doing what we like to do best when the […]
Figs and Other Small Things
Landon and I love selling at Headhouse Market. It’s well-organized, the customers are terrific, and the vendors are super supportive. Well, that’s why we love it as business owners. As people who love food, we love it for the shopping. Landon and I make sure to snag some groceries toward […]
Dinner Time
We see a lot of strange things on the farm: giant spiders living in piles of manure, cows bathing in each other’s bodily fluids, trees furry with poison ivy roots. This time, Landon was able to snap a picture. Can you describe what’s going on in this picture? Post your […]
Pop Quiz #2: Can you describe this picture?
Guess what everybody? THE CHICKS ARE HERE. And they are CUTE! I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.
The Softest Thing I’ll Ever Touch
This past Sunday, Landon and I attended our very first farmers’ market as Root Mass Farm. Someone should’ve passed the word onto our fields. The rain and cool weather slowed our harvest to a near standstill–we had just under $100 of produce to sell. What do you want first? The […]
Entrepreneurship Breeds Humility: A First Market Recap
Landon and I live in the country. Fact. There aren’t many jobs in the country for a Sociology major with non-profit event planning experience. Shit. Who am I kidding–there aren’t a lot of jobs anywhere for a Sociology major with non-profit event planning experience. So, when I reentered the job […]
The Fantasies of an Angry Commuter
When Landon and I started this venture, we knew our friends and family would be supportive. We’re incredibly fortunate to have people in our lives who believe in our abilities to try something new and recover from our mistakes. But we couldn’t have imagined the depth and sincerity of their […]
Much Love to Naked Tim
The rest of this winter could be tough… Landon and I are finally living in Oley full-time, anxiously awaiting the start of our first growing season. Sure, we have lots of farm work to keep us busy, but the odds of cabin fever are high. Fortunately, I’m working on a […]
9 Tactics for Surviving Our First Country Winter
When we first visited what is now Root Mass Farm, Wilbur greeted us warmly–jaws agape, anxiously awaiting an edible treat. It’s been over a year now, and we’ve gotten kind of intimate. This Monday though, he’s off to the butcher. As a farewell tribute to our farm friend, we’ve compiled […]
A Farewell Tribute to Wilbur The Pig
Bug scale rating: -3* People wax poetic about the arrival of spring’s first harvest–the asparagus and the strawberries and the radishes that remind us, no, winter won’t last forever. Not me, though. My heart belongs to fall. Every September, my stomach fist pumps at the sight of the first winter […]
This Week in Bugs: The Squash Vine Borer
So, this is our first attempt at a contest of sorts. Right now, there are no stakes. A right answer wins you nothing. Eventually, we hope to reward you for competing with free things like vegetables and pickles. But first, we have to see if it works. You can submit […]
Pop Quiz #1! Can You Name This Plant?
Landon, Landon’s sister (Aislinn), and I took a visit to the farm yesterday after a long hiatus. We were delighted to find the fields covered in a downy soft coating of buckwheat. Maybe the term “covered” is a little favorable: my first time with the broadcast seeder yielded some patchy […]
Cover Story
The day started with some tractor complications and ended with some lighting complications. In between though, Landon and I chalked up all sorts of successes. Well, one. We finally got the buckwheat seed into the fields, and I got to do the seeding honors. Which means I basically looked like […]
A Soundtrack Changes Everything
It’s populated by some really dynamo folks. Today, I had the pleasure of visiting Leotah’s Place–a newly opened coffeehouse in East Kensington. I first learned of Leotah’s Place back in February ’09 when it was just the thoughtful vision of one Brittney Lewis (Blew). As Blew’s classmate, we planned for […]
Philly’s a Lucky City
Back when Landon worked at Keith’s Farm and sold produce at the Union Square Greenmarket, I met the proprietor of Rick’s Picks. The man was clearly devoted to his pickles, but beyond that, he worshiped their flavor-rich life source–the pickle brine. Over and over again, Rick of Rick’s Picks implored […]
Save Your Brine
Landon spent most of yesterday atop the tractor, sweating bullets in the late-May heat. With my computer on my lap, I’m reminded of the sort of heat machinery can give off. It’s hard to imagine the degrees emitted by that giant engine. (Although his sweat-drenched Red Sox hat gave me […]
Buckwheat
We’re one season away from being a bona fide farm–the kind with customers and products and pests and complications.
T-Minus One Growing Season
Hello! Welcome to the online home of Root Mass Farm–a fledgling vegetable farm located about an hour outside of Philadelphia. Here, you can find out what’s happening at Root Mass Farm, see pictures of Root Mass Farm, and laugh at the bloopers of two people who are trying things for […]