End of Spring turning to Early Summer brings a different kind of activity to the farm. Much of what has been growing quietly now begins to reveal itself, from newly hatched insects to garlic scapes being harvested for the kitchen. The landscape feels full, not because it has changed overnight, but because Spring’s hidden work is becoming visible.

As the farm matures into Summer season, we're seeing more beneficial insects take up residence throughout the farm, like praying mantises, native pollinators, fireflies, and countless other insects that rely on diverse habitat and healthy soil to complete their life cycles. Many spend months hidden underground in grasses or attached to branches before emerging in early summer. Their presence is one of the clearest signs that ecological systems are becoming more healthy and established.

Of course, not every insect is a welcomed sign. This time of year also brings increased presence of aphids and other garden pests, especially in the kitchen garden where young plants can be vulnerable. Rather than reaching for store-bought synthetic sprays, we're experimenting with simple regenerative solutions by making a fermented tomato leaf extract. Because tomato leaves contain alkaloids that aphids dislike, the resulting spray can help deter aphids while allowing beneficial insects to continue doing their work.

Year after year, we’re constantly learning to distinguish between what needs support and what needs restraint. As the landscape fills in, stewardship at Bloom means learning which relationships need tending and which can be left to unfold on their own.

The season continues to shift the landscape on both a micro and macro level. The ground is active, with life moving just below and just above the surface. What was waking is now fully in motion, filling the farm with sound.

The season continues to shift the landscape on both a micro and macro level. The ground is active, with life moving just below and just above the surface. What was waking is now fully in motion, filling the farm with sound.

Spring is fully underway, and the farm is coming alive. The soil is waking up, the greenhouse is filling in, and everything we’ve been building is beginning to take hold.

As the season clears, the eye begins to lift. The air feels different now, lighter and more open, and the sky becomes active again with movement. Birdsong carries from the heritage trail to the chestnut fields, and the farm begins to respond not just from the ground, but from above.

As days lengthen and the soil begins to warm, the farm shifts from dormancy to movement. Early signs of the season’s return are visible across the farm, from new births in the pasture to swelling orchard buds and the first honeybees venturing out from their winter rest.

As days lengthen and the soil begins to warm, the farm shifts from dormancy to movement. Early signs of the season’s return are visible across the farm, from new births in the pasture to swelling orchard buds and the first honeybees venturing out from their winter rest.

Though winter still defines the landscape, moisture is beginning to work its way into the soil. In this window before bud break, we focus on preparation, pruning trees, tending dormant systems, and setting the direction for the season ahead.

In the kitchen, we’re watching for early signs of seasonal change (like the first bubbles in a ferment), that midpoint before anything is finished. We’re making kimchi, using cabbage, onions, garlic, carrots, and radish from our 2025 harvest before turning fully toward the 2026 growing season, and pairing it with fish lightly poached in broth and served over a steaming bed of aromatic rice.