Cottonwood Valley Farm

05/23/2026

Quick Friday evening farm walkthrough! 🌱🚜

Not much action this week thanks to rain Monday and Tuesday, followed by scattered showers, cool temps, and cloudy skies the rest of the week ☁️🌧️ Fingers crossed the sun sticks around ☀️ so we can get the transplanter in the field this long weekend

05/19/2026

Sunday was all about getting water flowing at the farm 🚜💧

We hauled water and fertilizer out to the onions and spent the day getting irrigation set up in the main growing field as we continue gearing up for planting season. A lot of work behind the scenes, but we’re getting close to finally putting plants in the ground.

New vlog from Cottonwood Valley Farm is up now!

In this video, Matt heads out to Cottonwood Valley Farm to continue getting things ready for the growing season ahead.Today’s work includes hauling water and...

05/19/2026

Severe weather moving into the Emporia area tonight, so all the transplants are tucked back into the greenhouse 🌱⛈️ Better safe than sorry this time of year.

Hopefully this is one of the last times we have to move them all back inside before they finally make it out to the field later this week. We made a lot of progress over the weekend getting the field irrigation set up, so now we’re just waiting on a good weather window to get everything planted.

05/18/2026

Well, we’re a little farther behind this season than I’d hoped. Easy to blame the weather this spring or any number of other factors, but here we are.

In reality, we’re less than a week behind where we were last year, and the quality of our plants — along with what we’ve learned — should help make up for that once everything gets transplanted into the field this week.

Speaking of the field, I spent the windy afternoon at the farm getting all the irrigation plumbing sorted out and put together. I want to be ready to give these plants a good drink the second they need it.

Planting plans all depend on this round of severe weather projected for Sunday/Monday. Decided to pump the brakes on getting things in the ground ahead of it. Sometimes the best thing you can do is be patient and let Mother Nature have her say.

05/13/2026

Prepping for another outdoor growing season at Cottonwood Valley Farms. Last night was spent cleaning up row ends where the mulch gets covered and irrigation ties in.

Going into year two growing this way, we learned a lot last season, and one of the biggest lessons was that the more intentional we are now, the easier things are to manage later, especially once the summer heat and weeds really kick in.

05/12/2026

Pulled the slicer and pickler cucumbers out of the trays tonight to check their progress 🌱 They’re looking great and officially starting the hardening off process outside. If the weather cooperates, they should be in the ground in about a week!

05/09/2026

A little more sweet corn in the ground this afternoon 🌽
We’re not quite sure yet how much we’ll have or exactly when we’ll be at the market, but we’re working hard and looking forward to being ready for summer market season! ☀️🚜

05/05/2026

Field Season Starts Now 🌱 Laying the First Rows | Cottonwood Valley Farm

Time to get to the field.

Started out laying rows, then Dad (Stan) jumped in, and we got rolling putting down the first 16 or so rows of plastic with the Farmall C and the Nolts mulch layer.

This is where the season really starts to turn. What’s been in the greenhouse is about ready to move, and the field has to be ready for it.

Just steady work, one row at a time, getting things set up at Cottonwood Valley Farm.

04/25/2026

3,000 seedlings… and yeah, the greenhouse is filling up.

Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons, everything we’ll be planting out soon is right here, growing fast.

This is the stretch where it starts to feel real. You go from trays and plans to something that actually needs your attention every single day.

Not long now, and these will be out in the field. For now, just trying to keep up and keep them moving.

Appreciate you following along with us at Cottonwood Valley Farm.

04/15/2026

🌱 Greenhouse Hustle: Seed Season in Full Swing 🌿

Got about 20 trays started in the greenhouse! cantaloupe, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, watermelon, okra and more! Busy night getting this done, but it’s exciting to see the growing season kicking into high gear now that April is here. 🌼

04/11/2026

Rain makes corn, corn makes… a pretty happy farmer 🌧️🌽

Got the first planting of sweet corn in the ground and about 24 hours later picked up 0.90” of rain. You can’t draw it up much better than that. Sometimes you just get lucky.