We are eager to get planting in the fields- but Mother Nature seems to want us to stay inside. This past week we were able to cover yet another of our new greenhouses, bringing the total of new large, more efficient greenhouses to six. All of these new growing spaces will help us to provide abundant harvests regardless of the seemingly increasing weather extremes that we are encountering. The first transplants are enjoying the warmth inside the greenhouses and this will surely give them a huge boost in growth compared to being planted directly outside, especially this season.

Outside we continue to prune the apples. We spread a nice layer of woodchip mulch around the blueberry bushes. We assisted some of the garlic plants to emerge from their winter blanket of mulch. The organic leaf mulch protects them from the temperature fluctuations of the winter. But, sometimes the layer may be a bit thick and the garlic might have difficulty pushing up through the mulch. Our little helping hands ensure they can all arise from their winter slumber.

Now that the frigid weather is hopefully past, we also removed the straw that blanketed and protected the strawberries all winter. Now, they can slowly begin to form the first red tasty sweet treats of June.

This week, we will continue to seed peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant in the greenhouses. We will also be seeding the first of the field cucumbers, kousa, summer squash, and zucchini. These will spend their first few weeks in the greenhouse and then when a few inches tall they will be transplanted into the field in May when the soil has warmed. This also will give us a boost in the season's first harvests. After such a long winter, the sooner we can being the season's harvest the better.

Farmer Dave