The Great Blizzard of 2013

All,

 We have been super busy here on the MiniFarm. Here is the evidence:

 

Here are 50 pounds of planted Yukon Gold potatoes

Here are the planted Chinese Pea Pods seeds with their trellises

Here is a completely tilled garden with onions already planted

 Can you tell we have been hard at work?

 Seriously though, in the days leading up to the snow we had to make some quick decisions. This has been a cold, wet, end of winter. So much for listening to a rodent, we are firing the groundhog. Days that the soil has been dry enough to handle without creating totally unworkable clods have been rare. On the other hand we want our crops to be ready in a timely manner. We knew that after this storm passed, whether we got rain or snow, the soil would be too wet to work for at least another week. So we decided to work like crazy and get as much done as possible before the storm hit. Like most decisions in farming this is a gamble. Will the peas, onions, and potatoes rot in the cool, wet soil before it warms up and dries out? Only time will tell. But there are some precautions we can take to mitigate any problems.

 First we decided not to cut up our potatoes. As long as a seed potatoes is at least the size of an egg and has 2 eyes (the part that sprouts) it is usable. Most farmers cut up the large potatoes to get more plants. But the cut area is more susceptible to rot. We sacrificed a little bit of quantity to give the plant a better chance.

Many peas are coated with an anti-fungal treatment to prevent them from rotting. This is not an organic practice, and we don’t want to kill off our soil’s beneficial fungi along with the harmful type. Kind of the same principal as when a person takes an antibiotic and it kills off the good gut flora, and then something really bad can move in!  So we use untreated pea seeds and plant them in raised beds to facilitate water drainage. The snow will act as insulation preventing the ground from freezing.

 As for the onions? Aside from also putting them in raised beds they are on their own. Onions are tough. As a gardening author once wrote “You can't kill an onion with a stick". Anyone who has wild onions in their lawn knows this!

 Along with our subscribers to the west (who were hit harder than us) we are going on 1 2 3 4 days without power (this is being dictated on a smartphone to be mailed when the power returns). Since we've already started the heat loving plants like eggplant and peppers from seeds we cannot leave them in the cold, unheated, seedling area. So we brought the lights out next to the wood stove and a large window. Yes we burn a fire for their welfare.

 

They survived fine

 We are pleased to announce that the hoop house performed outstandingly well during the storm.

 

Next up, hardening off the spring greens in the hoop house. And waiting for the power to return so we can transfer this onto the computer and mail off.

How much snow did you get?

Until next time,

Jeff and Sandra

February 18, 2013

What does a groundhog know? Obviously not much about the weather. The recent cold and blustery conditions will be good for our future crops as it will kill off many overwintering garden pests. But looking at historical weather data we cannot help being nostalgic for February 2012, when it was 60⁰ F on this date. But then again last summer we saw a bug explosion. Gardening physics, for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction.
 

Still, there is plenty to do as we wait for the ground to be dry enough to plant and the wind to stop blowing enough so that our homemade seed tapes won’t blow out of our hands. (Yes, that is our winter entertainment. Sitting around with seeds and a glue pot!).

 

All of our allium crops, 4 different types of onions and 2 types of leek have now sprouted inside under grow lights.  

Onions sprouting

 

We’ve put the plastic on the outside hoop houses and the fasteners have had a good workout in the windy conditions. All has held firm. We’ll leave the plastic on to warm up the soil and keep it dry enough to plant. By next week all should be ready to begin.

Warming up in the sun

 

We’ve started “chitting” our seed potatoes. Potatoes want to sprout, as anyone who has had an old potato sitting around the kitchen knows. But while many store bought potatoes have been treated with sprout inhibitors (another reason to get them fresh!) seed potatoes are meant to readily grow. They will sprout within days of exposure to light. So to give them a head start while waiting for the ground to dry enough so they won’t rot when planted, we lay them out on trays in the light and let nature have her way. Studies have shown this can decrease the time to harvest by 10-14 days. We have over 100 pounds of seed potatoes. That’s a lot of potatoes lounging around the house!

Grow, baby, grow!

 Although we are impatient to get outside and get our hands in the dirt again, we know that the foundation that we are laying now will contribute to the strength of the garden in the future. By practicing restraint, and not working the soil while it is too wet, we will prevent soil compaction and unworkable clods later in the season. We use the old farmer’s test: grab a handful of soil and squeeze it into a ball. Then drop it. If the ball shatters, the soil is dry enough to work. If it keeps together, it is too wet. Right now when we squeeze the ball water oozes out between our fingers. No need to even try the drop step! But all is not lost. As we listen to the wind whipping through the trees, we are snug inside, warm from the woodstove, and starting eggplants today!

 Until next time,

 Jeff and Sandra