The weather contrast from last year…

Do you see asparagus?

(We leave last year’s stalks as a reminder where the plants are. The green stalks are wild onions.)

No, neither do we.

As with any business, we keep records from year to year: dates when seeds were started, dates when seedlings were transplanted into garden beds, dates of the first harvest, and also quick notes of the day to day and major weather events of the growing season. 

So what has this to do with old asparagus stalks?

We don’t really need to look at our records from last year to note the drastic differences between this season and last year. Besides the obvious, (Snow in April. Really?) Mother Nature keeps her own pace and is not bound by any calendar. The flora and fauna of spring follow Mother Nature’s lead. Last year, we wrote in the April 8, 2012 newsletter:

“The weather is finally cooling down and getting back to a somewhat normal spring-like range. Many of our overwintered fall planted crops like spinach and Swiss chard are already trying to set seed heads.”

 So back to the asparagus stalks. By this time last year the bed was in full production. This year, the crowns (roots) know better than to stick their frost sensitive shoots up before the weather is ready. So they wait until conditions are right. And so, by default, do we.

There are some advantages to a colder, wetter season. The frigid temperatures should have killed off many of the garden pests that overwinter, not to mention the fleas and ticks that pester our pets! The overwintered spinach and Swiss chard are nowhere near flowering and should supply us with many greens. With all the precipitation, frozen or otherwise, we had great germination of the direct seeded spring crops.

Future French Breakfast radishes

The peas are fine and have sprouted. Our cool weather seedlings made the transition from the hoop house to the garden with ease. We never even needed to water them!

Chinese cabbage

And those crops that you indicated in our survey last year that you would like to see more of, asparagus and strawberries were mentioned the most,  will be producing later and should have a longer presence in the weekly baskets.

Beginning of a strawberry blossom

But the advantage that we as farmers will enjoy the most will come later in the season. The worst of the garden weeds are also delayed by the cold, and since the ground has been too wet to work we had the time to thoroughly mulch almost all of the garden walkways. This will save hours of work and much frustration later in the season. Weeding is particularly detested by one of us! And by next year when the mulch breaks down it will add valuable organic material to the beds. And make the worms very happy.

Mulched walkways. Underneath the black cloth are carrot seeds staying moist until they sprout.

As the weather continues to warm we will closely monitor the crops’ maturation and production levels and will be better able to gauge our anticipated start of deliveries. We are looking at a tentative date of 1^st to 2^nd week of May. Let the season begin!

Until next time,

Jeff and Sandra

The State of the Gardens…

Well, was our mad push to get everything planted before the first snowstorm worth it?  We don’t know as everything got socked in by a second and then third snowstorm. Nothing has sprouted yet, but then again those seeds that are big enough to be dug up and checked on, mainly the peas, are gamely if slowly sending out tap roots and not rotting. Of course, digging up a seed every couple of days probably isn’t helping either. But it makes us feel better knowing they are still alive under the snow blanket.  The potatoes are also in a state of hibernation, waiting for warmer temperatures to start pushing their leaves up to the surface.  The onions laughed at the multiple snow “events” and are merrily sprouting away.

Onion sets sprouting

The hoop house continues to prove its worth. While there is no heat retention at night (not enough thermal mass) daytime temperatures consistently run 10-15 degrees warmer then outside. And when the sun is shining (we have heard rumors that this happens) the difference can jump up to 20-35 degrees difference. So a 40 F day turns into 70-75 F in the hoop house. Not too bad! Our cold weather seedlings are hardening off inside. When it dries up some they will be already acclimated and ready to go.

Even after this latest batch of winter weather (Spring? What Spring?!) we find signs of life. The Swiss chard is slowly re-leafing. Chives are sending out new growth. The Egyptian walking onions (a new crop, thanks to D. for the starts) have multiplied and are sending up fresh greens. We have even seen some strawberry flower buds. The spinach we seeded last fall is sending out new leaves, and the garlic grows taller every day.

 New growth on Swiss chard

Resprouting chives

Growing garlic

As we don’t use herbicides we can also track the progression of the seasons by the weeds that sprout. Believe it or not we look forward to some of them. Chickweed (Stellaria media) is rampant, and as suggested by its name well loved by the hens. It is a wonderful source of vitamins A, C, and a type of omega-6 fatty acid. It’s even edible for humans, tasting somewhat like lettuce. The hens don’t care about that, they just gobble up what we pick for them and reward us with bright orange yolks.

Chickweed

Yum

Speaking of hens, the (supposed) Spring weather has brought out the broodiness in some of them. In nature a hen will find a secluded spot and lay an egg every day or so, until she has a clutch of about 10-12 eggs.  Then she sits on them. This is called brooding. (You only thought that Edward Cullen invented it!)

Notice a resemblance?

Anyways, assuming the eggs are fertilized by a rooster, her body heat will start the eggs developing. But, she has to stay on top of them them so they don’t chill and die. So our broody hens stop laying and sit in the boxes all day, not even getting up to eat or drink. And don’t let any other hens in to lay their eggs. And peck at our hands when we try to gather any eggs. This gets old after a few days, especially as we don’t have a rooster and those eggs will never turn into chicks! The only way to break this is to stop them from brooding until they eventually give up. So every time we go in to the barn we dump them out of the nests and put them by the food and water. Where they will frantically drink, bolt down some food, and head straight back to the laying boxes. Oh well, it’s only a few hens and it will eventually run its course. Meanwhile, we wear leather gloves to gather eggs.

Until next time,

Jeff and Sandra