Taters and Peas are in the Ground!

We've planted potatoes and peas in the ground! I think that's the earliest we've tried planting things outside. (Gambling with Mother Nature again). The warm dry weather we had a few days last week allowed us to get into the fields.

We have lots of strawberries, spinach, peas, and kale planted in the high tunnels as well.

With our first market starting May 3 in Morgantown, WV (www.MorgantownFarmers.org) we only have four more weeks to get ready! The warm weather really helps, but these cold nights really slow our plants' growth down.

Our tunnels are getting full, and we still need a "staging area" for our plants still in their trays, but not ready to be put outside yet. So, we're on the lookout for a used greenhouse or high tunnel. Let us know if you find one for a good deal!

Where's Spring? We have taters to plant!

OK, enough with the cold already! We've got a heater in the greenhouse, a heater in the tunnel, and now a heater in the garage. Our propane bills are climbing each day!

We have to heat the garage now to keep our seed potatoes from freezing. We got them today - all 1,000 pounds of them. We have to keep them cool so they don't sprout, but not frozen because then they won't grow.

Our dream is to build a root cellar underground - to keep potatoes and other winter root crops at the proper humidity and temperature for longevity in storage. Until then, we improvise with the garage.

Wish us luck, and here's hoping the freezing temperatures don't last much longer.

Earlier Farmers Markets and Zone 5

Our earliest farmers market starts on May 3. We're in USDA horticultural zone 5 or so. Our frost-free date isn't until late May/early June. How can we do it?

A lot of prayer!

That, and we are using our high tunnels more and more for extending our season. What's a high tunnel? It looks like a big greenhouse, but there's no heat in there usually, and the plants are planted straight into the soil. You can roll up the sides on sunny days to let cool air blow through. You can close it up at night to keep it warm.

Last year we picked exclusively out of the tunnel for our first two farmers markets. This year we'll have to pick out of the tunnel for the first three markets at least (depending on the weather). That means we'll have to plant more intensively. For instance, we plant peas down the middle of the row, with two rows of tomatoes on each side. By the time the peas are picked and done, the tomatoes are growing up and starting to fruit. They don't bother each other, and it allows us to plant things closer together.

The types of plants we plant in the tunnel are usually pole or indeterminate varieties, rather than short bush varieties. We stake or trellis up these tall plants so we use less floor/ground space in the tunnel, and grow more vertically. (Makes picking a little easier on the back as well!)

Here's hoping that the weather warms up a bit, we get rain right when we need it, and we're able to get everything planted on time. (We can dream the impossible dream, you know!)

The strawberries made it!

Whew, the strawberries made it! Charles went to check on them in the wee hours of the night, and it was getting pretty cold in there, so he put some plastic over the row cover to help hold the heat in. That did the trick, thank goodness! Everything was hunkie dorie this morning when he went over to look at them.

Everything, that is, except the Chevy truck. It died on Charles on the way down to the tunnels. (So he had to walk in 24 degree temps in mucky snow - the wind was vicious!) After checking the strawberries, Charles was able to get it started and up to the garage, but it died three times on the way! Cheryl & Anna brought the Dodge to rescue him. One new fuel filter later, and the Chevy is good as new! Thank goodness Charles is handy with this sort of thing.

Such is life on a farm. Things break, things happen, and you just have to adapt and get on with life.

Praying the strawberries make it through the night

It's 16 degrees right now, and the wind is blowing, and we're hoping the strawberry plants make it through the night. They are in our high tunnel, under row cover, with a small heater under there trying to stay warm.

The greenhouse is full again - Charles just keeps seeding and transplanting! This week he got lots of lettuce, peas, and beets seeded into trays. The beets are an experiment - we've never transplanted beets into the field before. But in order to try to get them earlier, we're going to try! After it gets warmer, we'll direct-seed them into the fields.

We'll have to move more plants into the high tunnel to make room for new seedlings soon.

It's difficult moving about the farm without creating ruts and making a mess of the roads. So we walk a lot of the time. It's difficult walking though, with your feet sliding and scooting out from under you!

So as you lay in your nice, warm bed tonight, think of our little strawberry plants and say a little prayer for us, please!