Making Progress with Planting and Mulching

Over the weekend Charles was able to lay a bunch of the plastic mulch for our plants to be transplanted into soon. Then it started to rain, so that gave him a day or two in the greenhouse to get more plants ready to be transplanted!

Thank goodness for the pretty days we can get out in the field, and thank goodness for the rainy days that force us to get into the greenhouse and get more seeds in trays. Sometimes if it's sunny for too many days in a row, we get behind in our greenhouse work. And vice versa when it's rainy, we get behind in our field work.

Such is the life of a farmer, though, we're at the mercy of the weather - big time! Who needs a one-armed bandit when you have mother nature to gamble with?

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!

Keep the warm weather coming!

Oh, these 50 degree days are sure nice! Makes us think of spring, and planting, and GREEN! I think the sunlight provided us all with enough Vitamin D today to boost our spirits for a week or so. T'will be nice when the mud dries up, and we can get in our fields and start planting some seeds and seedlings.

Charles moved the last of the strawberry plants from the greenhouse today, so all of them are in the tunnel. Now we have lots of room in the greenhouse for more plants! Things are growing nicely on these warm sunny days, though we have to be careful to open the tunnels and turn on the fan in the greenhouse because things really heat up in the sun.

So, keep the warm weather coming!

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!

What's happening at the farm?

Wow.

March came in like a lamb this year. Today (March 3) it went over 65 degrees outside (close to 70 in some parts of the county)! That's some crazy weather for Garrett County! Of course, by the weekend it is supposed to be a more seasonal 20 degrees at night.

Charles and Anna worked at the farm all day in the sunshine. By the time they got to the farm, it was over 100 degrees in the high tunnels. Opening the sides quickly brought the temperature down, so the strawberry plants (that are waiting in there to be planted) weren't harmed.

We planted about 4,000 bare-root, dormant everbearing strawberry plants a couple weeks ago, into cell trays. That completely filled up our little greenhouse, so we had to get them out of there! That's why the strawberries ended up in the tunnel, where we hope to keep them from freezing too hard and can nurse them until we can plant them outside next month.

Now there is room in the greenhouse for other transplants. Charles got about 400 broccoli plants transplanted last evening, and has more to do. Lots of lettuce, kale, collards, swiss chard, peas, etc. are getting going in the greenhouse now. Our first farmers market starts May 3, so we're in full swing trying to get some good fresh veggies for our customers.

Hope all is well with you, and hope you stop by for another peek into our farming life. Take care!