Every where we look signs of Spring are popping up. Be it garlic, tulips, grass for the sheep or seeds in the nursery. Oh yes and how can we forget the buckets on the Maple trees and sweet smell of a boiling sap happening out front. We are a bit late on the sugaring this year than those past. But the weather has been fickle and the week ahead does look prime for good sap flow, so we’ll go with it. Typical for this time of year is space inside becoming a premium. Both in the high tunnels and the nursery farmers and plants jockey for position on nursery benches and the protected soil of the high tunnels. We must keep on top of a strict schedule of transplanting and direct seeding as well as the mixing soil, making trays and seeding them. Into the germination chamber the trays then go(assuming there is room for them). With the right temp and humidity controlled, things like marigolds, tomatoes and peppers germinate(or pop) in no time at all. So quickly in fact that half a day or less in the chamber too long and you’ll be kicking yourself for not checking earlier( or so we’ve heard).
It’s funny like that sometimes in farming, things that seemingly take forever are here and gone in what feels like the blink of and eye. It’s sad to say that is this case with our sweet cache of winter carrots. In January when we first started harvesting them we wondered, “would need to harvest and store some since we had so many?” Now we’re staring at the last 50 row feet, trying to determine just how much more we can grow next year. The good news is a top priority on this weeks list is weeding the overwintered carrots outside in the field. Unlike the winter carrots that are seeded in August, the overwintered carrots are sown in November and traditionally harvest-able by Mother’s day.
It may seem far off, May that is. And we suppose it is, basically two months off. But there is that whole concept of things happening in the blink of an eye. Sure, there is a lot in between then and now. A lot of prepping, planting, repotting, seeding and harvesting. Before we know it though we’ll be harvesting those carrots we have to weed, trimming and planting those tomatoes were starting and rehoming the plants we’re repotting.
Have a great week