It is hard for us to exactly put the into words the feeling that a four season farm gets this time of year. Some sort of mix between excitement, apprehension, gleeful anticipation and longing for what once was. Everything changes so quickly from a sleepy, slow paced, waiting months for things to grow feeling in the Winter. To an all engines firing, 12 hour day, high production environment that comes with the warmer weather and longer days. The summer with all it’s beauty and abundance, gives us the bounty of so much variety. While winter gives us peace, solitude and some time to rest and reorganize. It’s here generally around this time of year where we find ourselves at a crossroads of the mind. Embodied best by the Claytonia flower, this time of year is as bitter sweet as it’s first appearance. Claytonia our winter warrior, provides delicious nutrition and solace to us all winter long, regrowing quickly despite little light and seemingly not phased by frigid temps. Seeing it’s flower lets us know that for Claytonia this season, the time is drawing near. However, it reminds us too that the bounty of summer draws ever closer each hour.
None the less when we refocus on the day, casting our philosophical musings aside, there really is a lot to get done. Ambitious plans of breaking more new(to us) ground at SLGNW are guaranteed to be a challenge considering the geology. A second round of tomato planting is on deck for Thursday, while the tunnel next door continues to remind us with a whisper,”it’s time to prep me for cucumbers and squash.” In Durham our main outside production beds require much less effort and as you can imagine both prepping and planting there is also of top priority. There is too of course the nurseries. Seemingly endless trays of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant wait to be re potted for your garden and ours. More onions as well as cucumbers, melons and squash are in line to be started once we make room in the germination chamber. Then there is of course the warm season weekly ritual of starting lettuce, choys, turnips and mustards for summer production. A lot to juggle we suppose, but easy to manage with such excellent work supported by equally excellent people.
Depending on your opinion this week’s weather is looking to be quite excellent indeed. Sure temps in the 80’s are in most people’s opinions excessive for April, it will certainly be warming the soil. Waking up all those microbes and sleepy bugs as well triggering the alarm for the hibernating gardener in many of you. We are still offering our early bird plant sale for this last week. Buy 4 and get a dollar off each plant, choose the early bird special item in our store and email us your choices from what is available. Despite the summer temps this week we are still offering cool weather plants only. The strangeness of the weather with highs can still go that way with lows too. But rest assured all your warm weather friends are staying nurtured loved and yes warm, looking forward to and waiting for a good home.
Have a great week
