Happy Spring! Yes, it might not be the equinox yet, but the greenhouse is nearly full already. That's the start of spring in our books.
We've been busy starting thousands and thousands (tens of thousands!) of onions, as well as loads of early hoophouse transplants - scallions, collards, beets, and even those crown jewels of summer: tomatoes! Never ceases to amaze me that a teeny tiny seed like these can turn into a sprawling, fifteen-foot long tomato vine; humbled by the power of seeds.
.jpg)
We're pretty excited to try out a few new tomato varieties this season, including two slicer tomatoes, as well as two new cherry/grape tomatoes. As you may have experienced in your own garden, tomatoes can be a challenging crop for us northern folks. Growing them here successfully takes a special combination of great genetics and meticulous management.
Most tomato varieties are bred to perform in places like Florida (lets face it, we're about as far from Florida weather-wise as you can get!) and we've not found many tomatoes that can handle all the unique conditions that N. Wi can throw at them. So, we'll keep you posted on how they are performing this summer, and you'll get to taste test the results for yourselves.
We aren't kidding ourselves, there's still a lot of winter to be had. Our Northwoods springs come in quickly though, so we have to be ready to roll (er, plant!) as soon as the temps are warm enough in the hoophouses, which is usually the first week of April. In order to have transplants ready for early April, we start them now. And cross our fingers for some semblance of a "normal" spring.
.jpg)
One thing you might not think about when it comes to starting seeds this early is frozen soil mix. Sitting all winter in an unheated greenhouse, that stuff turns into a nearly two-thousand pound brick, frozen solid. Thawing it out enough to use takes a few days of heat-blasting from our portable salamander heater. Even then, there's still a frozen chunk in the center of the bag and we have to scoop thawed soil mix from around the edges to get all of our early trays filled. After this week of seeding, we're about two-thirds of the way through that big tote of soil! That's a lotta transplants.
Another project knocked out this week was picking up and installing the window for the microgreen grow room that FNALLY arrived (ordered months ago, and was expected to arrive in January...) We've been crunched a little by the supply chain this winter, but we're making do. We stocked up on a pallet full of clamshells to stay ahead of the shortages, and while it would have been nice to have the window last fall, we're glad to have this crossed off of our to-do list.
.jpg)
Speaking of micros, we've been really into the spicy and radish lately at our house. A french roll + pepper jack cheese + chipotle mayo + cucumber + hummus + radish or spicy micros makes one HECK of a great lunch sandwich! Eggs and toast with butter and radish micros has been the breakfast of choice this week as well. Sneak those veggies in with any meal wherever you can, it all adds up to healthier (and tastier!) eating.
That's it for this week, friends. Thanks as always for making us YOUR farmers - truly, it means so much!
In community,
Farmer Chris
Great Oak Farm
