It's been another pretty meh week for weather up here (...will Spring ever get here?!) but our hoophouse spinach is going out with gusto! We've been busy harvesting, and it just keeps growing. And growing. And GROWING! .JPG)
We need to get those beds harvested and turned over for new crops, so get ready for SPINACH WEEK! This week in your CSA boxes, we're offering double bags of spinach - 2 bags instead of just one - when you choose spinach in your box.
If you are intimidated by that much spinach, don't worry. If fresh spinach salads aren't your cuppa tea, wilt it (sautee in a pan with a little butter or steam if you prefer) for a few minutes until it's bright green and it will cook down to a less intimidating volume.
We hope you will enjoy this last week of Great Oak spinach, as the time has come to get those spinach beds planted with cucumbers and tomatoes to harvest later this summer. The joys of seasonal eating, and seasonal planting.
.JPG_2.jpg)
For the final harvest of spinach, we use knives to cut the leaves, which greatly speeds up the harvest process. Before the last harvest though, if we use knives they damage the new growing leaves at the center of the spinach plants, which causes a reduction in yield and quality in subsequent harvests.
But since we're gearing up for the final harvests this spring, using the knives really helps us spend a lot less time crawling through the hoophouse on our knees.
_2.jpg)
The hoophouses and microgreens have remained our primary focus lately here at the farm, as the fields outside are STILL too wet to work up with the tractor without causing some compaction. Most years, we are able to begin field work about the 3rd week of April, but as you guessed, not this year.
Even if we could get in the fields, the soil is awfully cold, which will cause seeds to germinate very slowly. As organic seeds are not treated with fungicides like most conventional seeds, they would be more likely to rot than to germinate in these cool soil temps. So we continue to wait for field work season to begin.
One barometer for soil moisture that seems to be pretty reliable here at our place is the drainage ditch out in front of the greenhouse. When the puddles are gone in the low spot of the ditch, that's a good indicator that we can get out and take care of field work safely, from a soil moisture perspective. As you can imagine, those puddles are still wet now, but shrinking daily.
Another good test is to grab a fist full of soil and squeeze it. If the soil balls up and holds its shape, it's still too wet. If the soil balls up but crumbles when you release your grip, it's dry enough to work. We're still making a good ball, even in our higher fields.
Until those outside fields are ready to work up, we'll keep plugging away in the hoophouses. The first round of spring pea transplants is ready to go in the ground, so we'll be transplanting those today (Friday) along with the first slicer tomatoes. Next week, once the rest of the spinach is harvested and we can get the beds prepped for planting, we'll get the cherry tomatoes and first secession of cucumbers in the ground.
After the rain scheduled to come this weekend, the forecast for this coming week looks promising for warmer, drier weather. I am hopeful that we'll be able to get back on the tractor soon.
Until next week, be well!
In community,
Farmer Chris
Great Oak Farm
