Hello all, Week 4 coming at ya! We had some relief from the rains this past week and it's been glorious. However, we have now had 9/10 market days with rain. What is going on? Mother nature is always letting us know who's really in charge and we always let her know we are up for the challenge! Even though the rain has seemed to be more prevalent this spring, the cooler days have let us enjoy some of the cold crops for an extended amount of time. This week we started harvesting cauliflower, which does not like hot sunny days. We knew it was a gamble to plant spring cauliflower, but a gamble we are sure glad we took this year!
Speaking of weather, one of the ways we can get around the lack of heat is by using protective culture, aka hoop houses. These greenhouse type structures allow us to plant in the ground but increase the temperature and control moisture to be able to extend the season of hot crops, such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. They also allow us to be able to grow year round, even in the coldest months of winter. Now, you still cannot grow heat loving crops in the winter, but greens and even some root crops are super yummy in winter! We have 4 hoop houses currently on the farm, but this week we received a phone call from our NRCS (National Resource Conservation Service) agent, telling us that we were awarded a grant for an additional hoop house! This agency helps farms do conservation and sustainable practices. We have been working with them for a few years on projects which include water saving irrigation systems, pollinator hedge row plantings, cover cropping, and season extension hoop houses. We are forever grateful for their support in our farming mission!
We hope you all have a great week and are able to stay safe and enjoy some sunshine!
