Things move quickly this time of year. We've got some of our field freshly composted, turned over and have fresh beds for planting. First things in the ground were spinach and hakuri, then today we got cabbages and chard planted in some landscape fabric! We'll be planting kale tomorrow, maybe the brussels sprouts too - we need to make room in the greenhouse to seed more trays as we're all full up.
In veggie bags this week we're really excited to be sharing squash in May. That's the month after April? There have been years we haven't managed to keep squash past the winter holidays... but I guess the humidity control, and their customized temperature as well as choosing certain varieties has paid off. Yum! Some tasty treats fresh and green too - some green garlic, bok choy and sorrel along with the last of the greenhouse spinach. Green garlic is one of our favourite spring flavours, we toss it in practically everything from simple pasta's to stir fry's and eggs. A stalk is roughly the garlicky-ness of a clove, the entire thing (white and green parts) can all be chopped to enjoy, and you would add it towards the end of cooking rather than the beginning as you would for cloves.
Every year we're trying new things, trying to improve how we do things and this year mulch is a big one. We started using mulches to help with weed control a few years back, and we've been tweaking our systems ever since. While the mulches are very helpful and effective for weed control, they're not all equal! Last year we trialled a few large landscape fabric chunks for certain crops, and they worked great - so we're switching over some more crops to use them as well. They allow the water to penetrate into the soil when it rains, suppress most weeds, and are held down easily with large metal "staples". We have also been using plastic mulches, just solid sheets of plastic, but they are a lot of work to lay down in pathways, a lot of work to pick up, and we get weeds growing in the dirt that holds them down. Plus, we found out really early on that they don't last all that well, and we'd really rather reduce waste whenever we can! So we've invested in a few more landscape fabrics (which should last 10 years plus), to help keep the weeds at bay and our crew doing a little less shovelling ;) We were really thrilled with this gadget (pictured) too - a new investment which makes the "hole" making so much easier. Last year we learnt the hard way that propane torches don't like to be used upside down, we were trying to burn the holes with the live flame which of course the winds and drizzles didn't like us doing. It was quite a fussy process... so really glad to be able to set up the new tarps with a lot more ease.
Enjoy the tastiness this week, Heather
