Well, we've had quite a warm up haven't we? Soil temperatures are up 29 degrees in just 10 days, which means we should be seeing trees budding and tulips coming up and now we can finally get some things planted outdoors. Do you remember last year? Last year on April 1st the tree's were almost completely leafed out and green. This year, they're hardly starting to bud. Last year was a super early spring and this year is pretty late, so the contrast year to year is especially stark. And that's why we hold our planting plans loosely around here. Things outdoor are behind because we've held off planting them until things warmed up a bit. Greenhouse grown broccoli or cabbage transplants don't do well if they suddenly stall out in cold soil for a few weeks, so we've been holding them and watching the forecast. Now is the time to get it done, though we still need to wait a couple days until the wind dies down. Putting out tender transplants with 30mph winds is also not a good idea. So...we're still waiting but we're still busy turning in some green manure crops and prepping fields for the later transplants like tomatoes and peppers.
The greens are looking fabulous! And they're growing so fast in the sunshine! At the Redfearn home we've been enjoying stir fried greens with nearly every meal. Sheri's even been known to have them for breakfast!
Only 3 more weeks of the winter CSA (including this one). So make sure you've got your calendar set for the last pickup being April 20th. The Summer CSA starts the following week (April 27th), so if you've signed up for that, be mindful that many of the pickup locations change between winter and summer so pay special attention to your emails that week.
Bread and Cheese Shares:
Farm to Market Great Grains Sliced loaf
Hemme Brothers Original curds
Have a wonderful April Fools Day and try not to be too cruel with your jokes if you're that sort of person.
Your farmers,
Dave and Sheri
