A New Adventure Begins

We're excited to share with you the continued bounty from the fields and tunnels. There's still some great looking cold hardy kale outside but most of our fresh greens will be harvested from our plethora of tunnels. These relatively simple passively temperature controlled structures provide almost enough protection to get us through even the coldest nights (we've made it through single digits several times over the years). When temperatures are forecast for mid-20s or lower we erect hoops within the tunnels and add a layer or two of row cover to provide extra protection by further trapping in earths radiant heat closer to the plants, heat that was absorbed during daytime, thank you sunshine.

Some of my focus is beginning to shift towards preparations for the 2021 growing season. Assembling the annual seed and plant order while consulting our crop plans can take up to a week. Each and every crop and variety needs to be assessed and reflected upon and any planned changes noted and the corresponding close to exact number of seeds needs to be ordered. I don't like to keep any seeds for more than one season if I can help it, mostly because I want to ensure the best germination success of those seeds the following season. I assume the seed companies have optimum storage facilities and maintain the freshest stocks. This time of year I also try to order any supplies and materials we'll need for the following year like potting soil, soil amendments, fertilizer, etc. Our inputs are minimal so this doesn't take very long but it is nice to check it off the list. I also need to reach out to experts regarding specific crop issues we had in 2020 that we can't identify, such as why the blackberries declined quickly and precipitously (could have been something simple like cold injury or something worse like a disease). Over the winter we'll update our schedules for seeding and transplanting as well as the crop rotation. Our four seasons, the winter cold break, provides a fresh blank canvas to work on the following year. It's easy to feel positively excited while working near the wood stove on cold winter days.