March – CSA News
All is well on the farm! There is sunshine at the end of the winter. We are starting seeds this week. The first of the seeds that get started in March are swiss chard, parsley, lettuce heads, celery, celeriac, onions, sweet bell peppers, jalapeno, mini-sweet peppers, eggplant, heirloom tomatoes, and scallions.
Thanks to you and your continued support, we were able to purchase many of our supplies and seeds for this season in December at a discount.
Did you know? We start all of our transplants right here. We purchase certified organic seed and potting mix. Our seeds are purchased from High Mowing Organic Seeds or Johnny’s Seeds and our potting mix is made by McEnroe Organic Farm – in NY. The only transplants that we purchase are certified organic seed potatoes. This year we purchased 800# from Nature’s Circle Farm and we expect to receive them in mid-April.
We start our seeds in this hoop house and run a propane radiant heater overnight. The heater can keep it around 20 degrees above the nighttime low temperature. We start the first seeds in early March. Our space is limited so we start seeds in trays and then repot them as they grow. When we start, most of the seedling trays are on the heat mats. During the day, when the sun is shining, the hoop house can climb over 100 degrees very quickly. With cold temperatures and sunshine, it is a daily challenge to keep the temperatures inside just right. We are always monitoring the temperature. In the evening, when the sun begins to cool, we close it up and tuck the baby seedlings in for the night. We have an alarm system set up. If a temperature drop occurs due to equipment failure, we can get out there quickly and resolve any issues. Ahem…I mean… Joe can. We will snap some photos for Instagram over the next few months for you to follow along with the progress.
We have been busy scheduling, planning, and visualizing the season. Once we get started, we need to work with nature and follow the plan as best as we can. Who knows what 2021 has in store, but we are always optimistic!
What are we growing this season?
| Lettuce Heads – Green Romaine, Green Leaf, Red Leaf, Baby Lettuce Mix Onion – Red, White, Yellow Scallions Snow Peas Swiss Chard – Rainbow, Orange, Red, White Celery – green only (no worries – we are not growing pink this season) Celeriac Eggplant – Italian type Black Globe, Japanese Purple Heirloom Tomato – Rose de Berne, Black Krim, Carbon, Valencia, Nepal, Rose, Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra Tomato – Slicers(Tasti Lee, Marmalade, Damsel), Washington Cherry, Grape (Montesino, Valentine), Granandero Plum Arugula Peppers – Sweet Bell (Red, Yellow, Green), Jalapeno, Mini-Sweet (Yellow, Orange, and Red) Summer Squash – Yellow, Green Zucchini, Ronde de Nice Winter Squash – Butternut, Delicata Kohlrabi Beets – Red Round, Red Cylindrical, Golden Cabbage – Napa, Green, Red, Green Savoy Rutabaga Turnip – Purple Top, Hakurei White Salad Kale – Curly, Lacinato Collard Greens Asian Greens – Tat Soi, Bok Choy, Mustard, Tokyo Bekana, Sweet Corn Cucumber – Standard Slicing, Pickling, English Seedless Broccoli Cantaloupe Potato – Yukon Gold, Dark Red Norland, Adirondack Red Radish – Red, Breakfast, Purple Daikon, Watermelon Herbs – Basil, Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Beans – Flat Italian, Green, Yellow Spinach Carrots Leeks Garlic – Stiff Neck (planted in October 2020) Rhubarb – relocating April 2021 |
If you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Feel free to email or text.
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