It’s officially spring! We are excited about 2023 and happy to have a tough winter behind us. It started with near record lows in late December that had us scrambling to harvest as much as possible. In early February an ice storm knocked down the deer fence around the strawberries. The deer ate the plants to the ground! The recent wind storm flipped over our chicken coop and damaged a high tunnel. And this past Sunday night the temperature dipped into the teens. Taken alone, none of this weather would be extraordinary, but I think it is quite something to see it all in one winter.
None of this keeps us from trucking along. Three quarters of the spring garden is planted including cabbage, kohlrabi, beets, carrots, radishes, arugula, kale, collards, chard, fennel, Asian greens, lettuce, potatoes and onions. It is time to get the high tunnel ready for the first tomatoes. The strawberries plants are small but growing after the deer damage. Happily, the 24 southern heirloom apple trees we planted in the fall didn’t seem to mind the tumultuous winter weather. I’m always anxious as to whether things will be ready for the first week of the CSA. All we can do is keep on planting!
Wildflowers and green beans and cucumbers, oh my!
There is so much to look forward to this year. We have a grant to help pay for another high tunnel that we will be adding in April. As part of that grant we will also be planting half an acre of permanent pollinator habitat made up of native wildflowers and grasses.
This spring we are trying out green beans! We’ve stayed away from spring beans in past years because it is impossible to find the time to harvest them. This year we are growing them for a single harvest to see if that makes it more feasible to get them picked. One of my farmer goals for the year is to grow a decent crop of cucumbers. I just haven’t managed to crack the cucumber code! Will this be the year I figure it out?
Plant Sale
As soon as I move plants out into the field, the greenhouse fills up again with plants for our annual plant sale. We will have a lot more herbs this year including rosemary, tarragon, lavender, and three types of basil. The tomato selection will include many varieties of cherry tomatoes for urban growers competing with the squirrels. Our online store is open for you to pre-order your plants for pick up Saturday April 15 & 22 at CYCFM or the farm. And I’ll have the full array of plants at the Cooper Young Community Farmers Market starting April 15th (sooner if they are ready and the weather looks favorable).
The CSA is almost full
If you are considering joining our 2023 CSA please don’t wait any longer to sign up! We only have about 25 spots left and once it starts feeling like spring those are bound to go fast. We’ve still got a few big purchases to make before the season starts and we could really use the cash flow, too. More info and how to purchase our CSA here.
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