Late Spring Farm Update

By:  Richard de Wilde

2022 Cilantro Planting #1

Ok, I promised Andrea this would not be a farmer “whining” about the weather.  So, this is a report about what we and our crew have done with the hand Mother Nature has dealt us.  The facts only. Unlike last spring which was record-setting cold and dry, this spring was record-setting cold and wet.  This spring we set a new record for my 40 plus years of vegetable farming as the latest first planting date which was April 20.  We are now harvesting those first planted radish, greens, white turnips, and very soon dill and cilantro.  In fact, we have accomplished a total of 6 plantings for our line up of these crops that we plant every week.  

Row covers protecting strawberries and melon plants from frost

Because of the cool spring, we have made extensive use of row covers for heat gain and to protect plants from wind.  Row cover is spun bonded polyester.  It is light weight and transmits 85% of the sunlight.  Under the covers, the temperature is on average 4 degrees higher both day and night.  After several weeks you can really see a difference in the rate of crop growth and, unfortunately, weed growth as well.  

Zucchini plants thriving underneath a row cover
to protect from frost and promote heat gain

So, our heat-loving summer plants, i.e., zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, watermelons, and winter squash were all safe in the greenhouses during the cold weather in April, and then in early May we had 4 days of unseasonably hot weather with temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s!  Those heat-loving crops thrived and made quantum leaps in maturity overnight, literally!  So, it is only the 10th of May and Andrea says the zucchini and cucumbers must get transplanted before they get too big and “leggy.”  Despite some cold days and nights in the forecast, we gambled and put them out in the field.  We immediately covered them with row cover draped over wire hoops that we put over the beds with a string strung between them to help float the row cover above the plants. Putting giant blankets on fields requires a lot of sandbags to hold them in place and is most easily accomplished with low wind speed.  But that was only the beginning as we were still faced with the threat of low temperatures and even frost almost daily.  Despite the forecast, we kept planting.  The tomatoes went next and were also hooped and covered.  Then the eggplant, our first melon planting and watermelons, all with covers for protection.  We still had the whole winter squash crop remaining and the plants were getting very tall, so we put them out as well along with some basil and covered it all.

First crop of tomatoes nicely mulched with rye straw

We had the extra covers on hand, but by this time we had run out of sandbags!  Not only did we have a lot of covers out in the field, but we have also been having record-setting wind speeds this spring!  We rushed to fill over 1,000 more sandbags!  We checked covers daily and replaced them as needed, adding additional sandbags to keep them in place.  We think the danger of frost is passed now, but only after it “nipped” our first bean planting, which was not covered.  Thankfully, the covers did their job, and all those warm-weather crops survived the frost!  The investment of time and resources paid off.

This week we will plant our third crop of beans and sweet corn.  Sweet potato slips from North Carolina are scheduled to arrive on Thursday morning and we have plans to plant them Thursday afternoon.    We have peas to trellis and started staking the first crop of tomatoes.  Peppers are also going out to the field this week.  Aside from our second planting of melons and more basil, this will complete the plantings of our summer transplant crops.

Early variety of strawberries with 
blossoms!

Due to the cold start to the season, it looks like strawberries will be delayed a bit.  However, the plants are full of blossoms and there are even some thumbnail sized berries!  In addition to laying out covers, transplanting, etc., we have also been harvesting vegetables for our early CSA boxes, we have spread 90 4’x 5’ bales of mulch for tomato and pepper crops and Luis, Nestor and Joel have done an excellent job of cultivating!  Thanks to these guys, the sunchokes, horseradish and potatoes are 4-6 inches high and weed free.  

Thankfully, we’ve had time to stay on top of hand weeding and the crew has gone through all the parsnips and beautiful carrots as well as kohlrabi, broccoli, cauliflower, and Kale.  All these crops are looking good, and the kohlrabi is already the size of a 50-cent piece!  Last weekend we finished planting ginger in the cold frame greenhouse, so we have that to look forward to harvesting in late October or early November!

Did I mention that we have a fantastic crew?  They never hesitate to stay late to finish a job and are ready to start again the next day.  Andrea’s right, we have nothing to whine about.  We’re positioned for a great season!

Using the Kult to cultivate weeds in the rows of parsley plants