I’m writing this on Friday the 14th, when the temperature in Framingham reached 91 degrees! I’m shocked to be working under summer weather in April and worrying about the fields being too hot and dry already. As a result, we’ve waited to begin planting until next week. This will put us a few days behind schedule, but things won’t have a problem catching up to where they should be in June. And it’s certainly better than risking losing new transplants to the heat!
Our planting will begin with kale, kohlrabi, cabbage and chard, and then move on to our onions, scallions, lettuce and escarole. Beets will go in shortly after, followed by broccoli and parsley. And we can’t forget the potatoes! I was once told by a farmer to plant potatoes when dandelions begin blossoming (around late April) but since they are already blooming at the farm, I’ll be sure to make them a priority.
Our garlic is always the first thing to grow on the farm and it’s looking great. The method we use to spread leaves over the garlic isn’t perfect so there are some places where the leaves are too thick and the garlic is having a hard time pushing through to reach the sun. Luckily, I had some volunteers help uncover the plants that were stuck underneath and they should straighten out soon.
The rest of the farm is beginning to wake up, turn green, and is even singing. More and more songbirds are returning, there have been sightings of groundhogs and rabbits, and the deer are making tracks in our newly made field beds. Our electric fence is baited and back on, which will hopefully keep them out. It seems like everyone is happy spring is here!
Until next time,
Ember
