Many flats of cucumber and summer squash plants waiting for beds to be made outside.
THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF OUR SPRING SEASON.
SUMMER SHARES START NEXT WEEK!
THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• Pea Shoots x 2
• Baby Spinach
• Garlic Scapes
• Fresh Mint
• Cardoon
Click on the links above for information and recipes about these crops.
COMING SOON:
Arugula
Spinach
Green Onions
It’s raining right now, but it has been lovely and summery all weekend. The rain is actually perfect, to water-in all the seeds and starts that we have been planting outside. The cut-flower garden is nearly finished, and the new u-pick herb garden, and we’ve got a new area planted in greens. Also, a very large planting of snap and shelling beans. Let it rain…for a day.
Not to be done-in like last spring, I started a lot more outside crops inside the greenhouse. I started a whole crop of summer squashes and cucumbers, just in case it was too cold and wet to direct-seed them outside. I’m glad I did, because it was too cold. Mike will be making the beds Thursday and we’ll be planting this weekend. That saves nearly three weeks of agonizing waiting for seedlings to pop out of their holes.
We also have an extra month head start by planting zucchini and cucumbers in one of the greenhouses. We’re hoping to start picking those by the beginning of July—several weeks ahead of the outdoor crops. We’ve also got some early nasturtiums and runner beans in there for Cafe Flora—we grow a lot of edible flowers for their delicious salads.
Did you ever notice that climbing plants always wind themselves around things in a clockwise direction? Looking from the top, that is.
Speaking of runner beans, it’s always amazing to me that vining plants twine themselves around supports in a clockwise direction, as you look down on them from above. It doesn’t matter what you do to them, that is their mission. I have done it backwards before, and they unwind themselves and do it “right”. I wonder if they grow counter-clockwise south of the equator. I also wonder if I will ever get a chance to travel south of the equator to find out.
The Barn Swallows returned several weeks ago, but I'm so happy that they finally decided to move into the new cow barn. They picked a spot over the door to the pasture. And there are three nests!
You might remember my sadness at having to tear out swallow nests from our old pig barn last winter. Well, I’m so happy to report that they have returned this year and finally decided to settle in the new cow barn. They chose a sheltered spot over the door to the pasture. It’s a triplex—they’ve built three nests next to each other. It’s a perfect location for catching flies all summer. I’m very happy, even if they do scold me while I’m milking Beauty and Juniper.
Whistling Train Farm 