Tractors, Mockingbirds and Wind

The tractor is not cooperating. Our big-equipment repair-guy is able to tweak the tractor so that it will work for about a day, but until we get the new part in, it remains unreliable.

We have a nest of mockingbirds next to our office. Thus far, as we have been respectful, we have not been dive-bombed. A few days ago, I walked into the office to find one of the birds perched atop Nikki's chair. The bird panicked and tried to push through the glass of the window; I had to cup him in my hands and walk him outside. Magic!

Yesterday's wind was brutal. We managed to plant another big plot of potatoes before the wind really found it's own, but then had to spend the rest of the day rescuing plants and repairing greenhouses. We were all pretty exhausted after.

Today, we will be preparing for the season's first Portsmouth Farmer's Market which takes place tomorrow. Come and visit the booth! We'll have lots of plants for sale — no it isn't too early! Most of the plants we'll be bringing are cold-weather tolerant — and they're not just pansies and violas!

Earth Day

Earth Day is also Nikki's birthday — Happy birthday Nikki! She spent it mending hanging plants that had gone wonky in one way or another.

I set up our new sprinkler, which worked beautifully; it will save us a lot of time this year. I also jumped on our hand-me-down tractor and re-tilled a particularly jungly part of our field. And then the tractor broke down. Which was a total drag, because I had been rejoicing all day at how having the tractor was like having a couple extra helpers. But a visit from Mr. Gallant, the equipment repairman, solved the problem quickly. And now I know, if the tractor won't start, to jiggle as many parts as possible until it does!! Meanwhile, we await a new key-socket, as that's where the problem seems to be.

Despite the setback, I was still able to sow the first beds of radishes, turnips and beets.

In the greenhouse, the kale and broccoli I sowed on Saturday have already germinated.

all the little veggies

Last week we sowed five beds of greens, five beds of peas, and two beds of carrots (our beds are generally 100'x3'). This week we'll be planting about half our potato crop, some early onions, more greens and carrots, as well as turnips and radishes. Nikki and Krissy also planted two more beds of peas today.

We'd like to plant more this time of year, but we also have our other job — growing the summer annuals for the Flower Company. Each year we grow over 50,000 annuals for wholesale to local landscapers and retailers; we'll also be selling them retail at the Portsmouth and Exeter farmer's markets.

This last Saturday I spent most of the day sowing our tomatoes, kale, and broccoli indoors. While doing this, the plants listened to records by Phoenix, Blakroc, and Them Crooked Vultures. I listened too. At some point, between records, I started singing Beyonce's song 'All the Single Ladies', except the words came out as 'All the Little Veggies'... (put your leaves up!)

peas and mesclun

Today, Nikki and Krissy assembled the pea trellis. It is 700' long and inhabits seven 100' beds in our field. They had to pound in 70, seven foot bamboo stakes and then attach the trellising. Tomorrow, they will plant the peas.

I was able to till the rest of the field. This was a great relief as parts of the field were getting pretty weedy — witch-grass and crab-grass are a particular problem. Afterwards, I cleaned up several beds that are to be directly sown with cool-weather greens. I was then able to sow two beds of mesclun: one mild and one spicy. Tomorrow, I will sow more greens.

fava beans

The first crop to be sown in the field this year is the fava bean. While Nikki was at the Exeter farmer's market selling Spring-plants, I planted two 100' beds, or 600' in rows of fava beans; that's five pounds of seed.

This week, we'll also be sowing carrots, peas, spinach, mesclun and arugula. The seedlings that we've started in the greenhouses are looking healthy, and eager to one day enter the soil outdoors. I'd still like to see our onions bigger at this time, so we'll have to continue to experiment with seeding mediums and fertilizer rates. Two trays of onions are bigger than all the others; they were planted in a different medium than the rest, which means next year I'll be looking into purchasing this more expensive medium for our starts.

I've been able to till about half of our field, and wait, a little anxiously, to till the rest as I watch the weeds grow. The bottom half of the field is still too saturated to get the tractor into it. Let's hope May and June aren't as wet this year!