Pushing the weather

Oh weather.. the constant farmer obsession. Perhaps ill advised, I'm trying all of the tricks to push and cajole the weather into cooperating. It's not really working, but I haven't given up yet! 

Our first crop of broccoli and cauliflower, planted on my birthday in mid-march, suffered mightily. They are barely recovering from multiple frost damages. But, they are finally starting to pick up steam now and we planted a new succession today which looks very happy and healthy! 

I'm pushing the limits again with our first cucurbits crop (cucumbers and summer squash). These guys are very tender and susceptible to even the mildest frost, but the weather outlook is good for the immediate future and how fun would it be to have cucumbers in early June! We planted them in plastic mulch and are keeping them under row cover to help with the weather and to ward off those angry squash vine bores... so we're crossing our fingers. I'm optimistic. 

We also have help from the magical hoop house. The cover of plastic keeps in warmth and makes it possible to control the amount of water and potential disease damage, so our first crop of tomatoes are in and they look fantastic. We interplanted some basil, so pesto should shortly be on the way as well! Tomorrow will be a big day of trellising and pruning. Stay tuned for more photos.  

Spring is both torturous and delightful. The unpredictable wind, rain and cold makes it challenging to work up beds and manage early crops. But, on the flip side, the spring greens are loving it! Only in my dreams did I imagine growing such beautiful lettuce. The weeds haven't yet taken over so everything looks bright and shiny on the dewy mornings. Taking in the views of our first crops these days definitely makes me glad I decided to embark on this journey.