The glories and woes of an early spring
The daffodils are in bloom, the hills are turning green, and I'm ecstatic to get up in the morning—it must be spring! But wait... it's only mid-March. What happened to the worrisome tail end of winter? That last snow that ruins my spring planting and keeps my heart rate up all the way to April? Is it possible that we might have a long, lovely, gentle spring?? Seems almost too good to be true.
Well, to be fair there are some drawbacks to an early spring, and there are some foreboding trends. Here's a recap of some of the best parts of this march and some of the scariest.
In the GLORY category:
I actually found that goldilocks moment with our soil. That moment when it is has the perfect moisture content to till and make beds. AND that moment came right in time for our early spring plantings :)
We actually got our first successions of brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, kale), potatoes, and sugar snaps out in the field before the 1st of April. This bodes well for a long luscious veggies season!
Spring fever is upon me already—it feels like there's a million things to do and I'm running in every direction. BUT, unlike many springs, this year it's starting so early that I may actually have time to do many of the things I need to before market season is fully underway.
My gas bill is down and so is my stress level. It is a real gift not to have to worry quite so much about the baby seedlings at night.
In the WOE category:
The flea beetles are already here :( . Last year I got at least two clean successions of greens out of the hoop house before bug fever. This year the first babies haven't even finished getting their full leaves and the little buggers are all over them! ARGHHH!
The spring bulbs we planted last fall are already up and blooming (beautiful!). But alas, the flower stems are too short for sale because of the short cold season. Also, it's too early to sell them at market...
The wind is outrageous (to be fair this happens every spring—but I hate it every spring!). The hoop houses are billowing frighteningly and the little baby seedlings are over stressed and none too happy about it.
There is a foreboding sense of climate change in the air. This early spring may mean a hot and punishing summer that could be very hard for this farmer...
Nonetheless, at the end of the day I'm feeling very lucky. The days are getting longer and the warm sun adds a welcome lift to my step. So, regardless of what the future holds, I'm going to do my best to live in the moment and relish this beautiful early spring!