(CSA Newsletter: Week Eight)
Meet this week’s vegetables:
I hope that everyone caught on to the literary ‘conceit’ of last week’s newsletter — I was directly addressing the weather as though the weather were a person. I’m almost inclined to do the same again this week, except that it probably doesn’t make any difference and would just make me sound like a perennial whiner.
The good news is that we made some progress last week towards ground prep and planting. We started by trading in our rotary mower for a 6’ John Deere flail mower. The old mower worked more or less fine for doing a very rough cut of grass and brush, but the circular cutting action also threw the cut grass into distinct lines down the field. That action would leave big chunks completely uncovered and create an uneven dispersal of organic matter. Since we grow cover crops for their beneficial purposes, we wanted a mower that would leave the cut grass in an even pattern across the surface so that all our ground could benefit from the added organic matter.
Late last week, the grass dried enough that Casey got to try out the new mower, and it works exactly as we hoped. It is overall more effective at cutting the cover crop evenly down to the desired level and it leaves an even mulch-like material behind. Casey mowed the entire 4.25 acres that we’ll be planting this season, which will help speed up the soil drying and cover crop breakdown process. Which is good, because we’re experiencing another colder than average spring.
As you know we’ve had a few nice moments in the last week, although the sunniest periods have also been some of the coldest. Although we certainly don’t wish this weather on anyone, we were affirmed in our experience when we read the agricultural paper, The Capital Press, last week. Fruit tree growers all over Washington state are reporting fewer degree days even than this time last year (‘degree days’ are a measure of daily temps over 45F days, more or less, and are necessary for ripening fruit and insect development). Apparently the cold really is as cold as it’s felt. Hopefully the spring doesn’t continue in last year’s pattern and stay cold through the end of June!
We were also reminded of how behind the spring is when we were looking at photos from 2007 and noticed that the pear tree by our front door was in full bloom this time that year. Right now the blooms are just starting to push out, but I think it will be another week or two before we have fully open blooms.
Fortunately, we still have plenty of time to plant before the over-wintered vegetables are depleted. And, we were able to begin the ground prep process by chisel plowing the day after the mowing. The ground was still too wet for any further working, but the plowed ground is obviously in a better position for drying out when the rain takes a break. (It’s not raining at the moment, but Saturday was a shockingly wet day!)
When the sun does come out, such as on Sunday, it is amazing. Simply amazing. At the end of an especially long cold winter, even the brief moment of warmth and bright sunshine lightens our spirits and makes us excited for the upcoming season.
And, even though it might not be warm or dry enough to create ideal ground prep conditions, the longer days have certainly stimulated the re-growth of our many over-wintered greens. We are slowly beginning the transition from root-heavy winter shares to lighter, greens-abundant spring shares. You’ll notice the increase in quantity of greens this week, which is a trend that will continue. We hope you delight in the fresh tastes of early spring, and enjoy this week’s vegetables!
Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla
