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Sunday, April 08, 2007

Notes from the FIeld - April 2007

April 2007:

4/8/07: Notes from the Field - This latest cold spell has really set Farmer Rich back on planting in the fields. It was 15-degrees the night of April 6th and the ground was re-frozen in the morning. He is being delayed transferring the transplants from the hot greenhouse to the cold greenhouse due to this cold snap. Remay-Empty Bench April07.jpgHe likes to transition the plants from the hot greenhouse, then to the cold greenhouse, then to the field. This hardens them off so they have better survival in the cooler spring mornings. Here is a photo of horseradish and onions covered with remay cloth (used for frost protection) in the cold greenhouse. The bench to the right is usually filled with broccoli, chard, kale etc, but they are still in the hot greenhouse waiting for it to be safe to be transferred. We hope it will warm up soon!! Where is all the global warming talk (more on that later).

GreenGarlic -April07.jpg <<<<<<<The Green Garlic that was planted in the autumn is up & doing well and will be in the first deliveries. You use the green garlic just like garlic in all your favorite dishes, but it is nice & FRESH garlic!!

Greenhouse Plants07.jpg

The hot greenhouse is filled and here is a photo of a small portion showing the various stages of growing plants. The large green plants on the>> left are some of the broccoli plants we talked about earlier. 4/1/07: The Heirloom Tomato Sales are just around the corner!!! We currently have 80 varieties of Heirloom & Hybrid Tomatoes, including a limited number of the variety Ramapo. We received from Rutgers University, some Ramapo Tomato (heritage hybrid) seeds. This variety was known as the "true Jersey tomato" 30 years ago. A lot has been mentioned about heirloom tomato varieties, but there are also some excellent hybrid varieties that have gone by the wayside. This will be our first year growing the Ramapo Tomatoes and we look forward to your feedback on this and our other heritage hybrids. Farmer Rich has also started plants in the greenhouse for our Community Supported Farm deliveries and is looking forward to planting in the fields this week. He usually has fava beans & peas planted by the 3rd week of March, but this year's late snow storm set that planting back. With the warmer weather here, field planting will be starting this week. I requested he take a few pictures to post so check back later for some current photos.

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