SPRING!
Even in the early weeks of cold, snowy March, the greenhouse was warm inside. Now, a month later, the tables are full (literally!) of leafy color; chard, lettuce, onions, cabbage... I find myself sneaking away from other tasks to poke around in there--I just love it. It smells warm and fresh and I can sink my hands into soil, transplant seedlings, seed new crops... Soon it will be miserably hot inside and green house work will be on the early morning task list. But for now, I will still enjoy the all day splendor of solar gain.
I think yesterday melted most of the snow off the fields. (wow!) The deep piles from roof sluff around the hoop house may still stick around for a while, but we are headed in the right direction. The spinach faired ok in the hoop house this winter. Extended extreme cold and cloud cover definitely decreased its growth rate. But winter shares are in for a treat this month as we harvest the whole house today. The sugar content of the winter grown spinach puts spring spinach to shame. From stem to leaf tip, winter spinach is like a sugar pop.
The 2015 sap season has come to a close. It's still winter in the woods, but these warmer days tell the trees to stop drinking sugar water and start making leaves. We had a LATE start, but ended up with a longer run than expected. Look for this year's syrup for sale in the barn! Simon will be bummed the sugarin' season is over and that we have moved from running around in the woods several hours a day to "mom's too busy to play". This farm dog has the best life...don't let him tell you any different : )
HAPPY SPRING!
