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| Overhead irrigation on beets and carrots |
Spring has returned in earnest here at Appleton Farms and we are glad to welcome back the sunshine, warm weather and greenery. We are not so glad to welcome back quack grass, lambs quarters and wild mustard which we pulled out in clumps as we weeded and thinned our first planting of beets this week. The greenhouse is swiftly emptying of early spring transplants such as kale, cabbage and bok choi and just as swiftly refilling with basil, tomatoes and summer squash. Out in the fields we seeded our first round of radishes, turnips and greens this week. Fantastic spring salads are only a handful of weeks away now! The farmers have been really enjoying the weather lately but all these cloudless days have left our transplants and newly seeded crops feeling a little thirsty. With no rain in the foreseeable future it was time to set up irrigation again. For those who have never assembled agricultural irrigation before, it involves a lot of lugging cumbersome aluminum pipes around and standing in muddy puddles while you get sprayed in the face by the sprinkler head that you are attempting to adjust. It's well worth the trouble to keep our vegetables happy.
Now that May has arrived the countdown to CSA opening day is really picking up. All our members should be receiving reminder letters in the mail in the next week as well as a calendar of our very exiting events scheduled for this year. We look forward to seeing all of you very soon!
