We never get stuck on our farm!

With our nice sandy soil & tile drainage under the whole farm, we can usually drive anywhere, even after a heavy rain.

Yet here are Amy & Sage stuck recently. (and no, Sage was not driving).

We have had a lot of rain this spring – an awful lot of rain! A frustrating amount of rain! The official word is that “in the last 30 days we have received more than 200% of our normal precipitation”. Wow!

And so we get stuck. Certain parts of the farm have had to be avoided or at least approached cautiously for much of this spring season.

What this means is that we have been delayed getting onto the ground to prepare it for planting. So seedlings that were growing in the greenhouse could not be planted out in the fields on time  and subsequently grew too big and then don’t transplant & grow well. Crops that should have been seeded directly into the ground also had to wait. The cooler temperatures that accompanied the moisture meant we often kept the greenhouse closed to preserve what heat there was, and now some of our tomato plants have a bit of mold & disease from the lack of air movement and humidity build-up. Once outside in the fresh air they should easily & quickly recover, but they do look a little worse for wear. Some seedlings rotted and were lost.

Our farm is fairly level, but even the slightest changes in elevation were important this spring. When we did sneak out onto the land between rains, the higher ground was where we could plant. Even a few inches of change meant the difference between soil that could be worked & planted, and soil that was still too wet.

The crops that we got into the ground earlier have been growing ever so slowly. And anything planted lately has not moved much at all.

For our customers at the farmers’ markets (tomorrow – May 23 – is our first market of the season!) and our CSA members it means waiting a bit longer for the first fresh vegetables of the season – our CSA program probably won’t begin until early June.

But this week the weather appears to have finally changed. Perhaps the full moon on the weekend has finally ushered in our long-awaited sunshine & warm weather! We can already see the crops beginning to perk up & grow!

Here’s what the farm looks like this week …

This field by the garlic has been difficult to get ready to plant. We would work it up, but the cover crop & weeds would regrow rather than dry up & die. But finally it’s ready!

This cover crop is lush & green from all the rain. We’ve had to mow it down several times. Now it’s dry enough that we can work it in and prepare the soil for planting vegetables here, later in the season.

The blackberries are leafing out.

These guys have certainly enjoyed the wet weather. Up to 6 of them can be seen swimming in the pond daily.

But most of us are happier to feel the sunshine!