With March halfway gone and the snow slowly melting, it is beginning to sink in that there is an end in sight to this winter! Spring is around the corner and nowhere is that more evident than in the greenhouse. Even if the outside temperatures are hovering just above freezing, on a sunny day it can feel like a tropical oasis. Last Monday we began seeding our leeks, onions and fennel, which will all be transplanted outside in late April. Because overnight temperatures are still quite low, we have not turned on the barn spigot for watering seedlings. Instead, we fill buckets of water in the house and haul them to our greenhouse, where we then use the buckets to fill watering cans. It's not the most efficient way to keep our plants hydrated, but it's well worth the effort. Yet another reason for us to look forward to warmer temps!
This week we plan to continue seeding shallots and our first lettuce succession, while also admiring the green shoots emerging from last week's plantings. By early April the greenhouse will be completely full, at which point we will start transferring those leeks and onions to a cold frame for hardening off and to make way for more seedlings. We are also planning an Open (Green)House for early spring so that our neighbors and customers can enjoy the new plant life - check back here for more details soon!
