Spring Chores and More Vegetables from the Greenhouse
We’re expecting more pleasant early spring weather in the Northeast today - perfect for continuing our work in the gardens.
There's always so much to do this time of year. My outdoor grounds crew is busy raking the garden beds, trimming old plant growth, and blowing all the dead grass and leftover leaves. They're also repurposing any old hay bales that were used to insulate the hoop houses during winter, so nothing goes to waste. Meanwhile, we're still harvesting lots of delicious, fresh produce from the vegetable greenhouse.
Enjoy these photos.
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- If you’re a serious gardener like I am, you’ll want to be out in the garden the first warm second of spring. Now that all the snow has melted, work can begin in my large cutting garden. Here’s Phurba with a full bag of old plant debris. These gardens must be raked, cleaned, and covered with good, nutrient-rich compost before planting.
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- It was a bit windy on this day, but still good for tending the beds. Here’s Brian trimming the old, dead growth from last season’s plants. It’s much easier to cut plants back before the old growth gets tangled up in the new growth. It’s also important to do as dead plant material can harbor disease and fungus that affect new plants later.
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- Phurba rakes the back quadrants using a soft rake so as not to damage any of the perennials.
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- Meanwhile, old bales of hay are taken to the woodland. The hay will be spread around the area to keep weeds at a minimum and to conserve soil moisture.
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- I am fortunate to be able to make my own hay right here at the farm. Most of it is fed to my horses. When I moved here, I designated three areas as hayfields and planted them with a mixture of timothy, orchard grass, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and clovers – all great for producing good quality hay.
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- Pasang is in another area blowing the leaves off of the carriage roads and into the woodland.
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- In the head house, Ryan continues to transplant flower and vegetable seedlings. We grow so many plants from seed. We start in January and continue until it’s time time to plant directly into the outdoor garden beds.
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- And nearby in the vegetable greenhouse, Enma harvests more lettuce for my daughter and grandchildren. This greenhouse has been so productive all season long. We’ve had so many delicious vegetables. I attribute the great crops to all the prep work we do to get these beds ready. I also used a compost-based potting soil mix from the Vermont Compost Company in Montpelier, Vermont. This soil is specifically developed for organic gardening.
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- Look at these heads of lettuce. I always grow lots of varieties of lettuce. My grandchildren love salads.
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- Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of dishes, such as soups, sandwiches and wraps; it can also be grilled.
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- ‘Red Salad Bowl’ lettuce is a variety of looseleaf lettuce with oakleaf type leaves. The leaves are especially tender, with sweet and spicy tones.
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- The frilly fronds of frisee are bitter with a bit of crunch, which adds dimension and texture to both salads and sandwiches.
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- I grow lots of Swiss chard. Right now, I have pink, orange, and white. Chard has a mild, sweet earthy taste with some bitterness. When harvesting, cut off the outer leaves about two inches above the ground while they are young and tender.
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- The leaves and stalks provide an abundance of vitamins, and minerals. Chard is filled with vitamins A, C, E, and K. It belongs to the Chenopodioideae family, which also includes beets and spinach.
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- This bed has a newer, younger crop of greens – we always plant in succession, so there is always something ready to pick in the greenhouse. Succession planting is a practice of seeding crops at intervals of seven to 21 days in order to maintain a consistent supply of harvestable produce throughout the season. This dramatically increases a garden’s yield, while also improving produce quality.
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- Endives are vegetables belonging to the genus Cichorium. Species include Cichorium endivia, Cichorium pumilum, and Cichorium intybus. Common chicory includes types such as radicchio, puntarelle, and Belgian endive.
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- Celery is part of the Apiaceae family, which includes carrots, parsnips, parsley, and celeriac. Its crunchy stalks make the vegetable a popular low-calorie snack with a range of health benefits. I love celery in my daily green juice.
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- Parsley is also great in green juice. It is a flowering plant native to the Mediterranean. It derives its name from the Greek word meaning “rock celery.” It is a biennial plant that will return to the garden year after year once it is established.
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- Kale is related to cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and Brussels sprouts. There are many different types of kale – the leaves can be green or purple in color, and have either smooth or curly shapes.
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- It is so nice to have all these fresh greens ready to be picked and eaten until my outdoor gardens begin producing. I hope you are all eating lots of good foods to keep you healthy during this time.
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