Farm News: April

It’s been too cold! April is a busy month of farming and beautification at Farm Kitchen, and our green house is filled with baby plants who want to see what life is like outside.

Hi there, Phil here. The process of growing our flowers and vegetables began two months ago, when we planted seeds in individual seed-tray cells. Those seeds have germinated (most of them), sprouting into seedlings that grew too big for the trays and needed to be potted up into 4-by-4-inch individual pots. While they’ve grown, rows of soil in our fields have been broadforked and harrowed so they’re soft enough to plant in. Now we’re just waiting for the temperatures to rise, because even the broccoli and lettuce we’ve already planted outside are too cold to grow much, and they like it chilly!

Fortunately, temperatures started climbing last week. In the meantime, we’re seeding more flowers and veggies and trying to find room in the greenhouse.

Here’s what we have going on in April:

Transplanting

Some of our seedlings actually like the cold. When sweet pea flowers, broccoli, kale, lettuce and onions got too big for their trays, we were able to put them right into the soil outside. Unfortunately, they won’t grow much until it gets warmer, but they are holding strong, and the broccoli and kale (part of a family of veggies called brassicas) are slowly growing new leaves.

Transplanting is a delicate process where we dig shallow holes or make a long trough and then delicately lift the seedlings out of their trays (usually with garden staples pinching their sides), being careful to keep the roots intact, and put them into the dirt. We then tamp the soil down around them so they’ll point upright and start stretching toward the sun.

Potting Up

The tomatoes and peppers, on the other hand, need the soil to reach at least 65 degrees before they can go in the ground. We keep it toasty in the greenhouse, though, and they’re starting to get tall like little teenagers. This means we gently move them into larger (4-by-4-inch) plastic pots, and wait until we can transplant them into rows outside.

Landscaping

You are probably aware that the grass is growing again. We let it be for months, but April was when we fired up the zero-turn Timecutter riding mower. It’s super fast, and I can easily spin 180 degrees to keep the cut lines looking clean like a baseball outfield.

Like a shaggy dog finally going to the groomer, our property looked a lot better after a few days of mowing and weed wacking. We’ve had more interest than ever from soon-to-be brides and grooms looking at Farm Kitchen as the potential spot for their weddings, so keeping the property looking its best in April is a must.

If you’re getting married, schedule a tour with us today!

Clipping and Vasing

Some good news from our flower field is that the anemones are already blooming. These beauties are the first to open up, and the more we cut them (as close to the ground as possible) the better they’ll grow. I’ve been taking little bouquets to my mother-in-law. Anemones are also called “Windflowers,” and their petals have a rich red, white, or blue color. I like how they close up at night like they’re sleeping.

Our peonies and ranunculuses are about to bloom, too, and that should be spectacular. Sweetpeas are on the verge of climbing their trellis netting, and seedlings for snapdragons and stock are just about ready to be transplanted.

The farm is coming to life, and May is looking even lovelier.