May 26, 2008

It rained last night - one and half inches.  This is a mixed blessing.  The carrots, beets, lettuces, and peas all wanted some water (I have no irrigation) but...and there is always a but...the north portion of the field that had just barely dried out enought to be tillable is now squishy mud once again.  Yep, a mixed blessing.  and, of course, the weed seeds have germinated everywhere - time to take the hoe out - as soon as the fields dry sufficiently.

The winter rye that I had seeded last fall is another mixed blessing.  Typically tilled under to add organic matter to the soil, the rye had grown too tall to till on that wet northern section.  So, armed with a scythe and a rake I cut a half acre of rye - by hand.  Ouch!  My elbow is quite sore.  But - and here is the blessing part - I now have a fair amount of rye straw to use as a weed suppressing mulch.  Sore elbow and shoulders but good mulch - a mixed blessing.

The cool damp weather has meant that my early planted lettuce and cabbage seedlings have made the transition to the field with much less stress than they suffered during last year's hot and very dry May.  But - the unseasonably cool weather has also meant that they haven't grown much.  Still alive but not sizing up fast - a mixed blessing.  (In my chats with farm friends I have been reassured that I am not alone in this - one and all are noting just how slow everything is to germinate or get growing!) 

But progress is being made.  The beets and radishes are all up and the carrots, green onions, and peas are all finally germinating.  The lettuces and cabbages are finally starting to show signs of growth as are the onions and leeks.  Within the last week the potatoes, corn, beans, winter squashes, and zucchini were all planted. 

In the meantime, I've been harvesting asparagus and green garlic.  If you've never tried green garlic, now is the time.  This is garlic that has not yet set bulbs and is the first tast of fresh garlic for the season (to be followed by garlic scapes, fresh garlic bulbs, and cured garlic bulbs).  Green garlic can be used any way that use green onions and is marvelous sauteed with asparagus and portabella mushrooms!

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