Hello Farm Friends

It’s starting out to be a lovely spring! Every year is unique, and so far this one has had warmer than average days, cold nights, and not much rain. While the CSA doesn’t start for a few more weeks yet, some folks have been asking what’s going on around the farm these days. So I thought I’d give a little update.

Since late March, we have been prepping, seeding and planting our high tunnels, as well as seeding all of our plants in the greenhouse for eventual transplanting into the field. At this point, all 6 of our high tunnels have been seeded and/or planted, and just last week we began planting outside in the 14-acre field. The shelter of the high tunnels allows us to get about a months head start on things, and so most of the produce you’ll find at early markets and the first 2-3 weeks of CSA will come from the tunnels. The issue is that the amount of space in the tunnels is limited, so once they are full, we need to plant outdoors is less favorable conditions in order to not have a gap in our production.

This spring has been good from the sense that the snow melted off early, and the field dried out so that we could prep the beds for planting on time. The main challenge we faced last week can be summed up in this forecast photo.

There are a few things going on in this photo. First, we’re trying to get delicate baby plants fresh from the nursery outside into an environment they can survive. Planting out when it’s 82 degrees and sunny is not ideal, as the sun is too hot, the soil gets too warm, and the plants wilt. So, we plant a little, then water them to keep them cool. But then at night, all of a sudden we’re down to 29 degrees….that’s a 53 degree temperature swing! So, we have to put hoops and floating row cover on everything to keep it from freezing to death. But then when it goes back up to 82, it gets too hot under the covers so we have to pull them back off so the plants don’t cook to death. Keeping the plants alive this time of year often feels like treading water…it’s a lot of work and it’s hard to get anywhere. It’s a lot harder to grow vegetables in Montana than it is in the Central Valley of California!, and there is a very good reason Montana is known for cows rather than cucumbers.

Here’s what the hoop and cover system looks like in application. In general, cloudy days with less temperature differential are much better for spring planting.

And I suppose the last thing I should point out is that as a farmer, you become well aware of the micro-climate of your farm. This forecast photo is from yesterday (May 3rd), and NOAA forecasted a low of 44….yet it got down to 29 degrees at the farm and we had frost. That’s a huge difference. Over the years, we’ve learned to just use the forecast as a starting point, and then we adjust based on where we are up here in the Northeast corner of the valley.

Understand that we are a commercial farm, and thephoto of us planting should not entice you, as a home gardener, to run out and plant…unless you have hoops and row covers. At this time of year, we are only planting cold hardy crops like cabbage, kale, broccoli and cauliflower. Warm-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and squash won’t go out for another month. I read a note the other day that showed we planted potatoes on May 10th last year, and on June 14th they got frost damage on their sprouting leaves. The point being, this is a long game. Just because the weather is good this week, doesn’t mean it’s going to be nice all spring. And because of that, we tend to play the game of averages to reduce risk. We plant the same crops at the same time of year every year, regardless of what the weather is doing. The only time we really deviate from the plan is when it’s too wet, or if a hard freeze is in the forecast. And just for the record, the average “last frost” date for the Flathead Valley is June 10th.

Growing food takes time, and how long varies by what vegetable we’re talking about. Salad mix takes 5 weeks, but carrots take 3 months. Carrots grown outside aren’t typically ready until July. To have them ready in June, we need to seed them in the high tunnels in March when there is still snow! The photo at the top shows where they are at as of today….looking good, but they still have a ways to go.. Depending on how frost sensitive they are, and how many days it takes them to grow to maturity…this is what dictates there “season”. This can be a hard thing for people to understand these days because global supply and increases in hydroponic indoor production has gotten rid of seasonality as a concept, and it has skewed consumers expectations. If you are a CSA member or shop a the markets, it will help to connect to you this place you call home. You will learn what is possible, and what isn’t, and I think that connection to the land is important, and it helps one appreciate each vegetable as it comes into its season.

So whether you are a CSA member, a Farmers Market customer, or you shop at The Farmers’ Stand, I just wanted to give you that update. Maybe a little farm nerdy, but people asked! This week we will have a little bit of spinach and baby bok choi headed to The Farmers’ Stand because it’s ready now, but nothing else is. We don’t have enough produce to attend market yet, nor to begin the CSA program, but that will change quickly here in the next few weeks. So, I’ll be sending out another post next week with an update. Thanks and enjoy the beautiful weather!

Todd