We hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful Spring weather.
We are very thankful for the rain that we received this week. Our soil is a sandy loam and was feeling the unseasonably rare March drought. As we are still in the time of year where there will be plenty more frost, it is a while yet before we will install our drip irrigation. We got out Monday evening and gave all of the garlic beds a little drink to help keep them happy. There is an old-time farmer wisdom that says that if you water, it will rain, and if you don’t it might not!
The garlic crop is sending up green shoots in all beds, which is reassuring and is a sign of great things to come. In Michigan, garlic is a bulb that is planted in October or November; it sits in the earth and slowly grows roots throughout the winter, with the main harvest being in July. After about 5 months of sitting below soil level, it is exciting to see the garlic growing.
We are also seeing the daffodils growing and should be seeing flowers forming sooner than later. The asparagus plants (another harbinger of Spring) are still not sending up spears – which is normal for our area and totally okay because they don’t like freezes either.
This time of year is when the spring field prep is beginning. We are preparing a spot for planting a pollinator garden for the butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects – that will have dozens of beautiful flowering plant varieties in it. We are also putting in a good selection of native plants and wildflowers scattered around the farm.
Soon we will be digging the trenches for potato planting, getting beds ready for onion planting, and then planting crops like Kale and Collards. We are expanding our asparagus plantings this year, we got those trenches ready last season and will be putting in the asparagus crowns in early May.
Warm Regards,
Adam and the Country Valley Farm Team