This past week the temperatures dropped below freezing a few nights. When the forecast is looking "dangerous" we have to take some extra precautions. This is greenhouse #4, the greenhouse with all of the precious tomatoes, basil plants, and seedling starts. To pull them through the cold nights we go out and cover every row with "row covers" (also know as agricultural fabric). Sometimes we even have to "double cover" the rows with two sheets of cloth. The bumps down the rows are wire hoops to keep the fabric up off the plants a bit. We did this same process with the French fillet beans and cucumbers growing in greenhouse #2.
In my last entry I showed you a picture of our rainy harvest day. It's a good thing we got all the food ready the day before deliveries, even if the weather was cold and wet, because the next day was even worse. On Thursday, June 7th it snowed and snowed. I think it finally quite around 12 noon but left a good 2 inches of snow on the ground at our place. This view is looking out over field #1 where we've planted the salad mix, spinach, and peas. Most everything you see is covered again in row covers, to keep out bugs, increase growth rates and prevent much damage from the cold. I was worried the weight of the snow would knock over all the wire hoops but by 4 pm the snow had melted. Unfortunately, there wasn't much work we could do for the next two days due to the very saturated muddy ground.
We used up our share of boc choi a few nights ago by making a batch of egg rolls from the recipe on this website. They are so simple to make and my family loves them! We each have our own favorite toppings, mine is chevre goat cheese mixed with this sweet hot mustard. My son likes ketchup (he's only 7). Boc choi is only available during these first weeks of the season as the flea beetles really like to eat them too. (Flea beetles thrive in the heat which makes it difficult to grown Asian greens beyond the cooler Spring weather.) When it's cooked up this way you would never know there were little holes in the leaves.
This picture isn't farm related, but can you blame a mother for taking every opportunity to brag about her daughter's accomplishments? This is our 14 year old daughter Megan. On Saturday, June 9th she was in a local talent show. She played a medley of Irish fiddle tunes and won first place in the 14-18 year old age division. There were about 12 entries in her group and the competition was high. We are very so happy for her!
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