Notes From The Field

We’ve had a very mild winter, but even so, on the cold days the best place to be is in the greenhouse, where the farmers go to soak in some Vitamin D and get started on our new seedlings for the season.  The first things to go in at the start of February are onions and scallions, followed by cabbage and kale. Soon the whole greenhouse is full of new baby plants.  By the middle of the season, germination becomes a routine thing as a farmer, something to worry about if it’s not happening, or not quickly enough; otherwise the rush of a midsummer task list drowns it out without acknowledgment. But in the greenhouse, after trudging out through snow where the possibility of new life seems such an impossibility, the first green sprouts are appreciated with all the wonder and awe they deserve.

At the beginning of the work week, Matt and I walk out to the greenhouse and try to guess what will already be up.  The kale, with its two heart shaped cotyledons, pops up quickly, while the beets and spinach take a week.  The parsley trays can lay seemingly barren for two weeks, and lead me to question if I should still water them before I see their delicate leaves poke up.

This year we have a new heating system in the greenhouse: radiant benchtop heat.  Hot water is pumped through tubes that lie flat on the benches, and we place the seedling trays on top of them.  This is much more efficient, because we are focusing the heat right where the plants need it, rather than heating the whole volume of the greenhouse.  Plus it speeds up germination, so the moments of wonder come that much faster.

Outside we have started making beds and planting peas and soon potatoes – good Irish food that gets planted around St. Patrick’s Day.