Springtime Madness: Lovin' It

Reader Contribution by Sherry Leverich Tucker
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If you are a farmer, getting sick this time of year can really put you behind! There is always so much to do when the weather starts to warm. There are gardens to till, planting to do, babies being born, maintenance and clean-up. I ended up with a dreary cold that spiraled into bronchitis and sinusitis that landed me on my butt for a week. I don’t know about you, but I already feel behind!

It has been an early spring for most of us. The weather has warmed to the point that trees and shrubs are growing and leafing out a month ahead of usual. Spring has sprung at a pace that can leave us all scrambling to keep up! Potatoes need to be going in the ground, as well as the hundreds of sweet onions. Sweet onions and potatoes are produce that, as market growers, my mom and I love harvesting because they sell consistently all summer. Onions are also a plus because they can be used in so many canning recipes from pickles to salsa to spaghetti sauce. If cured and stored properly, sweet onions and potatoes should last into fall.

I am really excited about my shallots and garlic that were planted last fall. They are up and growing healithly. I think I’m going to have the largest shallot crop ever. I am also growing a grey shallot, which is a smaller shallot that the French prefer for the shallot’s delightful taste. I am excited to try this new variety.

The broccoli that I grew in the hoophouse last fall is sending up shoots like crazy. It has been so tasty and dark green. All of the winter hoophouse greens have been very successful. I have been surprised and impressed with how easy it has been to grow cold hardy vegetables in that environment. Now that the weather is warming I am discing in the winter plants and moving on to summer ones. The tomatoes are growing rapidly, and I have cucumbers and peppers ready to move into their hoophouse home. I am still learning about this new “tool” of mine, and look forward to going through an entire summer with the hoophouse. So far the only irritation I have had with the hoophouse environment is the proliferation of aphids! They love the warm, humid setting. I will continue to zap them with fierce water sprays and will try to find some treefrogs to add to the “terrarium”. I may have to move to spraying soapy water if it gets worse.

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