Our heated greenhouse is full of seedlings, and they’re getting big enough that it’s officially time to transition them out to our cold frame greenhouses! We’ve got lettuce (green, red, and Boston), Swiss Chard, spinach, and a variety of herbs that will be making the move. The herbs will be transplanted into pots which will then hang out in the cold frames, while the greens will be transplanted directly into the soil. We will begin the transplant process next week and are hard at work preparing the cold frames this week so that they’re ready to go in time.

Most of these preparations already took place last fall. We removed last season’s landscape fabric, prepared the soil (removed all remnants of last season’s plants and added a dose of fertilizer) formed the soil beds for planting, left spaces for pathways, added rows of trickle tape irrigation tubes, and then laid down new landscape fabric. Gravel stones were placed on top of the landscape fabric along the walking pathways to make for easier movement up and down the rows.

This week we set up the watering system and have begun to run water through the trickle tape to start to rehydrate the soil. We have a handy probe that helps monitor moisture levels. Right now it’s reading 5%, and our goal is 18%, so it’s well on the way!

The greens will be included in our May and June Market Boxes, as well as sent out to some of our farmers’ markets. We can’t wait to have these fresh veggies available again! They will pair nicely with our spring field crops (asparagus, rhubarb, and green garlic) as well as our overwintered vegetables -- cabbage, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. As always, our preserves, baked goods, and merch will also be available as add-ons each week to help round out your grocery delivery.

Blog post written & photographed by Alex Chesney, RD