Beulah supervises our first big tree planting. (Had to teach her that it’s not a stick for chewing!)

Spring temperatures are here, and so is the mud! After an unappreciated snowstorm last Friday (no accumulation, thank goodness), we’ve been out transplanting in the fields around the rain this week. So far we have some early greens, peas, and carrots direct seeded, and are plugging away on the onion, leek, scallion, beet, and lettuce transplants. We are incredibly happy to have Rose back with us again this season to help!

One of the strategies we are using this year to let us still plant when it’s so wet is a mix of plastic mulch and re-useable landscape fabric. Laying down the fabric between the beds lets up keep planting without becoming too much of a mud monster.

When it gets too wet, we’ve been barreling ahead in the high tunnel and the greenhouse. We have the ground prepped in the tunnel for the tomatoes, but are waiting two more weeks to plant since the temperatures could drop again.

And in the greenhouse, we’ve long since opened the second mini-tunnel and booted poor Beulah out of her bed in order to fit in all the crops (which have also overflowed across the yard). This week we were potting up all the peppers and eggplants, as well as the fresh herbs for CSA members! New this year are more perennial options (including catnip for all the cat folks!).

Can you believe that this is actually clean for me in April?

Princess Peapod does not approve of losing one of her seven bed spaces on the farm…

Speaking of CSA, there’s just over a month until the veggies begin! We have shares available in small and large sizes still, at all of our sites (Tuesdays in Cicero, Fayetteville, Liverpool, Manlius, and Syracuse; Fridays at the farm; and Saturdays at the Cazenovia Farmers Market). Cicero is a new site, hosted by Crossfit 315, and we are really excited to be bringing our veggies up there!

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Hartwood Farm