We want to start by saying a big THANK YOU to everyone that came out and supported us last week. Thank you to those that helped make the Open House & Plant Sale a success, to those that attended and purchased plants, and to those that placed the first online orders of the year. It was a wonderful way to kick start the season!
After such a big week, it's time to refocus on the long list of farm tasks ahead. We have so many plants ready to be transplanted in the high tunnels and many more in need of bigger pots! The first lettuces and greens are almost ready for harvest and we need to start getting everything ready for the 1st Farmer's Market of the season.
We will be attending the Grand Rapids Farmer's Market this coming
Saturday, May 14th from 8-1pm.
We hope to have some lettuce ready to sell and will load the trailer up full of plants if the weather looks fair!
We've updated inventory on the website, and ordering will be open until tomorrow evening, Tuesday, at 6:00pm. Our weekly pick up day for plants, veggies, eggs, and flowers will now be on Wednesdays from 11-2pm for the 2022 season. If you have a pick up time conflict during that window, please reach out to us by email and we will try to accommodate.
We've added the first cucumber, winter squash, pumpkin, and zucchini plants available for ordering on the website. This first batch of plants has limited quantities, but we hope to seed another batch and should have plenty more in the coming weeks.
We also added more flower varieties to choose from now that they've sized up a bit more.
We are also having a Gallon Tomato Sale this week! 2 for $25.00
These plants have been growing like crazy (they are already 3 feet tall!) and are ready to find new homes. These tomatoes would be perfect to plant into a large patio pot and allow you to get a jump start on your tomato harvest this season. You could plant them now and bring them inside and out for a couple weeks while the temperatures regulate. You would start having ripe tomatoes almost a month earlier than anything that would be planted outside in the garden. Who wouldn't love that?!
Speaking of bringing plants inside and out...for those of you who have already purchased plants, or will in the next couple of weeks, it is important to put your new plants through a "hardening on" process. Our plants have lived their entire lives in the warmth and comfort of a greenhouse. They need to be given some time to acclimate to the cooler temperatures and variable weather. Start by putting your plants outside in the shade on warm weather days, and bring them inside in the evening when the temperatures start to drop. Do this for at least a few days, leaving them out longer each time. Then begin to introduce them to the sun, avoiding the hottest hours of the day so their leaves don't burn. This is especially important this year after the cloudy spring we have had. After about a week, your plants should be ready to plant!
Warm weather crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and cucumbers want to be nice and toasty, so make sure the long term forecast looks favorable before planting. They prefer soil temps to be at least 55 degrees. Other crops like broccoli, kale, chard, kohlrabi, cauliflower, celery, cabbage, and onions are much more cold tolerant and can be planted much sooner.
We are happy to answer any questions you might have, so send us an email, or swing by market to have a chat!
Happy Planting!
-Bryn & Wil