What’s been going on!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Just and update to let you know we survived PAX the storm, which by the way I hate that they have decided to name major winter storms, come on it’s just a snow storm people and thankfully we don’t have the Weather Channel so we can hear them drone on about such things.  Hope you all passed the storm pleasantly and without extreme measures.

I did fly back from Texas on Tuesday a bit early to avoid any complications, which lead to less hectic preparations for the impending accumulation of all forms of frozen precipitation.  Our main concern is always the unheated high tunnels.  They can take maybe 6 inches of snow without any worries about collapsing but snow followed by sleet and maybe a half an inch of ice that is a whole ‘nuther thing. 

Like most of our fellow market farmers who have tunnels we did all we could do to prevent such a collapse.  We start with putting 2 X 4 supports under every other hoop to support the extra load.  Then we began at 2:00 to sweep/drag the accumulated snow off the tops of the houses with big push broom heads on long handles.  With two people it takes about half an hour to clean the six houses off.  2 o’clock, 4, 6, another at 9:00 and then for good measure while I was sleeping Betsy went out for a final sweeping at midnight.

In the end we had at least six inches of snow and maybe another 2 inches of sleet but thankfully no ice to speak of.  The result is we once again made it through another big snow event with no losses.  Unfortunately we have heard of at least 5 or 6 tunnels that went down under the weight of ice and snow, there are certainly more in the area.  It is one of the rolls of the dice we all make to try and coax a bit of greenery from the winter ground.  As you buy that winter lettuce at market know that it came at some cost greater than the head of lettuce from California.

We have had a busy January and early February with one more conference to go in a few weeks.  We will not be at market tomorrow but hopefully will begin a return next week.  There are plants backing up in the greenhouse that need to get in the ground and onions come next week, yikes.  All in due time. 

 Picture of the Week

On a beautiful morning, the sliding tunnels thankfully still stand tall