there isn't anything sweet about bittersweet. this photo of our house was taken in the early fall of 2006 before we purchased the elmer farm from the vermont land trust. as you can see, the front of the house is strangled by bittersweet. apparently, there is a variety of bittersweet that is harvested and used to make beautiful wreaths that has showy red berries. the variety we have is just plain obnoxious. the first project i did at the elmer farm was cut all of this back. instantly, the house could breath. i was 7 months pregnant at the time. last fall, i cut it all back again and dug down 6 inches in the entire area the bittersweet was growing and ripped out every piece of root i could get my hands on. then, i put down a thick layer of cardboard and raked all of our front lawn leaves onto the cardboard in hopes of smothering it. i haven't seen a sign of it yet but i know it will find its way to the light of day. then what? my plan was just to keep smothering the best i can with mulch. any other thoughts???
today i potted up parsley and i found some damping off which was a bummer. i still got a hundred healthy plants out of the sowing. i was hoping to have more plants to pot up and sell at the farmers market. i could still seed more but parsley takes a long time to germinate and then it wouldn't be ready for a few weeks after the market starts which might be fine.
this week i am moving onions, scallions, lettuce, chard, broccoli, cabbage and kale to a more exposed spot to harden off. a taste of the outdoors, more direct sun, a little wind, cooler nights. we don't have a set up for this so we'll probably put something together with hoops, pallets and some row cover (for evenings). a few days of this then off to the field. i have seen great set ups for cold frames at other farms. i really like how this was done at crossroads farm. wish i had made notes or took some photos from my visit last year.
i am seeding most crops with farmers market and our wholesale accounts in mind. some of the crops i have seeded are for dried flowers to make into wreaths, herbs for salves & tea, hot peppers for pickling and perennials for around our house. i might be taking on too much but it is hard to hold back in the greenhouse this time of year. it is so easy to keep sowing all these little packets of seed.
the weather is predicted to be sunny and in the 60's and 70's all week. really i think this is fabulous. it will help dry out the fields and give the growing season a little boost. i don't want to be ungrateful but why rush it... i would be over joyed with a few weeks 45 - 55 degree weather. i have a hard time acclimating. i never never never complain about cold, snowy, rainy, gray weather. i often complain about hot, sunny, humid weather. what is wrong with me?
this week i am moving onions, scallions, lettuce, chard, broccoli, cabbage and kale to a more exposed spot to harden off. a taste of the outdoors, more direct sun, a little wind, cooler nights. we don't have a set up for this so we'll probably put something together with hoops, pallets and some row cover (for evenings). a few days of this then off to the field. i have seen great set ups for cold frames at other farms. i really like how this was done at crossroads farm. wish i had made notes or took some photos from my visit last year.
i am seeding most crops with farmers market and our wholesale accounts in mind. some of the crops i have seeded are for dried flowers to make into wreaths, herbs for salves & tea, hot peppers for pickling and perennials for around our house. i might be taking on too much but it is hard to hold back in the greenhouse this time of year. it is so easy to keep sowing all these little packets of seed.
the weather is predicted to be sunny and in the 60's and 70's all week. really i think this is fabulous. it will help dry out the fields and give the growing season a little boost. i don't want to be ungrateful but why rush it... i would be over joyed with a few weeks 45 - 55 degree weather. i have a hard time acclimating. i never never never complain about cold, snowy, rainy, gray weather. i often complain about hot, sunny, humid weather. what is wrong with me?
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