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As the Earth tilts
us ever so gently towards the sun, we welcome the
arrival of spring and longer, warmer days. Sure
signs that spring is finally here are the first
Robin at the birdfeeder, crocus and daffodils bursting
into bloom, and, in our area, the opening of the
Ithaca Farmer’s Market. You might be surprised by
the variety offered at the market this early in
the year, which includes root crops like potatoes
and sunchokes, apples and cider, honey, maple syrup,
eggs, cheese, meat, poultry and bakery items. Those
with a little gardening experience might think it’s
too early for the first fresh veggies of the year,
but they’d be wrong – area farmers are adept at
using early season crop protection methods to bring
fresh herbs and the first greens of spring to an
appreciative public in early April.
Many techniques
and products help farmers bring crops in early,
from cloches and floating row covers to cold frames
and grow tunnels to green houses, both heated and
unheated. On Blue Heron Farm in Lodi, Robin Ostfeld
and Lou Johns start the season by planting early
greens, including arugula, beet greens, chard, kale,
dandelion, mustards, spinach, several kinds of lettuces,
and the herbs dill and chervil, in beds inside their
heated greenhouses and passive-solar heated hoop
houses (growing structures framed by lengths of
PVC pipe or conduit bent in a “hoop�? shape, both
ends planted in the ground, and covered with clear
plastic). The greens share the heated space with
plants in flats on benches, so that the entire area
is used with efficiently.
Blue Heron starts
with picking everything at baby size and mixing
it to make salad mix or mesclun. Some of the greens
will get multiple pickings until they reach bunching
size, then they’ll have bunched kale, chard, dill
etc. to offer customers in addition to the baby
greens. As the greens finish producing, the beds
are covered with straw bales and pallets to make
bench space for more transplants. The hoop house
crop will follow the greenhouse crop, and will be
harvested in the same manner. They also grow some
uncommon perennial vegetables outdoors with no protection,
such as walking onions, which produce nice large
green onions by early May, and watercress, which
grows very quickly in the cool spring and will be
at it’s peak in May.
By using season
extension techniques, Robin and Lou harvest greens
one to two months earlier than if they just planted
these crops outdoors without protection while getting
the most out of their heated green house space,
which does not start the season full of seedling
flats. Planting early greens in the unused space
and timing them for harvest as space is needed for
transplants allows them maximize the efficiency
of the greenhouse and at the same time deliver crops
to customers earlier than would be expected.
Farms like Blue
Heron help make April a wonderful time to begin
a season-long tradition of weekly trips to the farmer’s
market. The reward is fine fresh food for your family,
full of just-picked goodness and nutrition. Remember,
the shorter the time between picking and eating,
the more nutritious your food is likely to be. Buying
directly from the grower is as good for them as
it is for you. They get a larger share of your food
dollar, and that helps them stay economically viable.
Fiscally sound farms stay in business and keep the
countryside we all love green and growing.
Look for this monthly
column for more great information about the benefits
of choosing local foods, the wonderful variety of
products available and how to find them. A Directory
of Local Food Producers is available for free
from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
at 615 Willow Avenue in Ithaca, (607) 272-2292.
Debbie Teeter
is Senior Program Coordinator in the Agriculture
Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins
County. |
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