Before and after: remember the photo on the left (top) from just 3 weeks ago (scroll down if you don’t)? The first organic greenhouse tomatoes (in greenhouse 13) are coming along very nicely.

…And how about the early corn we seeded two weeks ago!

We have been covering fields and irrigating during the early morning hours to protect the crops in the fields from the frost.

Those of you driving by our frozen lower strawberry fields next to Route 5 in the morning have probably wondered, “Why do they irrigate the field and make “plant-cicles”? We spray water on the berry plants to protect them from frost and freezing.

There are three ways that water can transfer heat to protect plants from frost. The first mode is radiation. Water pumped from the pond (river) is warmer than the surrounding air temperature. As the water cools, it transfers energy to the surrounding air, warming it, keeping the temperature around the plants warmer. The second mode is conduction. Conduction is similar to radiation except that, instead of the water radiating its energy to the atmosphere, the energy is transfered directly to the plant. Warmer water spayed on cooler plants creates a temperature gradient between the two. The energy from the warmer water moves to the plant and that increased energy results in an rise in the plant’s temperature. The third and most efficient mode is latent heat. Latent heat is the heat that is either absorbed or given off during the change of water from a liquid to a solid. During this change, 80 cal per gram of water (about 1200 BTUs per gallon) are given off with no change in the water’s temperature (this is due to the decrease in potential energy as the molecules lock into position in the crystal structure of the solid (Miller, 1977)). As water is sprayed onto the plants it freezes, changing phase from liquid to solid and liberating the latent energy which keeps the plants warm!

The greenhouses officially open for the season today and we are all looking forward to a fun, warm, sunny and busy day!

After leaving them to suberize and sprout in the greenhouse for a week, we planted the early poatoes today into the fields. It took the collaborative efforts of Jake, Bill, Charlie (the tractor driver), Mike C., Kristin and Scott to complete the operation over the course of a couple of days.

Addie, Mike M., Mike C., and Kristin transplanted the first lettuces (green leaf, red leaf, boston, red boston, romaine, cocarde) along with baby lettuce mix and arugula into the filed today. The ground is very, very dry and Jake, Mike C. and Bill had to work hard to get the irrigation set up and running to keep the new transplants alive.

Scott, Addie, Mike C. and Kristin all had a hand in seeding our earliest corn these past three days. We seeded into 1 inch cells were the corn will grow in the greenhouse and later hardened off outside to be transplanted into the field. This set of sweet corn should be ready to sell at the stand in early-mid July.

Jake and Scott spent time today cuttting large seed potatoes into smaller pieces and burying them in soil to allow them to suberize (form a waxy waterproof substance in their cell walls where they were cut). These potatoes will be planted next week and each cut piece will form a plant!

Addie, Mike M. and Mike C. worked hard this week to get our first organic greenhouse tomatoes planted in greenhouse #13. It’s an arduous task, digging tenches, supporting the mounds with boards, and then carefully transplanting the tomato plants into the soil.

Addie and Mike M. spent the morning grafting tomato plants to be planted in the second organic tomato greenhouse (#11). We grow two varieties of tomatoes to graft: one with a strong and disease resistant root system, and the other with good flavorful fruits. Once the plants reach a certain size, we carefully graft them together, preserving the good fruiting plant on the strong roots. We use little plastic “clothespins” to hold the grafts until they set.

Scott and Mike spent the afternoon in the sun drenched fields pulling the remay off of the late summer strawberry field and raking (yes, by hand) the straw off of beds that needed it.

These berries are in what we call the lower field, located next to route 5. Several customers drove by and honked their horns hello, and one rode by on her bicycle calling out to inform me (Scott) that she had responded to an email I had sent her earlier today regarding our CSA!

We take the covering off of these berries to let the cooler air get to them to slow them down a bit so they will set fruit later than those that remain under cover.