The Learning Curve

At the end of a busy growing season my mind often looks forward to the winter as a time of quiet rest. But here I am in early March sitting at my desk tucked under the eaves surrounded by seed catalogs, reference books and stacks of papers with drafts of business cards, labels and stationery designs - all of which need my attention. Quiet rest... I don't think so.
This has been such a busy week! On Monday I attended a workshop at Canticle Farm in nearby Allegany, N.Y., sponsored by N.Y. State Cooperative Extension.

This photo was taken inside an unheated high tunnel when the outside temperature the night before had dropped to 19 degrees. The blue pipes and wires are supports for a floating row cover system that provides extra protection for the crops that were planted in the fall after the summer harvest. The farm sells these fresh greens (Swiss Chard, baby lettuces, spinach, kale and Asian greens) every two weeks at a winter sale at the farm. The greens had been harvested the day before this picture was taken.
Thank you to Netra Baker of Card Creek Trading Post for thinking of me when she heard of this workshop!
Because we erected our high tunnel at the end of 2011, it's a blank page awaiting our attention and this kind of growing is all new to us. Mark Printz, who is the farm manager at Canticle Farm,was kind enough to take us on a personal tour yesterday so Arthur could also see their system and I was amazed at how quickly the greens had grown since their harvest earlier in this week.
We also visited Quest Farm in Almond, N.Y. Here Bridget and Dennis Reynolds operate a seasonal farm market where they sell vegetables and fruits they grow on their own farm in additional to selling produce from other local growers. We met them last year when we purchased Vermont Compost Potting Soil from them and this year they are growing some of our vegetable starts for us. (If you're looking for organic vegetable starts, give them a call soon!) They are always so gracious and yesterday took time from their busy day to show us their high tunnel.
This morning Arthur is busy at work with pencil and paper planning schemes for the beds and systems we will use in our  high tunnel this spring. I will leave you with a photograph of the fresh greens that were harvested fresh for local sale right here in the northeast.

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