winter is over

i'm not sure spring is here yet, but winter is definitely over. the front room, where we do all the seed starting, is getting pretty full. seeds have been started for lettuce, hot peppers, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, endive, swiss chard, artichokes and i am probably forgetting a couple things. most seeds need extra heat to germinate, then once they germinate, they are put under lights. the heat mats and lights are on and i will need to set up more lights next week. once the plants get big enough, they are moved to the greenhouse. the first flat (tray of 72 plants), broccoli raab, was moved out to the greenhouse on sunday. it is pretty amazing how quickly some seeds germinate. some seeds take 2 days (!) and some as long as 2 weeks, but most are somewhere inbetween there. it is an exciting time.

the catch about moving flats to the greenhouse is that the greenhouse is still half full with greens we have growing for the winter markets...and we just started more flats for a couple of special events at the end of march. there is going to be some overlap, and with that, i am anticipating a shortage of space (our greenhouse is pretty small). but things will work out. there are still three more months (march, april, may) of winter markets. then we jump right into regular season markets every week. one market starts the beginning of may, one the middle of may and one at the end. when was the 'off' season suppose to happen?!

one of the guys worked up ground in the field this morning for the first outdoor planting - peas. it is wet out there, but hopefully in the next couple of days, we can get the seeds planted. fresh peas are so good...

besides starting seeds inside, i have finally completed the planting plan and schedule for this year. i went over it with the powers that be and got it printed and put in the binder. it's done and there is no going back now. :-) i completed the 'cheatsheets' for various varieties to help us at market. so when someone asks the difference between a brandywine and a green zebra (tomatoes), we can tell them. we cleaned out a lot of stuff in the garage yesterday. it is amazing what can collect in a place that isn't used much. (the garage is where we do all the washing and packing of produce during the regular season.) i have been cleaning plant trays, glass jars and various other things we use during the year. we just don't have time to do so much during the season. we plant, pick, get ready for market and go to market and that is about it. i am trying to get a lot of stuff done now that i know won't get done in a couple of months.

now is also a time for market meetings. most markets have a meeting with the manager(s), vendors and any other important people to the operation in late winter so everyone knows what to expect for the coming market season. i went the oakmont farmers market meeting on sunday and the quarryville growers market meeting is tomorrow evening.

it is definitely a time of transition. still trying to have product to sell at the winter markets, while also making sure we will have product to sell in may. i just hope the greenhouse can hold every thing...