Hard to imagine a groundhog poking its head out of the ground this time of year, at least not in Vermont! That said, it has been a relatively easy winter, and perfect for snow sports enthusiasts and photographers. Not too cold, but cool enough to keep a long lasting snow cover. We have been enjoying cross country skiing in our woods and fields with our canine companions. And seeing lots of wildlife: within the last two weeks, we have seen an owl, bald eagle, coyotes, beaver, turkeys, and even an ermine at our window! (But no woodchucks:)
Despite the winter temps, things are heating up here at Cate Farm. Flint and Richard have been finishing some building projects in the barn, packhouse and shop, and are now focused on starting seedlings. We’ve expanded production to one of our four 1000 watt grow lights on the shop’s heated slab floor. We’ll grow indoors until we fire up our first greenhouse mid March. The increasing daylength is noticeable, and much appreciated by humans and plants alike. Soon, the days will be long enough to trigger growth in overwintered greens in our unheated greenhouse. And Sally just picked fresh escarole overwintered in another unheated greenhouse! Yum!
Thinking of this year’s garden? Check out our website, and browse the many varieties to plan your garden. Ordering will begin May 1st, for curbside pick up May 8th and 9th. Online seedling sales will continue through June, and we hope to have our traditional in-person plant sales Saturdays May 15, 22, 29 and June 5, if pandemic conditions allow. Click here for more info.
All the best from the team at Cate Farm.