While the weather in March may come in like a Lion and out like a Lamb, our workload is just the opposite. We start the month off with a manageable To-Do list, but by month’s end farm work seems ever expanding! Seedlings that are growing under lights in the shop will be moved to a heated greenhouse, early tomatoes grafted onto vigorous rootstock will be planted in another heated greenhouse later in March, and we’ll prep and seed greens in an unheated greenhouse for early bunches of beets, cilantro, dill, arugula and mizuna (Yum!). By month’s end, most of the eight greenhouses will be filled with greens, tomatoes and benches of seedlings, and then we are off to the races!
We have our fingers crossed that our in-person Seedling Sales will happen as planned for Saturdays May 8, 15, 22, 29, and June 5. Our website Homepage will post the latest news and developments as we get closer to May. We’ll also sell seedlings ONLINE for curbside pickup, from May 1 through early June, whether in-person sales happen or not. Browse our plant selection now and plan out your garden- Spring weather will be upon us soon enough! And rest assured that everything we sell is always organic and always our own, and started from seed here at Cate Farm in East Montpelier, VT.
Other news: the used soil blocker we bought arrived from the Netherlands and Flint and Richard are dialing it in. We can now make container-less blocks of soil to see which types of seedlings work best for our customers. Check out this short video, and info from Johnny’s Seeds about soil blocks. Our fiber pot trials were a success, and we’ve opted for Fertil pots from France, made only from wood fibers, as opposed to a mix of peat which is a limited resource. Our move away from plastic use in seedling production is happening, slowly but surely.
Enjoy the longer days of sunlight, and Think Spring!
