FARM NEWS
A nice storm finished this week. The wind moved in and blew most of the clouds away, leaving a few huge, puffy clouds in a clear sky. The green grass on the hills is glowing. My default thought of the hills is to think of them as the yellow of dry grass – this leads me to always think that something looks strange when the hills are green.With the post-storm sunshine comes a flurry of activity. The hawks are out in force, capitalizing on the rodents that are out enjoying the sun. Our crews will resume the pruning of the grapes and peaches. The songbirds are singing as they bustle around doing whatever it is that they do. I hesitate to say it, but it almost feels like spring.
Many of our fields lie fallow, waiting for the warmth of spring before summer crops of tomatoes, squashes, melons and peppers will be sown into them. Spring crops are unique because they have endured the cold winter and are in a situation to grow and quickly give fruit at the first hint of warmth.
The strawberry plants were sown in the ground last fall. They used the end of the summer’s energy to get their roots established. When the cold winter fell upon them they hunkered down, staying alive but not growing through the winter. During the winter, the field crews completed two passes with the hoe, cleaning the weeds from the field, but leaving the strawberries in the field. With the first warmth, the strawberry plants will quickly yield white flowers and sweet red berries to follow.
Our spring is just around the corner — don’t be tempted by the false advertisement of spring located in retail stores and rest assured that your box will deliver true seasons in their best form.
