Root Bottom Farm: Bring on the heat....May Week 2

The heat has arrived! This week felt more like Summer than Spring with daily watering and temperatures in the mid 80s. We set up sprinkler systems and new hoses around the property. This is the exact opposite of last year when the rains just wouldn't stop and we lost so many crops due to rot and flooding. We are also utilizing more of the property this year and all the established perennial crops require a lot more water.

This week we harvested the first strawberries and they were amazing. From here on out, the strawberries will be blowing up and will be ready to bring to market. This upcoming week will be filled with getting all our little plant starts out of the greenhouse and planted in the fields and in the two greenhouses. Let the exponential growth begin.

One of the big projects marked off the list this week was building the second greenhouse. A good friend from Utah randomly showed up just in time to help with building the end walls. Thanks, Dave! This year, the new greenhouse will be planted with some of our 26+ varieties of tomatoes (the rest will be in the field). The other greenhouse will have our cucumbers, eggplants and peppers.

On the flower side of things, the red hot pokers and irises have finally started making an appearance (almost 2 1/2 weeks later than usual!). I love all of the flowers that came with the property that come back every year. The new beds have all been designed and assigned their perennial flowers. 36 types of flowers and 53 varieties. With a 10% failure rate, we are going to be seeding over 700 seeds in the next week! Kathleen and I have started the physical job of creating all of the raised beds around the property. We have to tear up the grass, build the beds (with either creek rock or logs from the property) and prep it for planting. Over the next few weeks, we will concentrate on one bed a week until they are all done. The property is really transforming and will only get prettier over the years as the perennial flowers fill in and share all their beauty. It is a lot of work, but it is so rewarding year after year.