Walkers Fresh Veggies
Fresh naturally grown veggies produced for you, provided weekly for CSA memebers.
(Paw Paw, Michigan)
07 Apr Thu 2011
Walkers Fresh Veggies April, News
Hello Everyone !
Thursday, April 7, 2011
There is currently a small break in the action in the greenhouses, so I thought I would take a moment to get this months newsletter started. I am working alone this year in the greenhouses, Carolyn has taken a temporary job working in a commercial greenhouse to earn some extra money for herself, and learn new things about greenhouse growing. So far the job is going well for her. Last year I had hired some help for the transplanting, but this year opted to do it all myself (weather is to cold and wet for field work yet anyway) and I thought I'd save some money. It goes well with me too, and I find with a few short cuts and tricks learned this year I am able to make it OK without any help. So far I've seeded and subsequently transplanted the following numbers of plants:
Sweet onions about 12000
Early Tomatoes 5200 enough for 1 acre in the field
Bell Peppers 7000
Hot and specialty peppers 1000
Basil about 500
Broccoli & Cabbage 3700
Have about 1500 eggplant to transplant and another 1200 tomatoes to transplant -- these are not big enough yet.
Seeded 38 flats of early sweet corn (10,000 seeds) enough for 1/2 acre
Seeded 2 seed flats of spinach, 1 seed flat of romaine lettuce, 1 seed flat of okra & 1 seed flat of zinnias.
We still have 12 x 20 foot of space left in the back greenhouse -- this is not heated.
This year we are trying sweet corn started in the greenhouse to set out in the field for an early crop -- this is the first time I have every tried this and hope we can have some early sweet corn by July 4 th.
It has been very challenging keeping the greenhouses warm enough this year. I have never seen it so cold for so long. I have had to run a 3/4 inch buried gas line from our big LP Tank back 150 feet to the back greenhouse and buy a new LP Gas blue flame heater to keep it warm enough in there. Even with that I needed to partition off the back 1/3 of the greenhouse in order to have enough heat for the front 2/3 to keep it warm enough. We have used more than double the amount of LP Gas as last year and we are not through yet.
Last year we planted potatoes the second week of April and the first planting of sweet corn and green beans went in on
April 23ed. This year we have not even begun plowing the fields yet. I think if we get the potatoes in April we will be doing well. The onions will wait until May and the first sweet corn and beans and the early tomatoes will wait for May as well. The second tomatoes and peppers and eggplant will wait until the 15 th or 20th of May to go into the fields. It appears to be a cold year (or cool year) this year.
I still have Yukon Gold potatoes to sort and bag, and repairs to make on the plow. Should have time for these jobs now that the plants are under control (they come first).
Membership is going well so far -- many thanks to a few very helpful members that have spread the word well -- the very best way to grow is by the recommendation of a past or current member, and friends and neighbors. I want those of you who have helped with this to know that I really do appreciate your good support, and will not forget the help you have given. We are currently at 75 paid subscribers with another 5 or so people that have verbally committed that have not as yet sent in their check. We have "room" for a little over 100 members and will continue to take new members for the month of April.
Only 77 more days until our first distribution day -- I know that may seem long for those of you patiently waiting for those first fresh veggies -- but it sure seems a short time to me, with nothing in the ground yet. Do not worry though, there are many veggies that take less than 60 days of growing time to be ready. I am planning for the following to be in the first box:
Sugar snap peas
Broccoli
green bunching onions
spinach greens
lettuce
maybe - new red potatoes
We need to plant red potatoes and sugar snap peas and green onions towards the end of next week for this to happen. The spinach and lettuce are seeded in the greenhouse, so we are OK there. The broccoli is already 3 inches tall and will be ready to plant in the field by May 1st.
Green Beans will likely have to start in the second distribution week June 30 th -- I don't see for now how they can make it by June 23 ed this year.
Please keep up the good work spreading the word about Walker's Fresh Veggies CSA -- we appreciate it very much, and are looking forward to a very good year ( I find that often the cooler years end up being the best -- a very hot year like the last one is not always so good).
Your Veggigrowers,
Mark & Carolyn Walker
Thursday, April 7, 2011
There is currently a small break in the action in the greenhouses, so I thought I would take a moment to get this months newsletter started. I am working alone this year in the greenhouses, Carolyn has taken a temporary job working in a commercial greenhouse to earn some extra money for herself, and learn new things about greenhouse growing. So far the job is going well for her. Last year I had hired some help for the transplanting, but this year opted to do it all myself (weather is to cold and wet for field work yet anyway) and I thought I'd save some money. It goes well with me too, and I find with a few short cuts and tricks learned this year I am able to make it OK without any help. So far I've seeded and subsequently transplanted the following numbers of plants:
Sweet onions about 12000
Early Tomatoes 5200 enough for 1 acre in the field
Bell Peppers 7000
Hot and specialty peppers 1000
Basil about 500
Broccoli & Cabbage 3700
Have about 1500 eggplant to transplant and another 1200 tomatoes to transplant -- these are not big enough yet.
Seeded 38 flats of early sweet corn (10,000 seeds) enough for 1/2 acre
Seeded 2 seed flats of spinach, 1 seed flat of romaine lettuce, 1 seed flat of okra & 1 seed flat of zinnias.
We still have 12 x 20 foot of space left in the back greenhouse -- this is not heated.
This year we are trying sweet corn started in the greenhouse to set out in the field for an early crop -- this is the first time I have every tried this and hope we can have some early sweet corn by July 4 th.
It has been very challenging keeping the greenhouses warm enough this year. I have never seen it so cold for so long. I have had to run a 3/4 inch buried gas line from our big LP Tank back 150 feet to the back greenhouse and buy a new LP Gas blue flame heater to keep it warm enough in there. Even with that I needed to partition off the back 1/3 of the greenhouse in order to have enough heat for the front 2/3 to keep it warm enough. We have used more than double the amount of LP Gas as last year and we are not through yet.
Last year we planted potatoes the second week of April and the first planting of sweet corn and green beans went in on
April 23ed. This year we have not even begun plowing the fields yet. I think if we get the potatoes in April we will be doing well. The onions will wait until May and the first sweet corn and beans and the early tomatoes will wait for May as well. The second tomatoes and peppers and eggplant will wait until the 15 th or 20th of May to go into the fields. It appears to be a cold year (or cool year) this year.
I still have Yukon Gold potatoes to sort and bag, and repairs to make on the plow. Should have time for these jobs now that the plants are under control (they come first).
Membership is going well so far -- many thanks to a few very helpful members that have spread the word well -- the very best way to grow is by the recommendation of a past or current member, and friends and neighbors. I want those of you who have helped with this to know that I really do appreciate your good support, and will not forget the help you have given. We are currently at 75 paid subscribers with another 5 or so people that have verbally committed that have not as yet sent in their check. We have "room" for a little over 100 members and will continue to take new members for the month of April.
Only 77 more days until our first distribution day -- I know that may seem long for those of you patiently waiting for those first fresh veggies -- but it sure seems a short time to me, with nothing in the ground yet. Do not worry though, there are many veggies that take less than 60 days of growing time to be ready. I am planning for the following to be in the first box:
Sugar snap peas
Broccoli
green bunching onions
spinach greens
lettuce
maybe - new red potatoes
We need to plant red potatoes and sugar snap peas and green onions towards the end of next week for this to happen. The spinach and lettuce are seeded in the greenhouse, so we are OK there. The broccoli is already 3 inches tall and will be ready to plant in the field by May 1st.
Green Beans will likely have to start in the second distribution week June 30 th -- I don't see for now how they can make it by June 23 ed this year.
Please keep up the good work spreading the word about Walker's Fresh Veggies CSA -- we appreciate it very much, and are looking forward to a very good year ( I find that often the cooler years end up being the best -- a very hot year like the last one is not always so good).
Your Veggigrowers,
Mark & Carolyn Walker
Mark & Carolyn
11:44 AM EDT