Kinsman Farm

Dew on the grass has lately seemed more like flood on the grass. We have had many rainy and cloudy days this month. And of course cool days. I am thankful for our high tunnels and low tunnels. This last November we tried something new with low tunnels.

I had read of someone who sowed cold tolerant crops in mid-November 2010 just before the ground froze and covered the rows with wires and plastic, securing the edges until the ground froze. In effect, we created mini low tunnels. The idea was to see how early germination would take place in the Spring.

When the ground finally thawed the first week of March 2011, we peeked under the covers and were delighted to find that onions, broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage had sprouted and were about two inches tall! Red beets and Swiss chard began to sprout the first week of April.

I found it very exciting to see that I could sow garden in November when it was DRY and have it germinate even when it was so wet that I sink into the soil two inches when I try to check under the covers. This fall we will sow even more for next Spring’s bounty since we have discovered it really does work. It turned out to be a very “happy” experiment!