The Ides of March

The Ides of March or March 15th is a day with ominous undertones.  Things bad happen on this day.  Julius Caesar, for crying out loud, was assassinated on this day.  But on Our Maker's Acres Family Farm, March 15th was just another day.  Nothing bad happened.  In fact, it was a productive day in the garden.  Let's take a look.

This little baker's rack is our greenhouse.  It works for us.  Two shower curtains are wrapped around it tightly and held by binder clips.  When it gets cold, we bring the whole thing inside.  On January 1st we plant a lot of seedlings (tomato, pepper and eggplant) and continue throughout the next couple of months (cucumbers, squash of many varieties, cantaloupe and watermelon).  We keep them watered and once they get their first true leaves, we begin using diluted fish emulsion to spray the leaves for foliar feeding and the soil.  Fish emulsion ferments in the water bottle, turns green, and stinks to high heaven.  Don't get it on you, but get it on your plants.  They love it.

These are about eight or nine varieties of heirloom indeterminate tomatoes and they are ready to be transplanted into the ground.  They are calling out for some more powerful fertilizer as they have a slight yellow tinge in their color.

Here is a tray of Boston pickling cukes, one of three varieties we plant.  We'll transplant these today beneath the trellis.

When I transplant the tomatoes into the garden soil, I use a garden knife to dig a pretty deep hole.  Then I grab a handful of composted chicken litter and toss it at the bottom.  I cover the bottom of the hole with composted wood chips that have turned into a rich topsoil.  The tomato is planted deep - buried up to the lowest leaves, then covered with the excess garden soil and watered in.  In just 3 days you can see the transformation that's taken place.  The yellow tinged leaves have been replaced by dark green healthy leaves.  The roots have reached the fertile soil and are ready to jump up out of the ground.

Believe it or not, after transplanting almost everything in the greenhouse, we also planted sunflower seeds, two rows of okra, two rows of sweet corn and two rows of snap beans.  The garden is about 80 percent planted.  We have warming weather on the horizon and we're optimistic that what's in the ground is healthy and will survive.

Happy Green Thumbs, friends!