News from the Big Red Farm, April 28

Some springtime blooms
at the farm

Hello friends,

After the winter that seemed like it wouldn't end, it is finally, definitely spring.  The snow is all gone, the hoophouses are filling up with tiny lettuces and radishes, and I got my annual mild spring sunburn this week when I wore a T-shirt to work without remembering about sunscreen.

As in years past, the profusion of springtime blooms at the farm seems to come out of nowhere.  As temperatures rise, the farm property is transformed from a bleak, brown, and frankly pretty unkempt (our focus is on plants you can eat) tangle of

Any horticulturists out there
know this shrub?

undergrowth to what was once clearly a carefully landscaped garden.  We have daffodils, vinca, forsythia, a hundred million dandelions, and a very fragrant white-blooming shrub that I don't know, as well as the beginning of azaleas, narcissus, and the stunning crabapples.

We are very excited about this season: we have various new projects planned (you'll be hearing more about those in the next few weeks), a wonderful group of students working on our spring farm crew, and several seniors doing projects related to the farm as well.  We're increasing the amount of Big Red Farm
produce going to the school dining halls, and continuing our retail Farm Share program in the school and surrounding community (though with a few changes -- more on that soon too!).

The Class of 2014 Orchard and Perennial Garden weathered the winter beautifully, and the fruit trees are budding out now.  The rhubarb is sending up healthy-looking stalks, as is the asparagus, though we won't be harvesting that until next year.  Raspberries, on the other hand, should be readily available in late summer, and strawberries even sooner, if all goes well!

Things are happening on the annual vegetable side of the farm too.  With the help of our farm crew and the ladies of Carter House, we have peas, potatoes, leeks, and onions in the ground, with lettuce, kale and chard ready to follow suit next week.

All in all, morale is high, and in spite of getting a pretty late start, we think this is going to be a great season, and we're looking forward to sharing it with all of you.  Happy spring!