Spring Rain Giving Our Crops a Much-Needed Boost!

Within days of those severe storms, we had to pull out all the field irrigation equipment.  At first, there is a little extra work to get these machines re-commissioned after their winter break, but using them is fairly straightforward. 

For most areas of the field, we use what we call a ‘Traveller’, which is essentially a giant hose reel.  Our beds are long, so it usually takes about 2 hours for the reel to draw the sprinkler head in across the beds.  We have a lot planted in the field now and are continuing to plant more, so in these conditions, that means everything needs water at the same time!  For the most part, the situation is workable, but it does cause a logistical bottleneck and a serious need to prioritize.

Hot, drought conditions dry plants out, but wind takes it to another level.  Wind is both harsh on newly transplanted crops, but dries established crops out more quickly too.  It can be difficult to set up the Traveller to water exactly what we need to water (with the least amount of waste) in windy conditions, so we’ve been navigating that as well in the last 2 weeks.

Amidst these challenges we’ve been working through with field planting we are especially thankful to have been seeing good harvests come out of the field and early greenhouse crops.  We are really trying to make improvements on our tomato process this year, and so far it seems like it’s making a difference.  The whole greenhouse is looking healthier and less stressed than those crops did last year.  The benefits seem to be spilling out beyond greenhouse tomatoes and we are very excited to see full-sized peppers set.  Just a few more weeks until they’re ripe for the picking!