Kale and Brussels sprouts are tucked away under floating row cover (with straw-mulched garlic in the back). This is usually to protect them from flea beetles that can devour the seedlings. This year, unfortunately, it’s also a deterrent to the sudden invasion of groundhogs. Invasion isn’t the right word if we’re talking about numbers, as my best guess is that there are only two doing the damage. Their work, though, is so far somewhat alarming. They have a particular taste for lettuce; they’ve already gone under and through the cover to get a it. But in the last couple of weeks, it seems they’re out to at least sample just about everything. Since last year, and especially this spring, I’ve seen several groundhogs in the general area, which is new and a lot. Last season, there was a little veggie munching, but nothing out of hand. So, to a point, live and let live. This time around, seems like it could get more serious. As far as pests and disease, from year to year, if it’s not one thing, it’s another…
flea beetle
First salad greens of the outdoor season
The season’s first field planting of salad greens, making a brief public appearance from under row cover, where they’re in flea beetle protection – we’re weeding today. Mustards, bok choi, arugula (a brassica relative), mizunas and more. So perfectly tasty, plucked straight from the ground, with a little dirt garnish for good measure…
Greens, protected!
Floating row cover, weighed down and made semi-transparent by water, is all that stands between fine young brassica greens and the scourge of the flea beetle. The cover is placed right after seeding, weighed down by rocks every 12.5′ feet, briefly rolled back for weeding, and progressively loosened as the greens grow—we use 14′ wide sheets on 10′ wide beds. This medium-weight cover has worked as a good all-round solution, offering a few degrees of frost protection, and more durable than a lighter, insect-only weight, which would allow better light transmission (this medium weight one is 85%) and better air circulation, but also be more likely to tear.
In the greenhouse: bok choi vs flea beetle
Everyone loves the greenhouse! The warmth, the wind break…crops, weeds, all plants love it in here. Now it seems flea beetles have acquired the taste as well. For whatever reason, the FBs usually stayed out of the (much smaller) little greenhouse, but here in the new big house—munch, munch, munch—bok choi is under attack. Hoped for a free pass on FBs in here as well, instead, it’s row cover. Learning as we go…
Working around steel
Exactly where it was delivered last fall, the steel for the new hoophouse is kinda in the way, so we’re working around it (it doesn’t look like much in the pic, but it will expand into 30’x108’x16’H of plastic-covered year-round field protection). Beds of brassica greens are already in and protected by row cover from flea beetle attack. Lisa preps beds for more. Spring direct seeding proceeds…
Early share
This week’s harvest basket, still greens, mainly: young curly and flat leaf kale, baby bok choi (autographed by a few flea beetles that made it under the cover), our Zippy Mix (today’s version, mustards as always, with mizuna and some baby Chinese cabbage), 4-lettuce mix (out of sight), plus garlic scapes and baby zucchini. Pretty simple. Not bad… We’re not doing CSA this year, but we do have a handful of share commitments!
Beautiful bok choi
Friday harvest. Each week, there’s usually one crop that kinda catches my eye: a perfect first cut of baby lettuce, lush green onions with straight white stems, or today’s chunky, crunchy bok choi (aka bok choy, pak choi). The variety here is Joi Choi, it’s worked out well over several seasons, slow to bolt, willing to roll with varying amounts of rain. This batch caught good conditions, with lots of sun and weekly rain. The stems are thick and crisp, and the leaves startlingly flea beetle unbitten, thanks to row cover and to the FBs dying down for the year. With minimal help…things worked out for these guys! Nice.