Trellising Peas and Transplanting Tomatoes
March 3rd, 2021
Spring preparation is in full swing on the farm. Our snap peas have been swiftly growing since the freeze so we added a trellis system for them this week. Snap peas have a vining habit so they do best with a support structure like a trellis. As the snap peas grow, they begin to produce specialized leaves called tendrils. These tendrils are able to coil once they come into contact with a solid object like the netting on our trellis. If you look at the photo above, you’ll be able to see the first tendrils already beginning to wrap around the trellis! Training our peas to grow up the trellis will help to prevent disease from lack of air circulation and it will make it much easier when it comes time to harvest.
Tomato transplanting continued this week and like our peas, we’re incorporating a trellis system to provide support as they grow. We’re aiming to be more intentional with our growing space this year so we’ll be regularly pruning our tomatoes in order to allow us the room to interplant low growing vegetables in the beds with them. As the tomatoes grow, they will create shade that crops like lettuce and carrots will benefit from as the temperatures begin to rise. This allows us the ability to maximize our growing space while also increasing our crop diversity.
We’ve been focused on planting several quicker growing crops since the freeze in order to make up for our losses. In the field we’ve planted crops like spinach, arugula, and Hakurei turnips. In the greenhouse, we’ve been experimenting with sunflower and cress microgreens. Microgreens are young vegetable greens that are harvested when they are between one and three inches tall. They have a much more concentrated flavor than their mature counterparts and are often denser in nutrient content. We’ll have our sunflower microgreens available at the farm stand this Saturday for you to try! Sunflower microgreens can be used in salads or sandwiches and as a garnish for tacos or soups.
