December 30, 2015

Good morning, since Friday is New Years day, there will not be any deliveries. Fortunately January the 8^th everything will be back to normal. Please place orders to be picked up on Saturday by 10 AM this Thursday.

It sure does feel like De Ja Vue all over again. The weather is nice and lovely (save for Thanksgiving) , then Christmas and New Years comes then winter comes with a vengeance. This is a good recipe for slower veggie growth. This will affect the greens the most because they need to grow enough each week to be harvested. Cloudy weather and cold really slows them down.

It goes with out saying my eyes are always on the weather forecasts and the garden was well tucked in for the Christmas weekend event. Looking ahead there is another weather event forecast for the first weekend in January. It too is predicted to be snow or maybe rain.

Due to all the warm weather of late my greenhouse beds had some nice heat storage. Even though the low on Sunday was 22 the greenhouse beds were in the forties while the fabric bed was near freezing.

Because there was no sun on Sunday the greenhouse beds”fed” off the stored heat and their low temps drifted down to the mid to upper 30's for Sundays over night low. The fabric bed low was near freezing.

Monday was sunny with a stiff breeze, so I did uncover the greenhouse film and got some nice heating. Even though the outside high was 36 the greenhouses got up to 70.

Due to no snow cover on the greenhouses, the overnight lows in the greenhouses was in the mid 30's. Tuesday's outside high was 50 and I removed the fabric over the film. The greenhouse's soared to 80 degrees. Wednesdays lows in the greenhouse's was the upper 30's so it looks like I am regaining some of my lot heat.

Wednesday is predicted to be 60, so I think I will leave the fabric in place so that the greenhouses do not get over heated.

I am curious as to what my harvest quantities will be when I harvest later this morning.

The long range forecast predicts weather events revolving with sunny days in between. If this is what happens I am optimistic about maintaining greens growth.

There is a very strange critter in the Asian green bed and some in the spinach. I thought it was a caterpillar and used some of my pyrethrum spray on the Asian greens and Spinach. Well I did get rid of the Aphids but the skylights in the greens remain. I did see some callusing of the holes but it seems the predation is increasing. I would love to use cold pressed neem but at the present day time temps it would just jell in the sprayer. This is as puzzling as the little dirt colored caterpillars that “clearcut” my seedlings last winter. With frustration I used Bt on them and the problem was resolved. The damage this year reminds me of caterpillars or small beetles. Other than aphids, a couple of caterpillars and a few stray cucumber beetles I can not figure what is doing the munching. There is no mulch for the critters to hide, so maybe they seek cover in the soil and come out at night. As cold as it has been at night lately, I dare not uncover and watch. Like with the dirt catepillars last year I think I am going to do a soil drench with Bt. Oh how I hate driving with my eyes closed!!