We are a few days in to the spring season and as what can always be expected to happen, the ground has been blanketed with several inches of snow. I don’t mind that so much because I know that this snow will soon be gone and the promise of warmer weather is right behind it. During the spring thaw and warmer weather, I was able to get to my compost pile and fill the greenhouse with a fresh layer of the “black gold” prepping the ground for the upcoming warmer weather. Over half of the greenhouse goes into tomatoes. That ground will not be needed till the month of June for planting so I seeded that ground with a mixture of oats and field peas to grow as a ground cover priming that area with roots in the ground and jump starting the microbial population. I plan to do what is known as “roller crimping” that cover crop before planting the tomatoes which will lay down the green stems and kill the above ground foliage and create a cover mat to the ground to help preserve moisture and provide the microbes an area that they can thrive and work to search out nutrients which will become available to the tomatoes. The other half of the greenhouse is planted in peas, arugula, lettuce and turnips. They are shorter season crop which I will grow, harvest and then replant with peppers for a later harvest in the season.
Even though the weather outside looks strikingly similar to the previous winter season, I am confident this too will pass and the glorious spring season is ready to gift us with blooming flowers, buzzing bees and hopes for a wonderful summer season.