More cold temperatures..

Temperatures have been very cold this week.  Several nights in a row of single digit temperature at night.  Broke down and put a little propane tank heater in the hoop house.  It doesn’t do much, but hopefully just enough to make a difference.  I don’t want to disturb the frost cloth in the tunnels but I peeked and think the beautiful small crowns of lisianthus are ok.  Will be starting to put down the cover crop in the areas of heavy equipment compaction as soon as soil temp hits 40.  Will give the field peas and oats a two week head start and then add in the oil radish to really get to work on the compaction.  I am going to invest in a $400 Jang push seeder to help reduce the amount of seed we lose with broadcast seeding.  It will make all our other direct seeded crops more accurate as well and with seed getting ever more expensive (as well as labor cost in thinning), I think it will pay for itself within 3 years of use. 

We have all the cold frames set up now as we don’t expect any more significant snow.  Moved the sweetpeas in to clear more space in the greenhouse and begin preparing them for planting out into low tunnels.  They are going to be a little grumpy about the cold but they are incredibly tough.  I will layer some rigid foam panels on top for the first night or two so they can adjust.  

Realizing that in pushing so hard to extend the season we are causing a bit of undue stress.   I am already making adjustments in next year's calendar to make sure we use species that are more hardy.  So much of the advice I’ve amassed is from growers in slightly different climates - even those within zone 6B.  It is so important to gather the data for one’s own microclimate to most accurately schedule seeding and planting dates.  There is so much surprise with Mother Nature it is important to keep my focus on the variables I can control to help improve the odds.

With the new construction completed above, what used to be my perfect germination room is now too air tight, and I’m having a great deal of trouble keeping the humidity and temperature levels down where the cool season crops prefer it.  I’ve corralled Reese into installing a six inch humidity controlled fan which should resolve the issue. Despite the humidity it is so nice to have a brightly lit, warm space to work when seeding.  A vast improvement over our makeshift plastic tent last year!