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Hutten Family Farm Newsletter for Monday Apr 4, 2011

     Well it is now Monday evening and we had a really productive day. We started the day seeding several different vegetables in the greenhouse. After this we transplanted swiss chard into a cold frame that had just been cleaned out. This particular cold frame had a problem with some aphids in it this winter/early spring so we had to hoe out the overwintered Asian greens in it. I chose to plant it with chard because any remaining aphids do not seem attracted to chard the way they like the Asian greens.As it warms up they will go outside and find some other crop to infest.
     This afternoon we planted  and transplanted broccoli, kohlrabi, fennel, arrowhead cabbage, spinach, beets, peas, sno peas, snap peas, and carrots. Some of these plantings were under row cover; others were not. The row cover is used mostly to protect from cold and accelerate plant growth this time of year. It also accelerates weed growth. We use row cover a lot to protect from insect damage throughout the season. Essentially all the radishes, arugula, spring turnips, and most Asian greens that we grow spend their short lives under row cover which we remove every 10-14 days to hand weed. The broccoli plants that we transplanted today will likely produce very small heads of broccoli because it is really to early to put them out and they will shock. The intent of this planting is not to have a successful crop but to plant before other growers and brag about it. I am not a complex person.
     The weather is getting warmer and nicer. I hope you can enjoy some time outside too. Have a good week.
     Ted

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