Atlas Farm Newsletter

Winter is having a last hurrah (chance of snow!?) but it still feels like summer in the greenhouses! The humid scent of green growing things, the sound of rain pattering on the plastic, and the simple satisfaction of watching crops come to fruition — there's nothing else like it.

Checking on the baby cucumbers this morning, I came across a couple BIG ones hiding in the foliage. Holy moly! The rest of the crop has some catching up to do, but it won't be long before we're harvesting. Want to be among the first to know when greenhouse cucumbers arrive at the Farm Store? Find us on social media — Facebook or Instagram — and give us a follow!

The greenhouse tomatoes are putting on lush leaves and robust flower clusters. To ensure pollination — and thus tomatoes — we have introduced bumblebees to the greenhouses. We use mail-order hives that contain Bombus impatiens, the common eastern bumblebee (a native species). These buzzybodies can visit flowers twice as fast as honeybees, and will fill in for local pollinators while the greenhouses are closed up against the spring chill.

Speaking of spring chill, consider this a gentle reminder to cover your gardens tonight if you are growing anything that is susceptible to frost damage. That said, most cool-weather starts will tolerate temperatures in the mid-thirties — and even a short-lived coating of snow — so don't panic if you've planted more than you can cover. Atlas Farm has a couple successions of lettuce and greens in the ground now and we're expecting them to do just fine.

Seasonable weather will be back in a couple days, which means that now is a great time to shop for plant starts. Brave the drizzle today and be prepared to get planting when the sun returns! The Atlas Farm Store is stocked up on cool-weather veggie varieties from our own certified organic greenhouse, as well as organic herbs and flowers from Couch Brook Farm (Bernardston, MA). Can't make it to South Deerfield this week? You can also find our vegetable starts at the Greenfield Farmers Coop, Wanczyk Evergreen Nursery, and the Hadley Garden Center (Gardener's Supply).

See you soon,
Rosemary
& the Atlas Farm crew