December 7, 2020
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by Farmer Derek

Some authentic December weather has arrived. I think I'll enjoy these brisk sunny days and cold clear nights. Thunderstorms and excessive rainfall at the end of November definitely had me yearning for this. With nights descending into the low and mid 20s it means I need to recover the crops in the tunnels with the interior covers to give them an added air pocket buffer. I'll leave the covers on during the day but will at least open the endwall doors of the tunnels for air flow and ventilation and to keep the daytime temperatures from climbing too high. Once lows stay 30 and above I'll remove the covers until the next cold spell.

With the conclusion of November I can now officially tally the rainfall received during the outdoor growing season (March-November). We've been measuring rainfall during that timeframe since 2009. Overall 2020 was our 4th wettest season. It rained 41", 3.5" inches above the 12-year average. The wettest months were July (6.1") and August (6.5"). There were only two months (May, June) with less than 4". Compared to other seasons, it's apparent that we didn't endure any extreme rainfall events or months. There were no 3"+ deluges and only a few times did we receive more than 2". I think this year we were lucky because the trend had been more frequent extreme rainfall events. I'm definitely thankful for the moisture pattern this year. Because of the consistent adequate moisture I didn't have to irrigate any bare ground crops. This season our extreme weather was more temperature related.

The crop plan is well underway. All seeds and plants have been ordered. A few things we're excited about: a new patch of blackberries in a new field will be established; we're going to try to grow rhubarb again; new tomato varieties bred for tunnel production with great heirloom flavors and disease resistance; a production increase in sweet peppers, shishito peppers, butternut squash, and other favorites; a new celery variety that's hopefully more tolerant to leaf curl; utilizing tunnels for early and robust crops in the spring; and much more!