We have have been busy designing and constructing this beautiful hoophouse over the last couple weeks. Bending pipe, pounding posts in the ground, framing the sides, building doors, etc. The excitement was growing and growing as one piece after another came together. As we made the last finishing touches on Monday I was VERY anxious to attach the plastic cover, but with a steady breeze blowing through we decided it was best to wait.
I kept myself busy with some seeding and irrigation projects throughout the afternoon and around 7 p.m. the air became very still. With a little motivating and the help of my brother and sister-in-law we went for it. It look a lot of team work and a little finesse, but we finished just as it was getting dark.
I squealed and jumped around in excitement as I stepped inside. It feels great to have this complete and ready for planting. I cannot wait to fill the beds with heirloom tomatoes, peppers, basil, and eggplant. Mmm, I can smell summer now.
The hoophouse had her first wind test on Tuesday, as we had over 40 mph gusts at the farm! She held strong and is hopefully built to withstand the Colorado weather. What should we name her?
Last night was COLD! 17 degrees in May seems a bit chilly if you ask me? Luckily the tomato and pepper plants are tucked away upstairs in the barn (with a fireplace). We stoked the fire yesterday and made the plants think they live in the tropics. Soon enough they'll realize they live in Colorado. Soon enough.
We have spinach, salad greens, snow peas, snap peas and fava beans all planted and starting to germinate outside. With the cold temps coming I covered these beds with hoops and fabric to keep them a little bit warmer.
The plan is to transplant kale, bok choi, chard, kohlrabi and head lettuce starts soon.
Its May people, which means, we need to plant as much as possible between now and June 15th. Go time!
Oh Summer, how I love you! The long days and 
Wow, it has been a very productive and fast week here. We finished constructing the game fence! Fence building is hard work (my Dad is awesome and did most of this hard work) but it is complete and looks fabulous, and most importantly it means deer will not be stopping by the Early Bird Gardens salad bar anytime soon. Wahoo!
This week's CSA Share will include the following: 
We have had a couple setbacks this spring. Some creepy crawlers have been eating the roots of certain crops (spinach, peas, onions) causing the plants to wilt and die. I did a little investigating in the soil and determined they are some kind of root maggot. These little buggers are driving me bonkers but hopefully the beneficial insects I added recently will help keep them in check. Time will tell. Lucky for us the early bed of spinach is still looking great and ready to be harvested soon! 
