May Farm Tour Photos / Farm Work Day Info

A Lesson in Transplants

There seems to be a preview of fall breezing across the farm this week. The mornings have been cool and the afternoons windy. With this weather is feels right to be planting fall crops. When planting for the fall there are some crops that get seeded directly into the field and there are some crops that get transplanted into the field. The decision to transplant or to seed directly into the field is one that comes with circumstances and experience.

In the fall I generally transplant my leeks, fennel and radicchio. The leeks are grown for me by a company in Salinas, when they are ready the little leek plants get packed into wax boxes and put on a pallet. We send a truck down to pick up the plants and then plant the plants into our fields. Leeks are tricky to grow because they take so long and on a farm with limited facilities and tons of distractions it makes sense to pay someone else to take care of it.

The fennel and radicchio transplants (some people call them starts) are grown by me in our shade house. The main reason I grow these seeds into little plants before putting them into the field is because the seed is so expensive. Generally speaking the survival rate of seeds planted directly into a field is much lower than when they are planted into the cushy environment of perfect soil and three misting of water per day underneath a cloth shading them from the aggressive summer sun. When planting directly into a field if you want to end up with a stand of 17,000 plants you would put at least 30,000 seeds into the ground. However if you wanted to end up with 17,000 transplants you would seed only 18,500 seeds. With the price of good seed ranging from $50-$300 per M (1,000 seeds) it doesn’t take many acres of a crop to make economic sense of the whole transplanting situation.

The other benefit of transplanting is that you get a precise stand and spacing of the crop you are planting. Transplants will be ready sooner that seed planted directly into the ground. And transplants are more equipped to withstand weed pressure than a tiny little seed germinating in the field next to all the weeds germinating in the field. There are also benefits of direct seeding but that is another lesson for another Farm News.

Enjoy your summer produce. It will be here for another six or eight weeks and we are already growing the fall line up that will replace the hot weathered tomatoes, melons, eggplants, pepper and basil.

Enjoy your box - Thaddeus

June 27,2007
Already Thinking of Fall-Thaddeus

June 20, 2007
A Week of Benchmarks -Thaddeus

Jun 6, 2007
Goslings in the Creek -Thaddeus

May 30, 2007
Tomatoes -Thaddeus

May 23, 2007
Summer Smells -Thaddeus

May 9, 2007
Muddy in May -Thaddeus

May 2, 2007
What a Busy Week-Thaddeus

April 4, 2007
Gopher Food - Thaddeus

March 28, 2007
Spring Silence - Thaddeus

March 21,2007
Spring Buds and Worm Food - Thaddeus

March 12, 2007
Spring Gobbles - Thaddeus

March 7, 2007
Spring Time - Thaddeus

February 26, 2007
Summer Food Please - Thaddeus

February 19, 2007
Peach Blossoms and Arundo Burning - Thaddeus

February 12, 2007
Chris Leaves - Thaddeus

January 31, 2007
Heart Attack- Thaddeus

January 24, 2007
Turkeys Can Fly- Thaddeus

January 10, 2007
Live the Seasons- Freeman

January 1, 2007
Happy New Year Thaddeus

Nov 29, 2006
Organic? - Thaddeus

Nov 15, 2006
Winter Preparation - Thaddeus

Nov 1, 2006
Canal Dries Up - Thaddeus

Oct 25, 2006
Beets - Thaddeus

Oct 18,2006
New Database - Thaddeus

Oct 11,2006
Rain, Sweet Rain - Thaddeus

Oct 4, 2006
Organic Fertilizers- Thaddeus

Sept 27, 2006
Windy Days - Thaddeus

Sept 20, 2006
Clean Produce - Thaddeus

Sept. 13, 2006
Cools Coming - Thaddeus

December 12, 2005
Wrapping Things Up For Winter - Thaddeus

December 5, 2005
Au Revoir, Automnal - Noah