YES, IT’S BEEN A COLD SPRING IN NORTHERN MAINE. Despite last week’s Heat Wave of 4 days in the 80s and 1 day that hit 92oF, its’ been a cold – and DRY May (0.35″ precip so far in May).
Half of our morning May lows have been below freezing (coldest morning was +23oF on Saturday May 7).
This morning it was 30oF. In the photo here, our Soil Thermometer at 7am this morning indicated 44oF at 6″ depth.
Wound healing on the cut surface of a seed potato piece will not take place below 45oF.
We have a warm weekend ahead in the forecast but we need rain. Baring unforeseen supply chain disruption, we have an order in for an inch of gentle, warm rain to come on Saturday night. That would help out all the local farmers. Caleb, Megan & Jim

Source

Source

MAINE WEATHER REPORT: DRY & DUSTY. Yesterday afternoon – ahead of predicted light showers coming for the next few days – Caleb’s sister Amy creates clouds of dust as she harrows a potato field for the second time this week. She’s driving a 1966 Oliver 1850 Diesel tractor and pulling a 19-foot-wide IH Vibrashank harrow to arrest weed growth ahead of potato planting.
It’s been a dry Spring reminiscent of a corker 30 years ago (https://www.woodprairie.com/newsletters/050622.html#Article_1) A little over 2 weeks ago it was cold, in the low 30s (oF) and we had an accumulation of 3″ of new snow which then melted fast. Since then we’ve had less than 0.10″ precipitation and an unseasonably HOT week last week.
We plan to plant potatoes after the weather turns, after this rain. Caleb, Megan & Jim

Source

Source

Source

BREAKING NEWS!!! SOLICITOR GENERAL ADVISES SCOTUS TO BLOW-OFF MONSANTO APPEAL OF MEGA GLYPHOSATE ‘ROUNDUP’ LIABILITY LAWSUIT VERDICT! The highest-ranking lawyer in the U.S. government, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, today asked the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to NOT hear a Monsanto/Bayer “bid to dismiss claims by customers who contend that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, as the company seeks to avoid potentially billions of dollars in damages.”
This is spectacular news since SCOTUS “generally gives deference to the solicitor general’s conclusions.”
Today’s action is the clearest indication yet that justice may be ahead for thousands of cancer-victims harmed by Monsanto greed and their misanthropic flagship product, Glyphosate, trade-named ‘Roundup.’
Reliance on deadly herbicide ‘Roundup’ has been a foundational pillar of the monopolist-driven GMO crops fiasco of the past quarter century. Jim
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-administration-asks-us-supreme-court-shun-bayer-weedkiller-appeal-2022-05-10/

Source

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN FORAGING FOR FIDDLEHEADS. Search out the Ostrich. Caleb, Megan & Jim
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10221665142521244&set=gm.5369182556466095

Fiddleheads of Maine 🌿❤️ if you’re foraging for edible fiddles, look for the ostrich

Source

DOCUMENTATION OF A COLD SPRING IN NORTHERN MAINE. Through foresight, Soil Temp records have been kept for 25 years (averages depicted by the Black line) at Aroostook Farm, the Potato Experiment Farm in Presque Isle.
The Blue line documents this Spring’s cold start as monitored on Aroostook Farm.
The Red dots are the readings we’ve been taking here in Bridgewater (6″ depth at 7am).
The soil is on the dry side and that can cause soil temps to fluctuate quickly. Our forecast is for a warmer week ahead.
Wound healing on the cut face of a potato does NOT occur below 45oF. So, cut seed in cold ground can rot, especially if it turns wet.
As organic farmers, we practice moderation and begin planting when the soil temp hits 50oF, generally about May 18-20. Caleb, Megan & JIm

Source

NEW ‘WOOD PRAIRIE SEED PIECE’ NOW POSTED ONLINE! This issue of the ‘Wood Prairie Seed Piece’ offers a ‘Mother’s Day SALE’ plus a ‘Maine Tales’ remembering back to Maine’s Weird Spring 30 Years Ago. Also, Farm Photos and a Happy Outcome when Scientists Study Organic Seed! Don’t Miss It!
Find the New Issue here! https://www.woodprairie.com/newsletters/050622.html
Caleb, Megan & Jim Gerritsen
Wood Prairie Family Farm
Bridgewater, Maine
(207)429-9765
www.woodprairie.organic

Source

A FAMILIAR UNDERGROUND WINTERTIME SCENE AT WOOD PRAIRIE FAMILY FARM. Here is a very typical scene to be seen most any Winter’s day in our windowless, heavily-insulated underground potato storage – known universally in Aroostook County as a Potato House.
A Yale forklift powered by a huge electric battery allows pallet boxes of Organic Maine Certified Seed Potatoes to be stacked high to the top of the 14-foot ceiling.
Color-coded pallets of cartons of seed potatoes headed to market farmers across the USA are in the process of being built variety-by-variety.
Beyond the forklift is a red and yellow potato-cleaning Wide Nylon Brusher – built locally by Freddie Haines and crew at the iconic Aroostook institution, potato machinery fabricator ‘Haines F. Haines Manufacturing Inc’ 25 miles away in Presque Isle.
Behind the Brusher lies 40-year-old stonework giving away the fact that this twenty-three-year-old Potato House is a built-on addition to an underground labyrinth of connected potato storage space in every direction.
We grow 20 varieties of potatoes. To be able to fill orders on a daily basis throughout the Winter and Spring, we have to design in ready and immediate access for every variety.
With planting on the way we’re now grading out our own seed in addition to keeping the crew supplied with Seed Potatoes for bagging and shipping. Caleb, Megan & Jim

Source