freezing temperatures

It feels like this has been an extraordinarily long cold Winter. We are still getting freezing temperatures at night and sprinklings of snow every week or so. My seedlings that are inside under lights are nice and warm and cozy though, so they are coming along nicely.

Yesterday I transplanted the endive and arugula seedlings out into the hoophouse at the farm with the help of Joe, a guy who is interested in farming in the Roberts Creek area. He wants to shadow me for a while to learn as much as possible. This is a godsend for me right now because a couple of weeks ago my back went out! I hadn't done anything in particular to cause the problem, in fact I hadn't done any gardening work at all, which you would think would be a prime candidate for the cause. I'm on the mend thank goodness but for now I have to take it easy, no lifting heavy objects and digging etc. The hoophouse is now full of greens - the lettuces and red mustard that were planted last October are thriving!

I have an employee who will be starting in a couple of weeks. Her name is Grace, she is a student at high school and will be working for me a couple of hours after school each day. I have known Grace since she was a little toddler so it will be fun to work alongside her.

I am passing along this link because it really speaks to me and it may you too; an urban farmer talks about the physical labour involved in farming:

http://www.whyy.org/podcast/thisibelieve/tib20090213.mp3

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