Just when you think, oh we can plant outside, sure enough more snow. Actually 8 inches! This was the dome on Saturday evening. However, by Sunday afternoon all the snow was gone. Now we are left with mud mania. The dogs, our boots, our pants and even my hair...MUD! All we need now is good day of Colorado sun.
While it was snowing out, we released some more
lady bugs. We use many different insect predators, but lady bugs seem to work the best. They are also entertaining to release because they end up crawling all over you. We order about 70,000 lady bugs and release some every week spread out over about 6 weeks. They are stored in the refrigerator where they stay dormant. The lady bu
gs are thirsty when they wake up so we release them after we water. They eat aphids, our most persistent bug problem in the green houses. We also grow flowers like alyssum because they feed on the nectar. Its always exciting after a few weeks when you start seeing the lady bug larvae (a.k.a. prehistoric alligator bugs). They actually eat more aphids then the adults.
Buckhorn would like to welcome Jesse Jacobson, our second intern to arrive for the season. He is a returning intern like Miss Kubly and is also from Wisconsin. He is planning to stay for the whole season, maybe we can convince him to become a farmer one day. If you are out here on the farm please give him a warm welcoming.
That dome looks sweet in the snow! Especially when you know how warm and wonderful it is inside ;-). Been a little cold in the bus at night, but my dog is here for a couple week visit so she helps keep me warm. How 'bout that sunshine today! We planted tomatoes in the tunnel, and favas and lentils in the fields. Feels good to be out and about again.
ReplyDelete~Eric