Sprout Farm newsletter

       April 18th, 2026 sproutfarm.net open 9-4 (I'll explain that later)

Hello Everyone, This is the first official SFNL of 2026. Thanksgiving 2025 seems like a lifetime ago.

Jay and the crew have been busy since February filling the greenhouses with plants and we're just waiting for the weather to turn consistently warm before we put them out.

Right now we have: Mimi's Micro greens in the cooler, Jams, syrup, and honey.,4 varieties of seed potatoes. Outside we have vinca vine, spikes, pansies, violas. Our cool weather veggie six packs are on the benches: lettuce,, kale, onion plants, Swiss chard. There are more coming but we have to wait.

Our outdoor herbs are:sage, thyme,French tarragon, chives, parsley, mint, lavender, marjoram, oregano and rosemary.

Our herb garden suffered significant losses. We lost all of our chives and rosemary plants. The garlic chives fared well as did the French tarragon.

Most of our perennials are outside to the right of the walkway and the right of lower pergola. Currently in bloom: Columbine and Meadow Rue- cotton ball, and amsonia.

We didn't lose many things in the storm but when the gas ran out in the generator, the greenhouse with the new tomato transplants went real cold. So much for planting early. We had other seedlings started so we expect our first ripe tomatoes some time in June.

Here's a brief April planting guide; Tomatoes: While it's still too early to plant tomatoes outdoors in April, it's the perfect time to start seeds indoors. (they are warm and safe in the seeding house)...

• Peppers: Like tomatoes, peppers benefit from an early start indoors in April. ...

• Lettuce and Salad Greens: ...

• Radishes. ...

• Herbs. ...

• Spinach. ...

• Peas.

We do not sell seeds but it is an excellent time to find them in your favorite store. Walmart, Ocean State Job Lot and Home Depot have a good selection at this time. We have started to plant the first lettuce seedlings in the ground and the turkeys have not bothered them, so far. Ken is busy out back and the new tiller has done a beautiful job smoothing out the soil. I won't have to worry about weeds for a few weeks and I plan to enjoy them.

Our returning pair of mallard ducks paid us this week. The net over the pond did not stop them at all. Maybe it never stopped any birds and that's why all the koi disappeared. The pond was open all winter and there is no sign of the koi we added last fall.

The kitten report: We have four- four week old kittens and they are cute. We transferred them from our bedroom to the sun room this week so we enjoy their antics from the comfort of the living room couch. They are learning to climb the furniture and it won't be long before the drapes will have kittens clinging to the fabric. We have two tuxedo and two tabby kittens. They are spoken for. They love to hide in hard to reach places and every litter, every year finds the mechanism for the lounge chair, their perfect hiding place. Most of the time they come out when mom calls them but there's one little tabby that sleeps right through her special meow.

Special this week: Coast of Maine, 1 cu. ft. bag- Planting mix, Potting soil, or Lobster Compost. Save $2.00/bag. Also, our remaining viola and Pansy 6 packs are not $3.50 ea.

Jay may not stand around until 5:00 if no one has been by in the last hour so just be warned, the 5:00 closing time is fluid.

That's all for now. Stop by and see what's growing.

Jay and Phyllis Sprout