Sprout Farm Stand & Greenhouse

Sprout Farm Newsletter           www.sproutfarm.net                   May 28, 2022
Hello Everyone,
The last week in May feels like the longest week of the year.  The garden season is in full swing and we try to keep the benches stocked and still find time to get out back and do our own garden chores.  So if you ask us if it is too late to start a garden I promise you we will tell you, no, it is spring and it is never too late in spring to start a garden.  We know this from experience of waiting for that spare hour when we can prepare the soil or finally get those plant or seed into the ground. 
This week's sale requires a little explanation.  We are trying to get an idea of how many people read the newsletter so this sale requires a code phrase on your part.  When you get to the register simply say,  "I want the 'CLUB DISCOUNT' please."  That phrase will get you 15% off all live goods.  This will slow down the checkout process so please be patient.  No, we do not have a club but his is Jay's idea to keep the word 'newsletter' from triggering the discount.  I will have figured this out by next Saturday so be patient.
   We have green tomatoes at the farm stand $3.39/lb.  That will be the price for red tomatoes when they show up in mid to late June.  These tomatoes will turn red but according to Jay they will not have the flavor of vine ripened tomatoes.  I don't have a sophisticated pallet so when they turn red I eat them and they taste better than tomatoes from Florida.
  Many of you are planting your tomato plants and I just ran across a pretty good video about tomato companion planting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G731euRlCi0&ab_channel=NextLevelGardening
  Tips in this video include planting basil next to your tomato plants so the strong smell of the basil will confuse the spotted hawk moth which lays the eggs on your tomato plants that hatch out into the dreaded tomato horn worms.  The flowers of plants in the carrot family, like carrots fennel or dill, planted close to your tomato plants will attract a tiny wasp that will lay eggs in the horn worm and the larva will eat the horn worm from the inside out.  Like the basil, planting garlic, onions and chives near your tomatoes will confuse the red spider mites.  We have had to fight these bugs in our tomato house and they are difficult to control.
   We are in the gap for lettuce production.  The lettuce in the high tunnel is finished and the lettuce in the field is about a week from being ready.  We certainly enjoyed those enormous heads of lettuce.  Also in the cooler: a sample selection of microgreens from Mimi's Microgreens and More.  www.mimismicrogreensandmore.com.  We have kale in the cooler sold by the pound.
  Now what you have been waiting for, the kitten report.  Ziggy had four beautiful kittens this week.  There were some requests prior to her giving birth so I don't know what the status is on her kittens.  Our friend Patti has four or five seven week old kittens that are ready to go to a new home.  We get almost all of our cats/kittens from Patty because the kittens are raise in a home with lots of human contact and affection.  If you are interested you can call Patty at 774-836-6991.  That just leaves us with Psycho-kitty who is coming along nicely.  She is more interested in people now that her brother has gone to his new home.  I was finally able to briefly pet her while she was eating.  She is cute but I still wonder how anyone knows what sex she is because just the thought of tipping her upside down for a quick peek makes me very nervous.
  Jay says come on down because we still have a nice selection of plants.  He brought in more than ever this year and timed the plug deliveries so that we would be able to meet the early demand for plants.  "I found you folks at the end of the season last year so I came early to get a better selection."  We hear that several times every year and that makes for a crowded greenhouse.
  That's all for now.  We'll see you soon.
Jay and Phyllis Sprout