Yes, I said it and we need you all to do your little rain jig today, whatever that is. We need precipitation for many reasons out here. Did you all know that we are in a severe drought here in our high desert home.
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html

And drought here in an already dry place means very dry.  Things that would thrive even in the little moisture we receive are just getting by. Our overwintered field spinach is miraculously still alive and I imagine would start rampant growth even if we had a heavy fog roll through or just a cloudy windless day with less evaporation. Field preparation is a tough go due to the lack of soil moisture as well, it basically makes the ground very "tight" and the clumps of soil are like rocks.  All of this drought talk is not bad though, as we are able to learn from these circumstances. As we work more and more in the field this spring, we have gotten to see our fall seeded cover crops come to life even with the little snow/rain we have had this winter. The luxuriant green of the cover next to the shades of brown everywhere else has people whom drive by the farm wondering why they don't just plant their lawn to cover crop for the effortless green it provides. I agree, everyone should cover crop their lawns and then plant them to food, thereby putting all those efforts and resources into something incredibly beneficial. Growing food instead of grass is a whole other conversation though.

What we learn from these cover crops is that keeping the soil covered and active at all times, all year is one of the most important jobs we as farmers have to do. It is hard at first to spend money and time establishing  experimental cover crops but once you have seen the benefits in soil moisture conservation, organic matter, and nutrient cycling there is no going back to bare ground when there is no food crop planted.

So get on with your rain dance and then come on down to the last winter market this weekend at the opera galleria in Old Town Ft. Collins this Saturday April 9th from 10am -3pm. We will have some lettuce mix, swiss chard, kale, spinach, and limited amounts of mache and radishes.

See you at market!
Nic