Appomattox Spring
Spring is slowly settling over Appomattox now, but some days have been warm enough to be entirely too reminiscent of high summer! While we are still nearly two months from the Summer Equinox, we have already enjoyed summertime temperatures in the high 80s. These, fortunately, have alternated with much cooler days, like today for instance, where we will be lucky to see 65° and the sun is hidden behind a dense cloud cover.
Rain, in the form of April showers, has been falling pretty steadily since Sunday afternoon and the thirsty ground has been drinking it up. Between the warm sunny days and blasts of high wind, the soil is either muddy or dry, not a lot of just right. This has made it difficult to get the gardens going but it is early days yet, those tomatoes are probably better off inside anyway. We can still get a killing frost, like last year.
Like last year, all the fruit trees are now laden with young fruit or mature blossom. If Jack Frost stays away this week, we should have a bumper harvest of cherries, plums, apples, and peaches. Hopes were high last year around this time when all the fruit trees were setting fruit early. Here at The Weyr we did not get any cherries, apples, or peaches. The heavy set of plums resulted in a single perfect fruit, delicious, but a far cry from the hundreds that were there prior to the freeze.
NOAA is predicting 37° for Tuesday night. This is acceptable, chilly but not freezing, especially if the accompanying predicted breeze also materializes. The ground is fairly warm now, despite the rain, and as long as temps remain above 32° the fruit will be safe. If we get the expected 5-10 MPH winds, it can get even colder because the frost won’t settle.
There is really not a lot to be done at this point. Covering the trees with comforters is impractical and could result in more damage than cold temperatures. Likewise for lighting smudge pots in the orchard like they do in Florida to protect the citrus. I have seen those smudge pots and they look nothing like their name suggests. They are tall, kerosene burning, stoves that provide both smoke and heat. A crop-saver in a citrus grove but probably overkill in central Virginia.
About the best we can do is keep our fingers crossed that we don’t get an unexpectedly harsh cold front and that we do get enough wind to keep the air circulating. If you have already planted your tomatoes outside, it wouldn’t hurt to put large black pots over them around dusk. If you do this, don’t forget to get up early and remove those pots. A bright and sunny Wednesday will cook tender plants pretty quick if they are not uncovered, negating entirely the protection process.
All things considered, this spring has been very gentle. The rain has not come all in a few hours, so it is soaking into the soil and the creeks and streams are not rising. The warm sun has grass literally racing out of the ground in an excellent imitation of Jack’s beanstalk. And, after a winter of scarce and expensive hay, we now have ample grazing for the horses and other critters.
This fresh, emerald green, pasture is perfectly timed this year with the birth of foals. They are out frolicking in the grass, learning to be picky about what they eat, just like their mommas, and developing good digestive tracts that will serve them well as they mature.
When contrasted to recent years when the pastures did not come in until May, we can’t complain. If this is what climate change is bringing to Appomattox, it is okay with me. Any year we can have horses grazing in March is a good one!
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