Planting more tomatoes & a drizzle of rain

A quarter of 2026 has already passed and it seems like the days will only go by quicker as the temperatures heat up and the days get busier on the farm.

To celebrate the end of March we transplanted a second round of tomatoes in the field yesterday. It was ten more beds of heirlooms, cherry tomatoes and early girls.

After two plantings of tomatoes we are up to 21 beds in the field so far with many more to come. We haven’t even planted any tomatoes at the new property but we are hoping to do that next week.

The first round of tomatoes are growing well with the warmer weather we have been having, except for yesterday and the next day or so, and as the days get longer they will jump in growth.

We have to remind ourself that is it only April 1 and that the tomatoes should not be massive and flowering at this point even though the weather the last month has made it feel like it is end of April or early May.

There was a slight change in weather yesterday as it was cloudy and we got some drizzles of rain in the afternoon. The plants and the soil will enjoy the light rainfall but it won’t make a difference in when and how much we have to irrigate the veggies.

We have been busy preparing lots of the fields to be planted with summer veggies this month as many of the first successions are ready to go.

Last week we transplanted some Genovese basil and this week we will be planting some cucumbers and melons we started in the greenhouse. Next week if the weather cooperates we will be planting some peppers and eggplant along with some of the last lettuce of the spring.

We are seeding the last of the spring lettuce in the greenhouse and have yet to harvest any of what we have planted so far this year. They are growing very well but not ready yet and we are still harvesting the lettuce that overwintered.

In addition to doing a lot of transplanting the next couple of weeks we will be direct seeding many delicious summer veggies. Lots of summer squash, green beans, okra, cucumbers, melons and watermelons will be seeded in the field.

When direct seeding it is crucial to keep the soil irrigated so that the seeds germinate. If the soil dries out too much the seeds won’t germinate and then it will be a spotty bed of plants that is not fun to harvest.

To prepare the areas takes at least a week or two with mowing down the cover crop and spreading compost. With the dry weather we have had to help the mowed cover crop break down we have to lightly irrigate the soil before we bring the tractor in to finish prepping the soil.

While our focus is mostly on the veggies as the citrus season is winding down, we are watching all the trees that have been flowering and how it has been going for them. A successful flowering stage will lead to lots of fruit on the trees while stresses that mess with the flowering can cause low yields of fruit when it comes time to harvest.

Right now the olive trees are beginning their flowering process by producing these small clusters of flowers that will stay closed for another month or so depending on the weather before they bloom.

Similar to citrus trees, only a small percentage of flowers the olive trees produce a fruit and that amount depends on the weather while they are flowering.