Although it is only late February, I can’t help but feel that spring is just around the corner, especially with recent daytime temperatures reaching into the fifties. In March on the farm, we lift our heads from winter slumber and begin to take on some more of the physical work of a new season, but things really pick up in April.

The first few seasons of running Slip Away, I was always so eager to see green growth and get things going that I started the first seeds in February. Over the years, I have learned to temper this urge. With an unheated greenhouse and limited daylight hours, many of the early seedlings are so slow to grow that the later seedlings often catch up to them before the soils outside are warm enough for planting. So now I wait patiently, enjoying a few more weeks of downtime before I have thousands of little green babies to care for, worry about, and monitor.

I begin the tomatoes on heat mats at the end of March, but everything else begins the first week in April. The cold-hardy vegetables and flowers are first: brassicas, alliums and peas, bachelor buttons, foxglove, and snapdragons. Our average last frost is April 15, and at that point we start moving trays of seedlings out of the greenhouse and into the field for planting.

Our Slip Away CSA memberships are filling quickly. We do not have any more availability in our bread shares, but we still have a bit of room in our flower and vegetable shares, including off-Chappy flower shares. Please email me if you are interested in learning more or joining: slipawayfarm@gmail.com

Ann Floyd and Tom Barrett moved into their new year-round home at Tom’s Neck Farm a few weeks ago. They are sharing the two-family home with two long-time friends, one of whom gave me a ride home from the ferry one day last week. The plan to live together has been years in the making, and all are pleased that it has finally come to fruition. Welcome all!

Save the date for the second annual Chappy Point to Point Road Race on June 28 at 8:30 a.m. This was a popular event last year and reached capacity fairly rapidly so stay tuned for sign up details. The Edgartown selectmen are organizing a steering committee for the Chappy Ferry. If you are interested in joining the committee, please send an email or letter to James Hagerty, town administrator, before March 2.

If you missed this week’s Art Night at the Community Center, you can attend the next one on March 5. Bring a project to work on, something to share, or draw from a still-life set up for the evening. A fire will be laid and hot tea and treats served.

The next Chappy potluck is March 4. Be sure to bring a dish to serve six.