Lettuce prefers the cool days and chilly nights of spring and fall in Southwest Ohio. Some of the lettuce we grow can tolerate temperatures as low as 28 degrees! This is why you find tons of lettuce in the store during the spring and fall (what we call our shoulder seasons). During the heat of summer, lettuce quickly becomes stressed and bolts (goes to seed) in the field. When lettuce bolts the flavor becomes VERY bitter – it isn’t that sweet crunchy leaf we expect. We know lettuce is a favorite of our Farm Store customers, which is why this year we decided to experiment with techniques to grow summer lettuce.
See how our tunnel is covered in shade cloth in the picture above? This keeps the full force of the sun off the tender leaves. Next you will notice the black woven plastic under the plants. This is called landscape fabric – it helps to keep the soil moist and cool, and also suppresses weeds. The last thing we do is water the lettuce, briefly, twice a day. This part is important to cool the lettuce down and keep it from going to seed.
Out of all of our experimenting this year, the most important part has been choosing the proper lettuce variety. We have experimented with a few “heat tolerant” lettuces and landed on one called Muir. Muir has been sweeter, crisper and more productive than any of the other lettuces we have grown this summer. So when you see lettuce in the Farm Store next to those tomatoes in the summer, know that a lot of work, care and thought went into getting that lettuce on to your plate in July and August. We hope that you enjoy every tasty bite!
I began working as an intern for the research team here at Greenacres a few weeks ago and one of the first projects that the team introduced me to was the Bobwhite Quail project. This project is unique and important because Bobwhite quail populations have been in decline across Ohio and in their other native locations over the last several decades due to habitat loss and degradation. Bobwhites are a significant species for several reasons, serving as prey for terrestrial predators as well as birds of prey. Bobwhites also influence the plant communities in which they live due to their diet which consists heavily of seeds and foliage. They are an edge species which means that they seek brushy habitats where woodlands connect with pastures, row crops, and fields. Both the Lewis Township and Northern Kentucky properties are potential habitats for Bobwhites. In particular, the NKY property contains native warm season grasses (NWSG) which can provide the Bobwhites with both tall and short grasses and corridors to move throughout and nest within.
These are early mornings! When we monitor for Bobwhites, we meet at around 6:00 am and listen for their calls until around 7:30 am. It is special to spend the first hour and a half of your day sitting in nature and listening to the many birds, insects, and even deer that populate Lewis Township and Northern Kentucky while simultaneously taking part in the meaningful Bobwhite Quail project. As of this past week we have reached the end of the season where we can listen for Bobwhite calls and unfortunately we do not have any success to report, but we are certainly hopeful for the future. Below is a link to a YouTube video where you can listen to a Bobwhite Quail call as well as a picture of a male Bobwhite Quail for reference.
You step into the warm sun on a late spring afternoon. As you walk along the edge of a shallow pond, you hear the distinctive ‘PLOP’ of a frog jumping to the safety of the cool waters. You glance down into the water and see the surface looks as if it is almost alive- the surface is writhing and wriggling in the shallows. Upon closer inspection, you see hundreds, if not thousands of tiny tadpoles!
Tadpoles have captured the attention and imagination of all ages, from toddlers to adults.
It’s hard for us to grasp how that tiny squirming speck will one day become an adult frog or toad. Did you know that Ohio is home to 15 species of frogs and toads? Every one of those species must seek out a water source and go through complete metamorphosis: from egg to tadpole to froglet to adult. One of our loudest and largest residents exemplifies the stages of a tadpole quite well. Let’s check out the life cycle of our bullfrog!
On a warm spring or early summer night, a female bullfrog can lay up to 20,000 eggs! She will lay these eggs in different clutches with varying amounts of eggs in each. As those tiny tadpoles start to take shape, they hatch out in one to three weeks. Interestingly, the amount of time needed to emerge largely depends on the temperature. The warmer it is, the faster the tadpoles will develop. Once the tadpoles hatch out, it’s growing time. Young tadpoles spend their days munching on dead vegetation and occasionally other dead tadpoles! Tadpoles breathe using their gills, which are covered by a skin flap to protect this sensitive organ. Those gills don’t stick around forever. At just four weeks, tadpoles start to develop lungs. However, their gills do not disappear until they are almost ready to transition to an adult frog. Could you imagine being able to breathe in two different ways? Tadpoles get to “test drive” their lungs long before they depend on them. If you ever see tadpoles swimming to the surface and darting back down, then you are witnessing a tadpole learning to breathe from its lungs.
Bullfrogs have an unusually large range in development and can spend anywhere from one to two years as a tadpole. While some of our local toads and frogs can develop as quickly as a couple of months. A bullfrog tadpole eats everything it can get its mouth around, up until the magic happens. At first, just a small nub will appear at the base of the tadpole’s body. As that nub grows little by little each day, look closely, there are probably small webbed feet attached to that pollywog! That first set of tiny webbed feet will grow into long and powerful back legs, built for hopping and swimming. As the back legs are becoming fully recognizable, other changes start to happen to the tadpole; front legs sprout, the tail shortens, and the body of that tadpole is no longer a rounded lump, it is elongated and now has structure. At this stage, it is not quite a tadpole, not quite a frog…it’s a froglet! Froglets have fully formed lungs and can be spotted hopping around the edges of the pond. It will not be long until the froglet’s tail is absorbed into its body and finally becomes a frog.
It’s no wonder tadpoles induce such wonderment to all audiences. The next time you are chasing a frog around a pond or wetland, be sure to look for those cute little tadpoles too. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to find one with legs! If you would like to learn more about tadpoles and see them in their different developmental stages, watch this video or check your knowledge with our ‘Bullfrog Life Cycle Activity’ coloring page..
In light of the health and safety issues created by the COVID -19 virus Greenacres is cancelling our Summer Camp programs for 2020 with full refunds being issued over the coming weeks. This decision was not easy to reach, but we will not put any child at risk. We carefully reviewed Ohio’s guidelines for Day Camp and the activities of our day camps. It quickly became clear that compliance with the guidelines would greatly distract from the camp activities and we could not guarantee compliance with all of the guidelines at all times.
Our Summer Camps have been a fixture of the community for many years and our staff and campers have enjoyed wonderful experiences. During this challenging time many activities are being altered or cancelled and we regret that Greenacres Summer Camps is now among those activities that will not be held this year.
Greenacres looks forward to returning to normal activities as soon as possible and we are already working on great new camp ideas for 2021.
Until we can safely return to normal operations, “The Place to Be” will be on social media and our website. We encourage you to keep up with happenings around the farm this summer.
