March 2026 Farming: More High Tunnel Prep, More Seeding, and Seedling Field Transfers
- Teresa Derrick-Mills
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
This is the third blog in our series about planning ahead on the farm to bring you colorful delicious vegetables ready for you to buy in May.
We pick up from where we left off in February: https://www.chocolatesandtomatoes.com/post/february-2026-tunnel-prep-seed-tray-transitions-seeding-round-2
More Tomato Tunnel Prep
After creating a blank pallette of dirt (see February), we now lay down the irrigation drip tape that will deliver the targeted water to the tomato plants.
Yes, at the end of each season, we roll it up and at the beginning of each season, we roll it out and set it up again. Part of the set up process is getting the spacing just so (this determines how close together our rows will be), connecting the pieces, checking to be sure the water flows correctly, and repairing any leaks.
And then, we put the landscape fabric on top. This is how we control the weeds. Yes, there are hundreds of landscape stakes used to secure that fabric. (Next month, see how we plant the tomatoes.)
Planting Peppers in Seed Trays
We love cooking with lots of different kinds of peppers and sharing them with you. For some peppers, we seed about 10 plants and for others, we seed about 60 plants. You can add international flavors to your food just through your peppers.
I have learned that two of my favorites are Jimmy Nardello Italian Sweet Frying Peppers and Aleppo Peppers (from Syria) with a moderate heat -- two peppers I had never heard of until Mark started growing them.
As it says, we need to "start indoors 8 weeks before transplant."
Pepper seeds look just like what you see inside the pepper when you eat them. We did have a few hot peppers too and I made sure to wear gloves when seeding those to avoid skin irritation (just like when you eat a hot pepper, you can get the pepper scent on your hands and then touch the wrong thing).
Green Seed-lings Transferred to the Field
Those greens we seeded in January, that moved in seed trays to the tunnel in February, went out to the field in March.
In March, snow and rain were a challenge this year. It was hard to get a dry day and some dry soil. Dry soil is important for planting in two ways. When you till up the ground for planting, you can hurt the structure of the soil if it is too wet. Also, wet soil compacts more easily so if you drive something as heavy as a tractor over it, you loose all the great aeration you worked all winter to acheive.
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