east coast awakening

Looks like the winter plant crop of spinach is rapidly bolting to seed in New Jersey.  Hopefully we will get a few more loads before it's gone.  The spring crop looks good, but it is still several days away and the supply pipeline is nearly dry.  The trouble with spinach is it, more than most veggies, is programmed to bolt to seed as soon as any stress is applied to the crop.  Too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, it doesn't matter what.  These and a host of other challenges make it a very hard crop to grow well under the conditions east coast growers face.  This has been a particularly difficult season, with excess rain, early heat and low demand when the bulk of the crop was ready.  Why anyone wants to do this every year is a tribute to a hardy band of optimists.