Author: Bryan Housel

Hi Folks! So, it hasn’t been raining much lately and the sun has even been shining from time to time. The fields are beginning to dry out a bit, although we still have deep ruts in many of our farm lanes. The weather issue we have been dealing with lately is cold nights. We have had 3 light frosts so far but no hard freeze. We are covering some crops like the peppers to try and keep them coming a little longer. Between the cold and the shorter days, everything grows a lot slower. We are waiting for the cauliflower to head up and for the spinach to get big enough to cut. I mentioned parsnips in last week’s update but we will hold off on these until next week. For this week we have rainbow carrots for you. (more…)

Hi Folks! So it’s another gloomy day here on the farm. What happened to the sun! We narrowly missed a frost on Sunday morning, but more cold air is moving in and we will certainly be hit by Wednesday or Thursday. This will mean the end of the eggplant and soon the end of the peppers. We are trying to cover as much as we can to protect it but it depends on how low it goes as to whether we succeed. Most of the crops remaining in the field are hardy and are not hurt by frosts or light freezes. Let’s just hope the mercury doesn’t dip too low anytime soon. They say the parsnips get sweeter after a frost so I guess we can begin to harvest them for next week. (more…)

Hello Everyone! So last week was forecast to be free of rain but they changed it at the last minute. I thought we might get a little light rain overnight, and it began to drizzle as I rushed to finish seeding some spinach. By the time I got back to the house and showered, it was raining harder than I think I have ever seen. We received over 3 inches in about 3 hours. The farm is a muddy mess again, and I’m still waiting to see where those spinach seeds ended up! (more…)

Hello Everyone, Thanks to all who have expressed condolences and support. I know I have rather gloomy and down lately; it’s been a tough year. Farming can be a frustrating endeavor since the principal factor in success or failure – the weather – is totally beyond one’s control. I like to give you all loads of nice produce, not excuses, and I think we did okay for the first 2/3 of the season. Now we are feeling the pinch of the problems that all the rain that began in August has caused. (more…)

Hi Everyone, So I regret to report that things have gone from bad to sad here on the farm. Pedro Perez Hernandez of Guatemala fathered and, along with his wife Juana raised 13 beautiful children, seven of whom work on my crew. Don Pedro passed away this past Saturday. Early Sunday morning I brought 3 of his children to the airport so that they could return to be with their family and help their mother through this difficult time. The practice what is called a novena, a nine-day period of prayer and mourning, so they will return in a little over a week. (more…)

Hi Folks – I apologize that last week’s update was so short and somewhat gloomy. I’m afraid that this week will be rather curt as well. I don’t feel comfortable griping about the weather, even in my half joking way when our neighbors to the south have been dealt such a severe blow (no pun intended). This week’s share will be a bit light. I was unable to plant any seed for most of August and many crops have succumbed to disease caused by damp conditions or just aren’t growing right due to lack of sunshine. (more…)

“And I wonder, Still I wonder, Who’ll stop the rain”- John Fogerty

Hi Folks, Well I’m starting to run out of song lyric quotes about rain and I’m also starting to lose my sense of humor. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous, and it’s doing the farm a lot of harm. The tomatoes are pretty much done as are the melons. My second planting of spinach came up nicely, but if it keeps raining it will wither and die. (more…)