Category: News

Hi Folks, The days are getting shorter, and the night are getting cooler. This past Saturday morning there was a bit of ice on my windshield, even though there was no sign of frost on the ground, and it was only forecast to drop down to 42 degrees. Later in the day, inspection of the fields revealed some damage to the sweet potato leaves, so we did indeed have the very lightest of frosts. Fortunately, all the other tender crops emerged unscathed- even the basil was fine. We are certain to have frost in the next few weeks, but we try to cover the more susceptible crops, such as the zucchini, peppers, and beans, to protect them for a few more days or even weeks. “Summers almost gone, yes, winters comin’ on” (Billy Grammar – Gotta Travel On). We will try to hang on to those tasty summer veggies as long as we can, but soon the sweet corn will be replaced by sweet potatoes. But I don’t expect that anyone will complain about that! (more…)

Hello Everyone! The farm has really “greened up” nicely since it has started raining again. The oat and pea cover crop, which we had been waiting to plant, is up and already two inches tall. The fall brassicas are growing rapidly, as are the spinach, beets, carrots, and mustard crops we have planted for the fall. It’s going to be a good fall season, but for now we still have a bit of summer to enjoy. (more…)

Hello Folks, We received a little more that an inch of rain over several days last week.  The heavy rain that was predicted never materialized here on the farm- it was mostly light rain and drizzle.   In some ways this is good, because it gives the ground a chance to soak it up and not runoff.   Unfortunately, two days of drizzle, followed by an overcast day make the perfect conditions for the fungal diseases which plague the tomatoes and cucurbits.  We are currently on the second day of a similar scenario – light rain and little sunshine.  We are, nevertheless, grateful for the precipitation. (more…)

Hello everyone, Happy Labor Day! It seems we will finally see some abatement from the prolonged dry spell. At this writing we are receiving light rain and more and heavier precipitation is predicted over the next 36 hours. Hopefully, we will be graced with the wet stuff with more regularity as we head into autumn. It also appears that the extreme heat may be mostly over for this season. Now we must hope that the first frost does not come to early and that it will not begin to rain too much! (more…)

Hi everyone, So, we received about ¾ of an inch of rain a week ago.  It was certainly welcome and helpful, though not nearly enough.  We are coping as best we can, moving the overhead irrigation from crop to crop.  I am planting lots of spinach, turnips, arugula, and other mustards right now and they all need moisture to germinate.  The corn and the winter squash need water to mature their fruit and the fall brassicas need the wet stuff so they keep growing rapidly.  It seems we have a 50% shot at showers tomorrow and then again on Sunday.  Pray for rain! (more…)

Hello Folks! So, we received a small amount of rain today, and hopefully there is more on tap for Monday evening and Tuesday. For some crops it may be too little too late – particularly for our winter squash and pumpkin crop. Many of the vines have died and the rest are already maturing very small fruits. I am hoping that if it starts raining with more regularity, they may begin to grow and flower again, but there is not much time left. (more…)

Hi Folks, So the heat has broken, but still no rain. It seems we will have to wait another week for a 40% chance of precipitation. The drought is rally starting to hurt us, despite our best efforts to keep everything sprouting and growing. For now, the shares still look great. (more…)

Hi Everyone, I wish I had better news for you, but after various chances for rain over the last week, we are still very dry here on the farm.  About two hours ago it became dark, and the wind picked up, then I watched the radar as a small storm cell moved to the north of us.  We have another shot at some precipitation tonight and tomorrow, after that we will have to wait until next week.  We are doing the best we can to keep everything growing or at least keep new transplants and newly sprouted seeds from burning up, but there is just not enough water to go around. (more…)

Hi All! “Hot” and “dry” continue to be the best words to describe conditions on the farm. The few rain events that were forecast turned out to be duds, delivering only a few scattered drops. We are doing our best to keep water on the most important crops and keep newly sown seeds moist so that they will sprout. Just as they say about elections, drought has consequences. Our string bean crop has been languishing in the heat and producing small misshapen pods. Fortunately, we have some pole beans which have drip irrigation on them. These are an heirloom variety called the Rattlesnake bean (down south they call them Preacher beans). They are a flat pod type with some purple streaking and are generally quite sweet and tender. (more…)

Hi Everyone, I hope you all have managed okay with this weekend’s scorching heat. It was hard on my workers, but, as always, they stoically endured it. Had it not been for the rain earlier in the week, it might have been devastating for the crops. We were hoping for some more precipitation today as cooler air moves in, unfortunately we got a scant tenth of an inch. Temps this week will be a little more bearable, especially with nighttime temperatures dropping into the sixties. Hopefully, there will be more rain soon. (more…)