Farm News- July 17, 2008

Hello Everyone,

Well I have finally finished planting the winter squash and the edamame soybeans. Better late than never is an expression that doesn’t quite work in farming, but with a little rain and plenty of sun for these next 2 months there should still be a decent harvest. The varieties which were seeded first have germinated well and I have already cultivated them twice, since the grass in this former hayfield is also germinating quite prolifically. With this major task behind me I expect to have time to begin constructing the new cooler. At present I have green, red and Savoy cabbage ready in the field and all of them will have to be harvested very soon or they will begin to split. So unless I include 3 heads of cabbage in next week’s share, we will need to store them for the next couple of weeks. The Chinese cabbage which I expected to be ready weeks ago has mostly bolted and is not useable. I am planting more for the fall harvest when the cool weather will insure a successful harvest. We are continuing to harvest cauliflower and have quite a bit of a yellow variety called Cheddar and a purple variety as well as the traditional white type. I hope to have enough for everyone this week, but if not will send cabbage instead. Peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant are all flowering profusely, so it should be just another couple of weeks before we begin harvesting these summer favorites. This week we will be shipping a variety of sweet onion called Walla Walla. They are rather large and very mild but they do not store well so use them up quickly. We will begin delivering garlic next week. The peas are coming to an end but there should be sufficient quantities for delivery this week. The green beans are growing beautifully and should be beginning to produce in 2 weeks. We still have radishes and both salad turnips and red skinned turnips in abundance, and so there will be a choice of these again this week. Beets will begin next week with carrots to follow. The share for this week will be: Summer squash, sweet onions, peas, lettuce, choice of turnips or radishes, choice of Swiss chard or kale, cauliflower or cabbage, and choice of an herbdill, cilantro, or basil.

Enjoy!
Farmer John