Farm News- June 18, 2009

Circle Brook Farm
Circle Brook Farm

Hi Everyone,

We’ve arrived at the week you’ve all been waiting for the week of the first delivery. As usual there won’t be a large number of items in this first share, but what we have I think you will enjoy. I was hoping to have broccoli for the first share, as the early crop was beginning to head up last week, but it seems that it will need another week. I guess it isn’t necessary to tell you it’s been raining a lot. These wet conditions for the past 2 weeks have made it very difficult to keep up with the planting schedule.

The greenhouse is full of plants ready to be transplanted, but I can’t prepare the beds, because the ground is too wet to work. There are many seeds that need to go in now as well, and even though I have ground ready, the seeder won’t work properly if the soil is too wet. And there’s keeping up with the weeds in the already growing crops. When I am able to cultivate with the tractor in a timely manner a lot of hand cultivation can be avoided, but weeds disturbed by a cultivator easily reroot in wet soil. Sometimes people think that all the rain is good for the crops, but what’s really needed is a balance between rain and sunshine. Prolonged dampness can create ideal conditions for fungal diseases and frequent rain makes it difficult to spray for insect pests. I am always mindful of the maxim: Be careful what you wish for, in these circumstances. At anytime now the rain might stop and we could head into a long drought. For now I’m just hoping for a few days of sun before the next round of showers and thunderstorms rolls in.

The share for this week will be:
English (shell) peas, Red leaf lettuce, endive (frissee), garlic scapes, radishes, kale, choice of arugula or mustard greens, and a choice of oregano or mint.

Enjoy!
Farmer John

You may also like...