Farm News- September 16, 2010

Hello Folks,

We had some light rain and drizzle here at the farm this past Sunday. I don’t think it amounted to even a 1⁄4 inch of precipitation. It will help to germinate some of the recently planted seeds and will also help the lettuce and some other newly transplanted broccoli and kohlrabi starts. It really only wet the top 3 or 4 inches of soil and was a lot less than what I had hoped for and what we really need. I guess we’ll be moving the sprinklers around a lot in the days to come since currently there is no rain in the forecast for the next 10 days.

We will be sending celery in the shares this week. This has once again been a disappointing crop for us growing slowly and never really achieving good size. I have dreams of someday soon gaining access to some of the black dirt or muck soils that we have nearby; I am told that celery grows beautifully in this ground as do many crops. It is rather unfortunate that these fields are used largely for sod production and an inch or two of this rich soil is removed with each harvest. The celery will be stronger in flavor that what you are used to from the grocers, with only a few of the inner stalks being mild and tender enough to be used in salads. The outer stalks are best used cooked in soups or stir fries.

The tomato production has slowed way down, with mostly plum tomatoes and heirlooms left with green fruit and a healthy plant. Despite the dry weather and my efforts to control the blight, disease has once again taken a heavy toll on the crop. We should still have some tomatoes in the shares for the next few weeks, just not the large quantities you have seen over the past 3 weeks.

The third planting of summer squash is coming on strong despite grazing damage from the deer. I expect sufficient quantities for all groups this week and larger amounts per share next week.

We are back in the bean business as well, with green and wax beans in small quantities this week and larger amounts over the next several weeks. We also have another planting of edamame and some casoulet beans that will be ready in about 3 weeks. The lettuce is beginning to grow nicely in the cooler temperatures and we should see it in the shares again soon.

The share for this week will be:
Summer squash, beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, shallots, white potatoes, radishes, celery, choice of arugula, tatsoi, or other mustard greens and choice of an herb. The fruit share will be Fuji apples and Niagra grapes (with seeds)

Enjoy!
Farmer John