Farm News – June 25, 2015

Hello Everyone, Rain, rain, rain, rain!  I know it seems that all I do is complain about the weather, but it’s hard to get our planting done in the mud.  The crops are loving it though – the peas and the brassica family are water lovers and are thriving.  We actually dodged a bullet over the weekend as the heaviest rain passed to the south, and we received only about an inch. One of my favorite bands, The Subdudes, have a beautiful song called “The Rain” – the chorus is: “The rain is working very hard, It’s got to water every little seed, It’s beautifully ordinary, Making life seem very good indeed.”  So we’ll keep working around what Mother Nature brings us, knowing that as we head into summer it could get very dry again.

The broccoli is beginning to head up, but it will likely be next week before it comes in heavy.  A few groups will receive broccoli this week, and everyone else will get kale.  The beets are almost ready but also need another week, so we will offer a choice between radishes and salad turnips for this share.  We still have lots of greens, so enjoy and maybe freeze some (spinach is easy to freeze – lightly steam and put in bags), because greens get scarce during the hot weather.

Peas are abundant now, so all groups should get them this week.  We could really use some help picking them though, as they are a labor intensive crop to harvest.  Sunday’s pea picking party was cancelled due to the precipitation.  This Sunday there will be another opportunity if the weather cooperates!

The share for this week will be:  Lettuce, kale (or broccoli for some), spinach, choice of broccoli raab or arugula, summer squash, choice of escarole or frisée, peas, choice of radish or salad turnips, purple bok choy, potatoes, scallions, and choice of dill or cilantro.

Enjoy!  Farmer John