Farm News – September 19, 2016
Hi Everyone! So we received a little bit of rain this past weekend. I heard reports of heavy downpours near the farm but they seem to have missed us and we got perhaps a quarter of an inch. I planted a lot of seeds for fall crops as well as several acres of oat cover crop ahead of the storms. The light rain will at least help these plantings germinate, but we are still in a drought situation. Nevertheless, we have a great share for you this week.
Fall broccoli has begun and a few of you were surprised with a bunch in last week’s share. A few more groups will receive broccoli this week, and the rest next week. I am still hoping for the return of zucchini from a late planting in a few weeks; in the meantime, we continue to include winter squash in the share. We have an excellent crop of butternut this year, so you will receive some several more times before the end of the season. We also have some beautiful spinach, unfortunately not in large quantities at the moment. I have planted thousands of row feet of spinach so I anticipate more abundance at the end of the season. We don’t have much in the way of herbs at the moment; we are sending some parsley and a couple of tea herbs – anise hyssop and lemon balm as a choice.
We could really use some help bringing in the pumpkins and winter squash crop before the deer destroy it all. They are really abundant out here and quite hungry as the grasses have been drying up. They have a tendency to take a few bites of one fruit and then move on to ruin another. I go out every night before bed with the spotlight and my dog Lexi and chase them out of the fields, but they return within an hour or two.
We will host a volunteer work day this Sunday at 1 pm to help with the harvest. Come on out and lend a hand and take a few extra squash or gourds home with you. Please RSVP to circlebrookfarm@gmail.com so I will know how many to expect.
We will also host another fall farm visit on October 22 and 23. Stay tuned for more details.
The share for this week will be: Beans (2 types), garlic, colored peppers, beets, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, choice of escarole or frisée, Rose Finn Apple fingerling potatoes, butternut squash, and choice of an herb. Some groups will receive broccoli. For extras there are hot peppers and okra.
Enjoy! Farmer John
