Farm News – September 24, 2018

Hi Everyone, So I regret to report that things have gone from bad to sad here on the farm. Pedro Perez Hernandez of Guatemala fathered and, along with his wife Juana raised 13 beautiful children, seven of whom work on my crew. Don Pedro passed away this past Saturday. Early Sunday morning I brought 3 of his children to the airport so that they could return to be with their family and help their mother through this difficult time. The practice what is called a novena, a nine-day period of prayer and mourning, so they will return in a little over a week.

They are three of my most important workers, so it will be a tough week for us here on the farm. Manuel, the oldest son is my crew leader. Esperanza was the person in the family that I first met when I wondered into their town of San Mateo, a small village set on a mountaintop overlooking volcanoes Fuego and Agua. Esperanza has worked for me for nine seasons and oversees the CSA distribution, manages the greenhouse and my markets. The rest of my crew is pulling together and we will be busting our butts to try to get through the week without them.

There is some other sad news, but I will leave that for another time.

The share will be a bit light again this week. We have had a week without rain now but still very little sunshine. Plants need warmth and sunshine to grow! There are lots of great veggies still to come; it’s just that we are in bit of a slump at present.

The share for this week will be: Lettuce (small heads I’m afraid) carrots, peppers, spaghetti squash, potatoes, scallions, cabbage and basil. Eggplant for those who did not receive it last week. Escarole for premium members.

The fruit share for this week will be: Gala apples and red Bartlett pears.

Enjoy! Farmer John