Farm News – August 24, 2020
Hi Folks! So I guess I misspoke when I said that the extreme heat was done for the year, as we are amid several more scorching days. We had a few minor rains during the week, sufficient to help transplants to take root and seeds to germinate. As I expected, my early August planting of spinach was almost completely killed by excessive rain from the tropical storm. The next planting has germinated well and should be ready to cut in a month or so. Greens in general are still scarce. We will have some arugula next week and should have lettuce again as well.
The root vegetable for this week is radish. I know that for many of you it is not very popular. Remember that it can be cooked, and doing so takes away the bite. It can be roasted or included in soups or stir fries – and it’s good for you! If you are not ready to cook with it quite yet, remove the tops and store just the roots. It will not take up much space and will keep for weeks (or even months).
The ground cherry production has dropped off, and the deer have been feasting on them as well. I go out every night before bed with my spotlight and chase them off, but they are most likely back again before my head hits the pillow! The South American cousin of this fruit, physalis peruviana, aka goldenberries, are beginning to ripen prolifically. These are sweeter than Physalis pruinosa but also more tart. We will be including them in the shares, as availability allows, over the next couple of weeks.
We are into the next planting of sweet corn now, with slightly larger ears. We send it with the usual caveat – there may be a worm on the tip. We have 5 more varieties/ plantings to come and we are spraying with a combination of biological controls to suppress the buggers. One is a highly specific virus and the other a more broad-spectrum fungus. Later in the season these pests become more abundant, and we are hoping to minimize their presence.
The share for this week will be: Peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn, melon or watermelon, onions, radishes, beans, kale, baking potatoes, and an herb (parsley, thyme, or summer savory). Premium shares will receive arugula and (probably) summer squash.
We are taking a week off from the fruit shares to wait for apples and pears to become available. We will be sending a some nectarines as a “makeup” for the white peaches, which apparently did not ripen properly and got moldy. With my apologies.
Enjoy! Farmer John
