Farm News- September 18, 2008

Hello Everyone!

As I predicted the bountiful rain of last weekend has worked miracles on my fields. The fall brassicas and lettuces are growing spectacularly and the many thousands of seeds I planted before the storm have germinated nicely. I am taking advantage of the moist soil to continue planting more radishes, turnips, spinach, arugula and other mustard greens. Very soon I will have finished planting the last seeds of the season (with the exception of cover crop seed!) and I will be able to turn my attention to harvesting the acres of potatoes and winter squash which will soon be ready. We are still transplanting lettuces, escarole, endive, and radicchio but the last of those will be in the ground within the next 2 weeks. We have harvested the last of the melons and there will be enough for distribution once more this week. There are mostly cantaloupes, honey dews and canary melons and they are a little smaller than and perhaps not as sweet as the earlier ones. We are shipping celery again this week and, as you may have noticed from the previous delivery, they are a little different than what you are accustomed to buying at the supermarket. The outer stalks have a very strong flavor and are not especially tender; these are great for cooking in soups or stews. The inner heart should be acceptable for eating raw in salads. We have begun harvesting wax beans although not in huge quantities just yet, so there will be a smaller quantity in the share for this week. Lima beans and edamame soybeans in 2 weeks! The share for this week will be: Red lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, white onions, garlic, wax beans, choice of celery or fennel (mostly celery), beets, melons, sweet corn (non-organic) and choice of an herb.

Enjoy!
Farmer John