Farm News TBA- August 4, 2011

Hi Folks,

We’ve had two wonderful rains here on the farm during the past week; each dropping a little over an inch of precipitation. The first was a beautiful slow steady rain that fell over a period of 8 hours or so, which allowed the very parched ground to soak it up. The second came as more of a deluge, delivering an inch in about two hours, but since the ground was already moist it was ready to absorb the water with little or no runoff. Just what the plant doctor ordered!

Now that we have some soil moisture I can begin to sow a new round of crops for the fall harvest. It’s a long list, from arugula to spinach and more zucchini. I have already planted more string beans and edamame soybeans and they are beginning to sprout. I need to plant another batch of carrots and beets as well as other root crops such as radishes and salad turnips. I know you are all anxious to see greens in the shares, so now you know that they have been planted and are on their way in another few weeks.

Although summer officially began 5 weeks ago, it begins unofficially here on the farm with the arrival of the tomatoes, and they are beginning to ripen prolifically. Along with green beans and melons these are the harbingers of the beginning of the summer bounty. The first picking of beans has not been as bountiful nor as high quality as it is normally. This is due to a leafhopper infestation as well as the hot dry conditions in attendance while the beans where developing. Now that the bugs are under control and the plants have had a drink, they are looking much better and starting to flower profusely. Better bean days are ahead, but in the meantime there will be smaller quantities in the shares.

We delivered a few melons last week, mostly to the smaller groups. As they become more abundant we will ship them to other groups as supply allows. We have lots of different types of melons planted, honeydews, galia, canary, cantaloupes as well as red and yellow watermelons. There should be sufficient quantities that all groups will receive different types in rotation over the next 4-5 weeks.

At present we are almost out of lettuce until the next planting is ready in another week or two. We will send a mixture of types from what we have left in storage for this week. The second planting of summer squash has begun producing and the deer have not discovered them yet. Perhaps I should thank my neighbor for planting soybeans, one of their favorites, which for now is keeping them well fed. Peak production won’t begin for another week or two, so for now we will be distributing what we have to groups that may not have had them as much. We are drowning in cucumbers at the moment, so there will be a lot in the share and probably some as extras as well. It seems that homemade pickles are all the rage at the moment, so now might be your chance.

The share for this week will be:
Lettuce, red skinned potatoes, white onions, beets, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, red cabbage, cucumbers, string beans, basil, maybe melons, and maybe squash.

Enjoy!
Farmer John