Hello Folks, “And the rain let up, and the sun came up, while we were getting dry”- Van Morrison.  It was a challenging week but it could have been worse, so I guess I’ll forego my usual whining about the weather.  I won’t even mention how many inches of rain we got (6).  The fields have mostly dried out, and on Sunday I was able to work some ground.  This afternoon I am going out to plant some seeds while my crew tries to catch up on the transplanting work. The melons have begun to ripen, and last week a…

Hello Everyone!  So, we finally got some rain and now it doesn’t want to stop.  We are already at 3 inches with 2 more days of potentially substantial precipitation to come.  My crew worked though periodic sprinkles punctuated by heavy downpours and short burst of sunshine to get the harvesting done.  I had hoped to get some seeds in the ground but now it’s much too wet and will be for at least a week.  Nor is this good weather for the crops — both the melons and the tomatoes are susceptible to fungal diseases when it is this wet. …

Hi Everyone!  We received a bit of rain this past Sunday morning, about a half an inch.  We need more and it seems we have a shot at some precipitation tomorrow.  We have begun harvesting the garlic but we broke the under cutter blade that we use to loosen the ground for easier pulling.  When the soil gets dry, it also gets very hard.  We should have the parts to fix it in a few days, and hopefully with a good rain and softer ground, we can procced with the harvest. 

Hello Folks, it’s hot and it’s dry but that’s what it’s like in July!  At least temps have moderated a bit from last week’s brutal onslaught.  We did get about a quarter an inch of rain from some passing storms, but they mostly went around us.  I was hoping for more; what we got was okay for watering some recently planted seeds but not the deep soaking that the roots of the crops need.  So, we will be moving the sprinklers around.  There’s not much chance of precipitation in the forecast for the next week, but that could change.

Hi Folks!  As Cole Porter wrote and Ella Fitzgerald beautifully sang — It’s too darn hot!  “I’d like to sup with my baby tonight, refill the cup with my baby tonight, but it’s too darn hot”.   I guess the worst is over –- for now.  The temps will gradually moderate as we go through the week and we have a couple of good shots at some rain.  We did receive some of the wet stuff last Wednesday night, which was fortunate because the moist soil has helped the crops to bear the heat.  The summer crops like the tomatoes, peppers,…

Hello Everyone! So I guess I should have known better than to have believed the weatherman. I postponed the farm visit based on a forecast of rain and thunderstorm through most of the weekend. We received virtually no precipitation except for a few moments of drizzle and two brief showers — both of which occurred when I ventured out on my seeding tractor to try and get some planting done!

Hi Everyone!  So, it was another reasonably good week weather-wise here on the farm.  Temperatures have been mild (at least until today), and we had a midnight deluge on Wednesday night.  A slow steady rain is always better than a downpour, and this one only gave us about a quarter of an inch, but it was helpful for getting some seeds up and for watering the brassicas and the root crops.  As we head into late June and July the rain often starts to diminish and we start worrying about a drought.  Many of the summer crops are watered with…

Hello Everyone,  I am happy to report that the weather has been uncharacteristically cooperative this past week. The temperatures have been moderate and we have had several nice gentle overnight rains.  I think that there are few people other than farmers who can find such joy in a nice rain; perhaps an Englishman away from home and missing his native climate.

Hi Folks,  I hope you had a pleasant Memorial Day weekend.  I apologize that I have not been able to get a farm update out to you until now.  It has been a very difficult spring for us here at the farm.  I am sure that most of you noticed that winter hung around well into April this year.  We still had snow flurries flying on April 13!  As a result we were unable to begin planting until Mid- April; about 2 weeks later that normal for some crops.  In addition, the cold soil caused poor emergence in some of…

Agriculture is one of the largest sectors contributing to environmental deterioration and energy consumption that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Our industrialized food system and the long distance transportation of our fruits and vegetables needs to change. But while agriculture is a part of the problem it also has the potential to be a big part of the solution. When I first became interested in organic farming it was because I believed we needed to learn to grow food without the use of toxic chemicals that not only poison the consumer but also proliferate in the environment…