Category: News

Hello folks, Happy Halloween! No time for trick or treating for us – we are busy covering crops to protect them from a series of cold nights this week. We have been picking a lot of peppers because they can be stored for a couple of weeks and covering the plants will probably not be sufficient protection. Soon we will have to abandon the more tender crops and concentrate on protecting the hardier ones, which can still sustain some damage if the temperatures drop below 28 degrees. (more…)

Hello Folks! So, there will not be any sweet potatoes in the share this week (they will be back in the mix next round). There will be a tuber that looks a lot like a sweet potato but is not. It is called Yacon and is a member of the sunflower family native to South America. It is sweet and juicy and has a slight orange color (carotene). The sweetness comes from a sugar called an FOS (fructooligosaccharide) which is not digestible and hence does not affect blood sugar level. It is known as a prebiotic and contains beneficial antioxidants. (more…)

Hi All! The weather continues to be less than ideal. The only saving grace is that we have not had a frost thus far. We are expecting two or three cold nights early next week. Hopefully they will not be too severe, and we will be able to cover some of the more tender crops to keep them alive.

We are still trying to harvest a crop from the last planting of beans and would like to continue the pepper harvest as long as possible. Many of the other crops remaining in the field are hardy enough to tolerate a frost or a light freeze. We are continuing to distribute a second round of cauliflower and cherry tomatoes to a few groups. We are beginning to double up on the root crops, as we often do during the final weeks of the season. (more…)

Hi Folks! We have broccoli and cauliflower heading up. We will be including cauliflower for those who have not yet received it this fall. We may begin distributing broccoli to some groups, otherwise it will be a choice of red cabbage or red Napa cabbage.

The last planting of beans is flowering but growing very slowly, which is normal with shorter days and cooler nights, but growth is impeded further by overcast skies. We hope to have a few more beans for you in the coming weeks. We will also try to send some cherry tomatoes to all groups over the next few weeks as well. (more…)

Hello Folks! We are finally getting a break from the rain this week, at least until the weekend. With the sunshine and some warmth, the fields will dry out enough for me to plant a few more seeds, and we get back to digging the potato crop. We were able to get a few last ears of sweet corn for the end of the week groups, and we will have some for those who did not receive them last time. (more…)

Hi Everyone! Oh, Ophelia!  What more do I need to say?  As Dylan wrote – “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows”. We are doing the best we can for you, despite all the challenges raining down on us.  We continue to slog through the mud to bring in the crops. (more…)

Hello Folks! We had four rain-free days last week and by Sunday it had dried out enough for me to plant some seeds. It is coming to the end of the season for planting – even for crops that tolerate the cold, they just grow too slowly. This is especially true of spinach – it likes cool weather, but it grows much better in the spring as the days are getting longer. This is why I planted a quarter of an acre of spinach in late August. It germinated nicely, but it was almost all killed by the wet soil conditions. If this last planting fares better, it will be ready in November! I will continue to plant radishes, arugula and other mustard greens for another two weeks. (more…)

Hi Everyone! I just checked the rain gauge and today’s deluge brought us to nearly 5 inches for the week! Believe it or not, I don’t enjoy complaining, but seriously all this water is hurting the crops. I’d like to cry, but the ground can’t soak up any more water! (more…)

Hi Folks, Happy Labor Day! It is the unofficial end of summer, but the summer heat is back with a vengeance this week. It’s okay though, we still have a lot of heat loving crops in the field. It has been so cool at night that I have been fretting about an early frost. We usually don’t get hit with a freeze until Mid-October, but it has happened in September, and it is not pretty. (more…)

Howdy Y’all! About 2 inches of rain fell last Thursday night into Friday, ensuring that the puddles stay full, and the fields remain muddy. There have been short windows of opportunity to get some seeds sown and beds prepared for transplanting. We are coming to the end of our brassica planting for the fall and are nearly through with the direct seeded crops. I have been planting arugula, tatsoi, daikon, salad turnips and spinach. I will be sowing these crops, as well as cilantro, dill, radishes, and mustard greens every week for the next month. (more…)