Entries from September 2008
Hi Everyone, We’ve enjoyed spectacularly beautiful weather these past 2 weeks but now we are in need of rain once again. There is a chance for some showers at the end of this week, meanwhile it’s back to moving the sprinklers around!
Most of the seed I have been planting these past 2 weeks has germinated well, and I continue to plant, at least for a few more days. The fall transplants are growing well, except for some ground hog damage in one part of the field. We will begin to have more greens very soon- arugula and other mustard greens in 2 weeks and spinach soon after.
We reached the peak of the tomato harvest last week and now production has dropped of sharply. There is almost no fruit left in the fields, but I hope to continue harvesting from the greenhouse planting for a few more weeks, albeit in lower quantities. We pulled the last of the melons out of the field this past Saturday and it looks like there will be enough for one more round!
We are at a lull in bean production- the edamame soybeans and limas are not quite ready, and the string beans have petered out. Since fall has officially arrived we will start delivering winter squash this week beginning with spaghetti squash.
The share for this week will be: Carrots, spaghetti squash, Yellow Finn potatoes (similar to Yukon Golds), lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, choice of kale or Swiss chard, melons, choice of an herb, and ground cherries.
Enjoy! Farmer John
Categories: Farm Updates 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
Categories: Farm Updates 2008
Well, we finally received the much needed rain that we’ve been waiting on. A little over 2″ fell overnight this past Saturday. I had pretty much known that our best chance for a good soaking would be from a hurricane, but I dreaded the potential damage of high winds and severe downpours that can accompany this type of storm.
Fortunately we had very little high wind and the rain, although heavy at times, was mostly a good steady shower. I rode the tractor planting as many seeds as I could on Friday ahead of the storm. Now with the ground well drenched the seeds should start to germinate rapidly and the thousands of recently set out plants should begin to grow vigorously. Best of all we get a break from moving sprinklers around 3 times a day.
We are still heavy on Rattlesnake beans, although I think the quality has gone down a bit, mostly due to the dry conditions. The plants had also stopped flowering, but now with adequate soil moisture should begin producing again. We also have a crop of yellow wax beans coming on; they were flowering heavily and should be ready to pick for next week. We also have Edamame soybeans and lima beans that should be ready in 2 or 3 weeks.
We are still harvesting melons; now more honey dews (some of these are orange) and canary melons, but still a few cantaloupes and Galias. There is also an ivory fleshed variety known as Ananas melons which are extremely sweet and delicious. And we still have lots of tomatoes!
The share for this week will be: Red potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, red onions, lettuce, Rattlesnake beans, carrots, choice of red or green cabbage, melons, choice of cherry tomatoes or ground cherries, and choice of an herb.
Enjoy! Farmer John
Categories: Farm Updates 2008
Hello Everyone,
I hope you all enjoyed a pleasant Labor Day. There won’t be much of a holiday for us here on the farm. With a market and deliveries to prepare for, a day off just isn’t possible, although we will try to knock off a little earlier than usual. Dry conditions persist with only a brief tease of a shower on Friday evening. We are all getting tired of moving the sprinklers around, but it’s the only way to keep moving forward with the transplanting and seeding.
We are almost finished with the transplanting but I will continue to sow seeds though most of September. As it turned out we had enough watermelons to ship to all groups last week, although the watermelon harvest is now essentially over, thanks to the crows. This week we will be sending mostly cantaloupes, galia and Korean melons, and a few honey dews. Tomatoes continue to ripen abundantly but most of the plants in the field have a serious blight problem, so production will probably start to drop off rapidly in a couple of weeks. I am spraying them with an organic fungicide called Sporan which contains essential oils of rosemary and clove, but it may already be too late, so enjoy them while they last!
The share for this week will be: French fingerling potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, white onions, garlic, zucchini, melons, lettuce, string beans, choice of cherry tomatoes or ground cherries, and choice of an herb.
Enjoy! Farmer John
Categories: Farm Updates 2008
