Week 9

July has come and gone with unusual temperance this year and we have been enjoying the warm days and cool nights.  Although many of our summer crops would prefer a little more heat the first blush of tomato season has begun.  It is still too early to get much of a harvest out of our first tomato planting but the handful of reddening fruits give us hope that it will be a good tomato year.  For weeks we have been eyeing the dense and nearly waist high carpet of green that is our watermelon patch.  The canopy is so thick that we haven’t been able to see much of the fruit hidden beneath.  To harvest these summer time treasures we must move through the crisscrossing vines with slow and ginger steps so as not to damage any still ripening melons.  We cultivated our fall cole crops last week and they look to be off to a fantastic start.  With a little extra TLC it just might be a banner year for cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage.  I am particularly eager to grow some exceptional brussel sprouts this season! 

Some of our youthful volunteers.  Thanks guys!

July and August are frantic months for us on the farm.  Harvest takes up fully half the day while all other planting, cultivating, weeding, seeding, and maintenance tasks get crammed into the afternoons.  Even working extra hours and weekends we can’t get to every task at once and we are forced to prioritize.  July and August can also be very satisfying months as each task we cross off our “To Do” list brings us a little closer to being back in control.  We have had some really fantastic, motivated and friendly volunteers who have helped us over the last few weeks when we really needed it most.  I would like to thank these deputy growers again for their incredible efforts.  Russ, Ross, Sam, Rob, Mark, Stella and everyone else who has pitched in, you guys have been invaluable not only as great workers but also as great motivators for our crew.  Your spirit and enthusiasm has invigorated all of us.   Sandy you have been a lifesaver.  And to all of our members, it is a pleasure to be growing for you.  Enjoy the week! 

What’s in the share?  Lettuce, escarole, Alisa Craig onions, cucumbers, cabbage, zucchini and summer squash, potatoes, Marini’s sweet corn, P

YO flowers and sunflowers, beans and herbs

What’s new? Green peppers and aquamelon

Week #8

What’s in the share: Lettuce, greens, beets, cabbage, Alisa Craig onions, zucchini and summer squash, red roasting potatoes, and corn (hopefully all week but definitely on Monday and Tuesday)

What’s new: Chioggia Beets

Thank you!

A great big thank you to everyone who helped us to bring in the garlic this weekend.  Many hands make light work and we couldn't have accomplished as much as we did without you all.  In lieu of an insightful blog post this week, here are some pictures from the previous week.  

Looking good in the Share room

Looking good in the field too

 

 

And looking stunning at home too!

 What's in the share: Lettuce, kale, greens, cabbage, garlic scapes, scallions, zucchini and summer squash, cucumbers, carrots, beets PYO beans, herbs and flowers
What's new this week: Slicing cucumbers, Alisa Craig onions and PYO purple beans and wax beans

Think Stink: Garlic Harvest this weekend!

“Good things come in small packages” might very well be a quote first spoken about garlic.  To discover such savory pungency contained within such a petite and delicate wrapper is always a source of excitement for me and for many of you as well.  It isn’t only that garlic adds complexity and flavor to so many of our favorite dishes that makes it one of the most beloved crops but also its place in our modern folk lore.  Garlic has traditionally served as an amulet of protection against evil but its role has expanded to become a ward against lesser nuisances such as the common cold, gastric infection and even wrinkles.  I will probably need to eat quite a bit of garlic to erase the lines that sun, worry and time have etched on my face but I’m more than willing to put this myth to the test...for science!  Sorry co-workers and downwind pick your owners.

As the Great Garlic Harest of 2014 approaches we find ourselves asking many important questions.  Will the heads have sized up in the weeks since we harvested their scapes?  Have we avoided the garlic blight that crippled harvests several years ago?  Will Jon Berube top his raw garlic eating record from last season?  Most importantly, will you come out to help us bring in the bounty?  We need volunteers this Saturday (July 19th)  from 9am until noon to help us pull, bunch and hang all of our garlic.  We have jobs for young and old alike and refreshments will be provided to all.  I really hope to see you there.

What’s in the share: Lettuce, cabbage, scallions, garlic scapes, fennel, summer squash, beets, broccoli  PYO flowers, herbs and peas

What’s new: Carrots and Pickling Cukes

Week 5

I hope everyone has had a lovely long weekend.  The farmer spends these summer days with his gaze turned away from the blue skies, with his back bent and his eyes, stinging with sweat and clouded with dust, fixed on the earth.  It’s easy to miss whole days if we don’t stop every now and then, stand up straight for a moment and breathe it in.  I’ve been feeling especially grateful this weekend for these stolen, reflective moments.

Colorado Potato Bettles being gross.

 The past week we have been mostly directing our energies towards our solanaceous crops.  Tomatoes need trellising, peppers need weeding and eggplant want our help in repelling an invasion of Colorado Potato Beetles.  CPBs feed primarily on potato plants but can eat any member of the solanaceous family.  Eggplant seems to be their meal of choice and with their ability to rapidly multiple CPBs larvae can defoliate entire plantings of Eggplant in a matter of a few weeks.  Colorado Potato Beetles are one of the few pests that we spray for using organically approved Entrust.  Unlike conventional “kill on contact” sprays, Entrust is applied to the plant foliage and only pest insects which consume leaves from these plants are harmed.  To avoid building up a population of tolerant bugs (and because Entrust is wicked expensive) we still end up hand picking and squishing a lot of these ugly little guys.  It’s like Starship Troopers out there.  My crew will be having nightmares for weeks.

On July 19^th, just a little under two weeks from now, we will be hosting our annual Garlic Harvest volunteer day.  Come get stinky with us as we bring in and string up this year’s garlic.  If you just can’t wait for the 19^th to volunteer, come join us this Saturday in the pick your own fields to help us weed.  We look forward to seeing you at one or both of these events.  Hope you can make it!     

In the share: Lettuce, greens, cabbage, broccoli, radishes,  scallions, fennel, PYO peas, flowers and herbs

New this week:  Beets and garlic scapes