FARM WEEK # 12 - August 2, 2012 - MINI SHARE # 9

July 30, 2012

Good morning!

Hurray for rain!

FARM NEWS

(Hurray for rain!)

Welsh Harlequin - 10 weeks old

Poultry:

Chickens and ducks are well and making a lot of noise.  They know how to make me run out and check on them.  Sometimes their clucking means "I laid and egg!!!" and one time it meant "Get lost you fox!  There are more of us than you and we can cluck!" and sometimes its meaning is mysterious.

A few nights ago we lost 4 of the Freedom Rangers to a raccoon.  I know it was a raccoon because the next night I heard squawking, went out to check, and saw the hungry critter.  That time it killed 1 chick.  We have tightened up nighttime security and I am confident that now a large animal cannot 1-open the door or 2-reach through a small crevice to grab a chick that is sleeping on the floor.  There's always room for improvement, of course.  This week I plan on putting up cords across their yard to make it impossible for a hawk to land in there.  When I am not home, I generally keep the chicks inside their house.  It's roomy enough and safer than the pen.

Veggies:
The corn looks so nice.  Doing my best to discourage the raccoon from that area as well, mostly with lights, noise and camouflaging smells and textures like basil, marigolds, wilting peach branches, rue, etc.  

The sweet peppers are setting fruit and some of the fruit is big enough to eat.  There are small beans on most of the pole beans now.  I gave the full share a pound of beans last week so I hope that means that soon we will all be eating them.  The winter squash looks very nice - large, dark green leaves and vines that are running with flowers that are setting fruit.  I would love to have a nice crop of winter squash this year!  The summer squash is not so happy.  The leaves are turning yellow and growth has slowed way down.  So if you were counting on being overwhelmed by zucchini from our farm this year, I'm sorry, it won't be happening.

I am still behind on my weeding and fall planting but making some progress.  I'll be working on that this coming Saturday so if you get the urge to garden, come on by!

Fall Kale

MINI SHARES

Mini choices week # 9 - Pick two or I will choose for you.  It works well if people tell me their top 3-4 choices. Then I can figure your share based on the harvest.  I am including a couple of things that I know I do not have enough for all.  I'll put the requests in a hat to decide who gets them since not everyone can check their email all the time.

basil
chard
garlic

onions

carrots

eggplant

tomatoes

New Zealand spinach
flowers for all
Farmer's Choice (I give you 2 items from the garden, from this list or not, based on general preferences you have shared with me and based on the harvest.  Farmer's Choice may include items not on this list.)

PICK UP NOTES
Back to normal, 1:00 - 7:00.  I'll send an email when the shares are ready.

Thanks for returning egg cartons and clean, dry bags, esp. the big freezer bags.  Keep up the good work.

THIS WEEK'S SHARE

basil
chard
kale - small leaves
New Zealand spinach
onions

garlic
carrots
tomatoes

sweet peppers?

salad toppings?  (stuff to add to your lettuce to make your salad extra yummy)

beans??
ground cherries/tomatillos - So far I am doling these out week by week, giving people turns.
flowers

Hurray for the rain!
Laura

Laura Timmerman
910 Greenfield Rd
Leyden, MA 01337
413-773-8325
laurat-at-crocker.com

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