Hello, farm members!
Yikes, it's already Tuesday evening and I haven't sent you your weekly CSA email! Sorry about that. It's just been normal busy here but with some extra time spent watering the birds and keeping cool. We, (the birds, the plants, and I), are hanging in there, but man, I sure would like some rain!
FARM NEWS
l covered the brussel sprouts and that seems to have kept them from being eaten up. Hurray! Something knocked down a few of our corn plants and since then I try to do something every evening to deter whatever it is. (Best guess: raccoon) I have lights on in the corn, we sprayed with hot pepper spray, and tonight I'll be sprinkling chopped rue leaves around the edges of the planting. I have a few more ideas as well, just to keep the animals guessing, and away from the corn, please!
l covered the brussel sprouts and that seems to have kept them from being eaten up. Hurray! Something knocked down a few of our corn plants and since then I try to do something every evening to deter whatever it is. (Best guess: raccoon) I have lights on in the corn, we sprayed with hot pepper spray, and tonight I'll be sprinkling chopped rue leaves around the edges of the planting. I have a few more ideas as well, just to keep the animals guessing, and away from the corn, please!
This past weekend I harvested some of the garlic and it is now curing in the woodshed. Somehow, curing the garlic is very satisfying to me. It looks so farmy. And it creates space in the garden for planting more mesclun, carrots and spinach. This year I am hanging the garlic in little bundles and have a fan blowing across the plants to keep the air circulating. The bundles look like dancers twirling round and round.
Robin tilled the field and planted buckwheat as a cover crop. It looks fantastic! Thanks, Rob. The field is really coming along and I have a feeling that next year it could really start producing for us. This year we extended the tilled area and hope to build another hoophouse there for winter vegetables. We'll be amending the soil this fall and planting crops next spring. Then the "garden" area will be twice its current size. Room for lots of vegetables.
Despite heat and dryness, the garden keeps on producing food for us. Sadly, the lettuce, mesclun and peas are over for now. I am planting more of these for the fall. Some plants seem to love the heat! The basil couldn't be happier and the chard is big and colorful. We have at least a week before beans and squash gets started but I saw the first ripe tomato in the field yesterday and the eggplant is getting bigger.
Thanks for your patience and cooperation last week when I was just too tired to pick the flowers. This heat is pretty challenging for me.
Oh! and THANK YOU, Merry Lein! Merry came by last Saturday and helped me weed the hoophouse that was completely overgrown. Now there is room to plant some late summer and fall crops. Yahoo!
MINI SHARES
Mini choices week #7 - Pick two or I will choose for you. Sometimes it works well if people tell me their top 3-4 choices. Then I can figure it out based on the harvest.
chard
basil
onions
Mini choices week #7 - Pick two or I will choose for you. Sometimes it works well if people tell me their top 3-4 choices. Then I can figure it out based on the harvest.
chard
basil
onions
cilantro
dill
rhubarb
fresh garlic (uncured)
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. For example, last week two minis got raspberries. I am hoping there will be some this week as well, although the crop is really small this year. Berries will go to someone who didn't get any last time.)
PICK UP NOTES
Pick Up is 1:00 - 7:00 unless you arrange otherwise. 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? Some rain would a big help to the kale. The leaves just stay the same size week to week.
rhubarb
fresh garlic (uncured)
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. For example, last week two minis got raspberries. I am hoping there will be some this week as well, although the crop is really small this year. Berries will go to someone who didn't get any last time.)
PICK UP NOTES
Pick Up is 1:00 - 7:00 unless you arrange otherwise. 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? Some rain would a big help to the kale. The leaves just stay the same size week to week.
onions
garlic
carrots
dill
dill
cilantro
eggplant
flowers
eggplant
flowers
This seems like a smaller share week to me, although I am often surprised when it gets to be picking time. Think of it as a bit of breathing space before the peppers, carrots, tomatoes, beans, and squash start rolling in.
Stay cool!
Stay cool!
Laura
Laura Timmerman
910 Greenfield Rd
Leyden, MA 01337
413-773-8325
laurat-at-crocker.com
Lots more farm news and pictures
(You do not need to be "on facebook" to view this page.
If you use facebook, you can "like" the page for updates and pictures.)
Laura Timmerman
910 Greenfield Rd
Leyden, MA 01337
413-773-8325
laurat-at-crocker.com
Lots more farm news and pictures
(You do not need to be "on facebook" to view this page.
If you use facebook, you can "like" the page for updates and pictures.)
No comments:
Post a Comment