Rain people, it finally arrived at the farm and has the crops, the weeds and the farmers oh so happy. We start the day with sunshine and clear skies and then dark clouds and cool humid air roll in every afternoon. The dark clouds send me into a mild panic about the chance of hail, so I check the radar a couple times and cover a few crops with row cover. And then, before we know it lightning strikes are surrounding us and raindrops are falling from the sky. Aaaaahhhhh. Thank you Mother Nature!
Broccoli heads are just starting to form and the cauliflower plants are getting huge
The afternoon storms gave us a chance to catch up on some greenhouse work over the weekend. The tomatoes and peppers were in need of a weeding and a little love. I whispered sweet things to them, cleared the weeds competing for water, nutrients and space and just observed how everybody was doing. I pulled one plant that looked funky... sorry buddy, you were making me anxious. The early planting of tomatoes is growing a bit slower than the second and third planting, which are on their way to maxing out the trellis already. I think it has to do with the cold temps they had to grow through in May, those couple nights that dipped into the low 20s. They're still growing and setting a lot of fruit, they're just not as robust as the later plantings. Note to self... maybe don't rush the tomato seeding and transplanting next Spring?
Cherry tomatoes beginning to ripen!
The cherry tomatoes are slowly ripening and I saw a few heirlooms blushing yesterday. It's coming... and I'm hoping we have tomatoes to share in the next week or two. In other news, the shishitos are ready for their first harvest today and are loaded with the many peppers to come. Look for these tasty peppers in the CSA Shares this week!
As mentioned in previous posts, we are building a new barn for our wash/pack/storage area. The concrete pad was poured in early June and materials for the building were delivered to the farm first thing yesterday morning. Mike spent the morning unloading the steel beams, siding, roofing, hardware etc... and staging them for construction in the coming weeks. Now, to find the time to get this structure built. I think this may consume our weekends in August... coffee and building! Time to pull out the tools again. Next year is going to be great... we keep saying 'Lets just farm next year."
Mike unloading the semi with the materials for our steel building.
The farm is suddenly popping with so many colors! The bold purple of kohlrabi, the bright red stalks of chard, cherry tomato jewels ripening and the deep greens of the brassicas. The zucchini and beans are just starting to bloom and the cucumbers in the greenhouse are loaded with baby fruit. The flavors and textures in the CSA Shares are about to change...
We are harvesting the last of the early carrots and beets out of the greenhouse today and will be seeding a quick buckwheat cover crop in these beds before transplanting a round or greens for the Fall CSA in late August/early September. The outside carrots and beets are close... we'll find out next week if we got our seeding dates right to have continuous supply of carrots this season.
Sunset post rain storm, so incredible.
OK, it's light outside and time to harvest. Enjoy the day folks! Below are the harvest details for Mountain Roots Produce CSA Share, Week #7:
Salad Greens, Head Lettuce, Chard, Collards, Carrots, Beets, Kohlrabi, Scallions, Shishitos and Herbs