And just like that... harvest season is underway! The veggies are ahead of schedule, probably due to all the sunshine and warm temps this spring. Normally we're pacing around, worried if certain crops will be ready for the first CSA Harvest so when we noticed things were ready ahead of time we were pleasantly surprised and decided we needed to start the CSA a week early.
The first CSA Harvest of the 2018 season is complete and included the following: Carrots, Salad Greens Arugula, Baby Kale, Snow Peas, Radishes, Mustard Greens and Green Garlic.
It was so great to see all of our wonderful CSA Members in Telluride on Wednesday and at the farm in Mancos yesterday! Thank you for reminding us why we do what we do! Seeing you're faces and excitement about the produce this week gave me a boost of energy that should carry me through these hot windy days! Thank you for supporting local agriculture and being a part of our farm this season. We truly look forward to sharing the harvests and seeing you all every week from now to October.
Mike seeded the root block (carrots, beets, turnips and rutabagas) earlier in the week and is managing the irrigation to get these crops to germinate quickly in this hot weather! Tomorrow we will be seeding the zucchini, winter squash and greens beans and then the farm is mostly planted for the season, not counting the continued successions of greens, radishes, cilantro, etc.
It's almost time to switch from planting/seeding mode to weeding mode! I started weeding the onions beds yesterday and we're planning to finish them today. Currently... 3 beds down and 9 to go! If there's any one crop that needs us to stay on top of the weeds, it's the onions. They grow pretty slow and do not offer much competition early on for the weeds and they can get swallowed fast.
We're planning to start pruning and trellising the tomatoes this weekend. They're growing like weeds and looking a bit out of control at the moment. It will feel good to tidy up the tomato beds and give them some direction. They're flowering and looking strong... it currently feels like it could be a good (and maybe early?) tomato season!
Here's the triticale and vetch block during sunset! We splurged earlier in the spring and ordered an 8' roller crimper, and it got delivered yesterday afternoon! Wahoo! Basically, it's a large and heavy cylinder that we pull behind the tractor and it rolls (crimps) the cover crop flat on the ground, terminating the cover crop and laying it all down as mulch. We're going to take it for a test run on Sunday morning and crimp this block of cover crop. We'll report back with photos and info on how this goes, as well as our long term plans/ideas with this piece of equipment.
Have a wonderful week!
