In the Share - Week 7

NEW POTATOES F/P  They are tender and young and should be consumed promptly.  Refrigerate to keep them longer.

SUMMER SQUASH F  Just one for each share, mostly zucchini with some Lebanese (light green) and a very few yellow squash.

LETTUCE F/P  May be it for lettuce for awhile.  It has some hail damage yet again.

GREEN RED ONIONS  F/P  They are beginning to make bulbs but still have their green tops.

CHARD OR KALE F  Our hardy greens are growing some nice leaves.
 
CARROTS F/P  The first carrots, small and tender with tops.  To keep them longer, remove the tops.

CABBAGE F  They got knocked around by the hailstorm, but they are still tasty.  See below for more on the Spring 2015 cabbage crop.
 
NEXT WEEK:  Carrots, beets, squash and garlic. 

FARM REPORT:
A beautiful two days of sunshine and heat made us hope that the dreary weather was in retreat.  The rain thought differently and on Sunday we got another 3.6 inches and some more hail.

 

rainfall totals with the farm the star.

This dramatically wet season is taking it's toll.  A good example would be our Spring cabbage patch.  This winter we decided to grow more cabbage for our fledgling business in kraut and kimchi-making:  a thousand in addition to the several hundred that we grow every Spring for the CSA.  In April and early May they couldn't have looked better, but the last month of their life was very soggy.  Here's a psychedelic view of our "supposed to be green" cabbages.

None of these were harvestable, but on the higher ground the plants were green and we got about half of what we planted.  Lucky for us, in a way, we planted way more cabbages than we could have possibly dealt with and so despite the loss, the farm is still flush with cabbage.  I know you all are longing for the sexy vegetables of Summer, but until we get some sunshine and drier weather, cabbage it is.

 Most of our crops do not look like those scary pink cabbages, but they face serious challenges of anaerobic soil - no air equals suffocation of the plants' roots, lack of sunlight, and competition from weeds.  When it is too wet to use the tractor or even hoes to control weeds, we are left with pulling them by hand.  With all the other work to do on the farm, there just plain isn't time to get them all. 

sweet potato hills on the highest ground on the farm.

While I could grouse about the weather all day long, I must also mention that we have been cheered by the words of support and encouragement we have received from many of you. 

CSA members removing the pea fences.

Thank you for joining us on this rollercoaster of local eating.  We hope to come out the other end of the season with new strategies for adapting to extreme weather and to the changing climate.