In the Share - Week 10

Tendersweet cabbage

SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) A few pattypan and round zucchini are in the mix this week. The big ones are great stuffed or sliced and grilled.

CUCUMBERS (F/P) Still lots of cucumbers. Order those pickle packs now, they won't be around too much longer.

TOMATOES (F/P) Just a couple this week, but there will be more.

COLORFUL CARROTS (F/P) They are purple, yellow and, of course, good ole orange.

GARLIC (F) 2 more heads of the Musik, a hardneck variety

CABBAGE OR KALE (F/P) That's the Tendersweet cabbage above, a new find of ours.

EGGPLANT AND PEPPER (F) Just barely enough for the fulls to get one of each. Partial shares are next in line.

GREEN BEANS (F) Should be a good harvest tomorrow, only the second picking.

SALSA PACK OR PESTO BUNCH (F/P) Salsa is lovely, but so is pesto. That's a hard choice.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More beans, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers. Potatoes and onions.

We have had many foggy mornings lately. All of those air-borne water droplets make for a pretty picture. Here's the view from the newly renovated strawberry patch.

I can no longer enjoy a foggy morning without thinking of the Irish Potato Famine. Last year for fun I read Galway Bay , a historical novel that tells the story of the author's ancestors who struggled to survive starvation and eventually make their way to America. In the years of 845 -1850, most of Ireland's potatoes rotted due to Late blight, Phytophtora infestans, which came to their hillsides with the fog. Other factors included that there was only one variety of potato grown and that the British forcibly shipped all of the other food out for themselves, but I digress. Late blight is still around, however, killing off most of the tomato crop last season in the Northeastern US.

Lucky for us, there are no signs of such tragedy in our fields. But, our humid climate does provide a nuturing environment for many fungal diseases. As organic growers we do not use fungicides, which 'sterilize' the soil - killing the good with the bad. A teaspoon of soil has as much as a billion microorganisms that support the plant's growth in many ways. So, instead of killing all those good guys, we rely on crop rotation, mulching, compost and crop diversity. We also tolerate a manageable level of disease in the fields. So if you find a small spot on your tomatoes this week, we hope you take it as a sign that we are doing something right.