Welcome to week 2 of the Bayfield Foods summer CSA season!
Last week when I wrote to you, we were doubling down on freeze protection here at the farm - row covering our tender beans and winter squash, and running portable heaters in our hoophouses at night to keep cold sensitive tomatoes, basil, peppers, and cukes safe from the cold nights. Now this weekend, it's going to be a heat wave of over 90 degrees! What the heck? That's farming up here in the Northland for ya.
I am happy to report that all of our hoophouse crops and most of the covered field crops made it through the cold last weekend. One bed of beans got a little zapped, so we dug it down and reseeded, but the rest were fine and ready to be cultivated again soon. The winter squash got some leaf damage (partly from the cold but partly from the 17 mph winds whipping the row cover around atop the squash plants for 2 days and nights) but most of what we covered made it through and will make a big crop of squash this fall.
Strangely nearly all of the butternut we transplanted and covered got freeze-killed, while other varieties directly adjacent made it through fine. This is the first time I have ever seen any kind of increased sensitivity to freezing from a specific variety - pretty interesting. Don't worry, there will be butternut squash this winter. The replacement butternut squash that we seeded early last week are growing nicely in the greenhouse, and will be transplanted out in a week or so.
And how about those cukes Farmer Sean is showcasing in the hoophouse?! We'll let them continue to size up this week, but they will start to be available in the week 3 CSA veggie boxes. These are the earliest cukes we have ever harvested I believe... Hoophouses for the win!
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The biggest challenge this past week was discovering a new "squeak" coming from the front end of the tractor earlier this week. After determining that all the engine systems were operating fine, I kept searching for the source of this new sound... and found it when I checked out the front right wheel. Both sets of bearings are completely blown out, the hub is cracked, and the spindle (the part that attaches the wheel to the axle) is badly damaged. Just for reference, that hub behind the wheel should be touching the spindle to the right in the picture above - that 2"" gap should definitely NOT be there. Yikes.
Thankfully, I was able to limp the tractor back to the garage without the wheel coming off and jack it up to take a better look before dark. Parts were ordered asap the next morning, and should be here later this afternoon. As long as the replacement goes smoothly (fingers crossed!), we should have our field tractor back in service by the time you read this newsletter. Going a week without our field tractor, especially THIS time of year when we have so much field work (seeding, transplanting, preparing beds, mowing cover crops, etc) to do is certainly not something I would like to repeat again.
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Since the tractor was down this week, we put in a few more acres of winter squash (all the plants we had been holding over in the greenhouse until the cold weather moved out) by hand instead of using the transplanter behind the tractor. We got it done old school, on our hands and knees, but it sure makes us appreciate how nice that transplanter (and tractor) makes getting the job done. We still have one more round of squash to transplant, but should be able to get it planted with the tractor in a week or so.
From the first week of June to the second week of July, the days are just bonkers on a produce farm like ours. As you know, June 21 marks the summer solstice - the longest day of the year. The 3 weeks before and after that magic day of June 21 mark the most daily light we'll see all year.
Plants need to capitalize on these long days to put on incredible amounts of growth, so that means we've to lots to seed and transplant throughout those 6 weeks. Lots of work means lots of tractor time to get it all done, and we'll be so glad once it's back and running properly again.
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The spring spinach is growing gangbusters, but with the heat wave coming this weekend, that might be the end of the spinach - it's really finicky with heat, but loves the cool weather. The last week of rollercoaster weather makes me appreciate the steadiness of our indoor microgreens production. If you were a CSA member this past winter, you are probably pretty familiar with microgreens. If you are new to micros, give them a try!
We grow our microgreens in organic soil indoor year round. They are packed with incredible amounts of nutrients - red cabbage micros have over 40 times the amount of phytonutrients per ounce as mature red cabbage (and an ounce of red cabbage micros is a lot easier to eat than 40 ounces of red cabbage!)
We enjoy micros on burgers, mixed in salads, or as an easy side dish - just use them raw, no need to cook. If you like a little spicy bite in your meal, try the radish or spicy microgreen mustard mix. Otherwise, if you have a more delicate palate, try the broccoli, kale, or mild mix micros. The broccoli micros in particular are rich in cancer fighting compounds, and taste great. Our kids really like the mild, crunchy pea shoot micros. We'll have basil micros this week again (they were a big hit last week), but then will be dialing back on them for the summer, and they might not be available each week. Cilantro micros will be available again in about a month (we ran out of seed and are waiting anxiously for more.)
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One big chore at the farm each week is washing and sanitizing all of the micro trays after we harvest, and the last few weeks Farmer Alex has volunteered to clean them up. She's a pro with that pressure washer, always on the lookout for dirty trays that need to get scrubbed!
This time of year, there are so many great green veggies to choose from. Whether they are cooked or raw, we all know we need to add more of them to our plates each day - that side of coleslaw with Friday fish fry doesn't cut it for our weekly serving of veggies!
Despite being literally surrounded by fresh veggies, even our family has to be mindful to include them in as many meals as possible. According to nutrition guidelines, we should aim to have at least 50% of our plates be fruit or veggies each day.
Getting a veggie CSA box and having a fridge stocked with fresh, seasonal veggies just makes it that much easier to get those veggies in our bellies. Kale or fresh salad mix from Farmer Brian at Northcroft Farm; crunchy head lettuce or radishes from Farmer John at Yoman Farm; wild harvested greens from Farmer Gil at Seasonally Sourced; or micros and collard greens from us here at Great Oak Farm - we've got more options than you could probably eat in a week... and we're just getting started with the growing season.
Thanks for making the conscious decision to eat more veggies, and thanks as well for entrusting all of us farmers in the Bayfield Foods Cooperative to grow them for you this summer!
We're looking forward to a bountiful season ahead. Have a great weekend (remember the sunscreen!) and I'll check in again with you next week. Take good care.
In community -
Farmer Chris
Great Oak Farm
