There used to be a time here at the farm when, by mid July, the weeds were pretty embarrassing. Sure, we still got lots of produce out of the fields, but those pesky weeds were always a thorn in our sides. Sometimes quite literally, with thistle plants poking us when we would come harvest. The host of weeds would reliably go to seed before our crop was out of the field, and leave us with a million more seeds to contend with for the coming years.
To help us get a better handle on those weeds, we added a variety of weed control tools to our arsenal - 2 cultivating tractors, an assortment of traditional cultivator sweeps, a basket weeder, a tine weeder, and a finger weeder to name a few. We also doubled down on using cover crops to smother weeds and build soil before planting a field into veggies. After fine tuning our systems to address the weed problem we were having, we're seeing good results.
These days, I am starting to feel a little prouder of how our fields and crops are looking as the season progresses. The pic above is our 3.5 acre broccoli-cauliflower-cabbage-brussels sprouts field, and it's not looking bad at all. No hand hoeing or weeding, it's all tractor cultivated. Purchasing and maintaining tractors and cultivating tools is expensive, but much easier on our backs and bodies than trying to hoe all of that brassica field (not to mention the rest of the fields!)
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This picture shows one of our late plantings of green beans in the center, with 2 succession plantings of sweet corn on either side. And this is BEFORE Farmer Sean came through with the cultivator this week. Not too shabby. There will always be a few weeds, but we can live with that. Sure is nice to see those long pretty rows of crops nowadays.
But it's not all sunshine and roses when it comes to weed control. Below, you can see our second seeding of carrot beds, which are located in the same field as the above corn and beans. Both the beans/corn and the carrots had the same weed pressure, but those carrots.... SO. MANY. WEEDS!
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The difference is that we were down a cultivating tractor when we should have cultivated, waiting on parts, so we missed our cultivating window when the weeds were small. Now that they are big, we have to hand pull all that lambsquarter. Uffda. One or two more days of hand weeding should finish it out next week, but our hands are feelin' all that pulling. Lesson learned: keep those tractors running! Timing is everything.
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And now for some exciting news: the broccoli is starting to be ready for harvest! With this warm weather, it will be sizing up quickly. We anticipate having a good amount for your veggie CSA boxes next week and for many weeks to come from here on out. We'll have a few early cabbages available this week as well, perfect for summer slaws.
We could really use some rain, but the upside to this drought is that disease pressure on the brassica crops has been pretty minimal (caused by warm, wet conditions), so we're anticipating a stellar broccoli crop this summer. And with warm temps, slicer and cherry tomatoes are getting into the swing of summer and ramping up production as well. Cukes are cranking too, but the peppers are taking their sweet time. We'll have the first few bags of sweet snacking peppers this week, with more to come as the season unfolds. The bounty of summer is beginning. Fill your belly with those fresh veggies while they are at their peak!
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Another big accomplishment this week was getting the garlic crop harvested. After we transplanted out the final round (7 plantings!) of broccoli and cauliflower this week, the racks in the greenhouse were empty. After pulling the garlic plants up, we laid out about 2/3 of the crop in the greenhouse to dry down, with the remaining 1/3 drying down in a hoophouse.
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This week, we'll have fresh garlic available in your boxes - vampires, beware! Since it's not cured down and dry yet, it would be best stored in your fridge in a bag like most other fresh veggies instead of out on the counter like garlic that has been dried down. We'll save back the biggest bulbs for seed, and look forward to getting those in the ground late this fall just before the ground freezes up for an even bigger crop in 2022.
That's it from the farm this week. Enjoy the weekend, and keep yourself hydrated. Hot days like the ones coming up are made for cucumber salad. Below is my favorite recipe. It's an easy way to use a lot of great fresh summer veggies, and I like to make up a big bowl to keep in the fridge and have some with lunch for a few days. Plus it can be made almost entirely with locally grown ingredients from your CSA boxes all summer long!
Cucumber Salad
1. Peel 2 cucumbers and dice into 1/2" or smaller chunks
2. Quarter 1 pint cherry tomatoes, toss with cukes in a bowl
3. Chop finely 1 package of basil micros or basil bunch and sprinkle over cukes and tomatoes in bowl
4. Crumble up 1 package of Freds Fancy Feta, add to bowl
5. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar, and salt/pepper to taste (don't be shy on the salt and pepper - they help bring out the flavors), mix it all together, and enjoy!
Thanks again for making us YOUR farmers this summer!
In community,
Farmer Chris
Great Oak Farm
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