This last week of hot weather has really gotten the crops growing! We cranked out lots of field work, too - plowing; making beds; seeding our third round of carrots, second round of beans and sweet corn, and more broccoli every week for a steady supply all summer and fall. Grab your boots, and come check out how things are growing..JPG)
Out in the field, Farmer Ellen got the melons, winter squash, and first plantings of broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage cultivated again. And with Hobbes on quality control, you can rest assured they are looking good. .JPG)
Despite the lack of rain, the seedings of beans and sweet corn are beginning to germinate nicely. Baby beans shown above. Thursday morning they were just starting to break out of the soil here and there, but after lunchtime we could see rows of beans poking out of the soil. Thursday afternoon as I was seeding the third seeding of carrots, I saw the second round of carrots just beginning to emerge as well. Summer is sprouting, friends.
Baby sweet corn sprouts pictured below - they are the large, bright green sprouts in the line the seeder left in the soil. You can see tiny weeds starting to sprout as well, so we'll be cultivating these crops early next week to keep those weeds at bay. Cultivating newly germinated crops is always scary - those seedlings are so fragile, one mis-steer can wipe out feet of crops in a hurry. Don't mess up..JPG)
It was hot, windy, and dry this week, and our seeds still managed to germinate well. Part of our strategy for moisture management is building soil organic matter to hold on to moisture when we have it, and it's clearly working.
While we are still waiting on parts to complete our pond irrigation system for the field, we've been keeping transplants watered as best we can with a garden sprinkler running 24-7 on the winter squash and melon fields.
A little gentle rain this weekend would be fantastic to take the hot-dry edge off of the transplanted crops until they can get their roots established down deep to access subsurface soil moisture. Hopefully the rain forecasted on Saturday will give all the plants a nice cool drink..JPG)
In the hoophouses, we got all the tomatoes and cucumbers all pruned and trellised again this week, and they are looking pretty sharp. Slicer and cherry tomatoes are continuing to size up, and we found a few cukes that will likely be ready for harvest next week. Yum!.JPG)
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The beets in the cherry tomato house will finally be available for your CSA boxes this week as well! Remember these will be green top bunches of beets, so be sure to use the greens the same as you would use chard or collards. Green top beets are a 2-for-1 kinda crop - tasty tops, tasty roots..jpg)
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The sugar snap peas have begun to size up now too, and I bet we'll have some pints ready for your boxes in one more week. Patience, patience, patience..JPG)
Not bad for a late cold spring, eh? We'll have lots of collards and scallions as well from the hoophouses, plus microgreens galore - and that's just the veggies available from us here at Great Oak Farm. So get those fresh healthy, and tasty veggies on your plate! That little side of coleslaw with your Friday night fish fry ain't cutting it, friends. Stock up on those veggies - your body will thank you.
That's it from the farm this week - have a great weekend, and thanks for making us YOUR farmers!
In community,
Farmer Chris
Great Oak Farm
