Well, it's definitely not a drought year! I know it's cliche to talk about the weather, but when you're in the business of growing food, the weather tends to affect pretty much everything we do. The planting schedule, the harvest schedule, and our ability to work in the field are all dictated by the weather. Needless to say, there has been a lot of rain to navigate around and through, and the cool, wet conditions are impacting some of the crops. Fortunately for all of us though, the farm is located on high ground with well-drained soil, so we are able to mitigate the challenges as they come our way. Resiliency is a priority, and our current location (which we are endlessly grateful for) is helping us develop a farm organism that can weather many storms. Permanent cover (aka grasses) cover the hillside which eliminates the problem of erosion. Many of our growing beds are mulched in some form, which greatly reduces runoff in and around the crops. Our high tunnels (hoop houses) provide maximum protection for all of the crops growing inside (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, celery, cucumbers and herbs), which is key to being a resilient farm.
It's good to see the sun in between these many rain events, and the heat loving crops (like tomatoes) pick up the pace every time it gets warm and sunny. Our cherry tomatoes are trickling in now, and we are even staring to see color showing up in some of our early slicers!! This is positive and it helps offset the slight deficiency that we are experiencing in the salad mix department. Yes, it is true that our salad supply is temporarily low, and I want to mention this because for many of you salad mix is a favorite and a staple. We are doing what we can to increase our supply by planting more beds with greater frequency, but as with a lot of solutions in farming, it requires patience as the food grows. If you are missing salad, we are very sorry! The good news is that we do have other greens to help fill the slot, as well as many other fun and delicious crops to fill out your menu.
All things considered, the farm is thriving and there is plenty of food on its way to your tables this week! Here's to being grateful for what we all have and embracing resiliency.
Have a great week and eat your veggies!
Danielle
