It has been a hot week on the farm and from the latest forecasts it looks like there is no end in sight to this abnormal, record setting heat. MPR news reports that we're running between 10 and 20 degrees above normal June temps and that we could make a run at the record for the most 90 degree days in June that's been held since the 1930s. It's hot!
Despite the heat, the work continues on our farm. We take frequent breaks and strategize and prioritize tasks such that the hardest or most labor intensive tasks happen in the morning and easier tasks happen in the afternoon. We may also adjust our working hours so we can take advantage of the slightly cooler morning temps.
There's no doubt about it, some of our crops suffer in this kind of heat. In particular, our radish, spinach, and peas are all struggling right now due to the heat. They really prefer cooler temps to flourish. Radish tend to get spicy with this kind of heat and spinach and peas grow very slowly in this heat. Other crops like our sweet corn and watermelon really thrive in this kind of heat. They are doing well and if we can get some rain they will be doing even better.
We do have irrigation equipment but in reality we are only able to cover about 1/10th of our farm at a given time with irrigation. This means we have to strategize which crops we irrigate and when. We tend to irrigate the crops that are the most valuable with respect to how much land they take up. This means that things like potatoes, sweet corn, and all vine crops like cucumbers, watermelon, and squash are low priority and crops like carrots, lettuce, and beets are high priority.
We're hoping for cooler temperatures in the near future and hoping even more for an inch or two of rain in the very near future!
