Good afternoon members!
I'm really excited about shares for the next few weeks! We have had lots of leafy greens so far this season, so it makes me happy to add scallions to the shares this week! LETTUCE also be grateful for the return of the lettuce mix! Our green and red mix is buttery, crunchy, and tastes like lettuce should-fresh, sweet, and mildly green. Next week, y'all can expect the first kohlrabi and mizuna of the season.
A few members have asked for us to label the greens, so that is something we will address as soon as possible. For now, I have some letter headers that will work, until we can design and order more labels, like ones we use for the salad mix. If you ever have an issue not knowing what a vegetable is, you can check the Harvie photo of the product. I have updated many of the photos of vegetables in the shares. In the future, most items will be labeled, but if they are not, please reach out with your questions.
This week, come see us at the Ruston Farmers Market (9-1), AND the Fall Downtown Market on the Alley (11-3) in West Monroe on Saturday. Then, we will be selling vegetables, and enjoying a pint at the Flying Tiger Brewery Farmers Market from 6-8 PM on Thursday. We have some limited mayhaw and crabapple jelly that we made this week, so come and try some of the best jam around!
Today, should be the last really warm day we should see in 2021, and it is a much welcome relief around here. On a small farm, temperatures greater than 80 degrees have many consequences. The most impactful of these, sunspots, can develop at peak daytime temperatures. Our two main mitigations are shade cloth and overhead irrigation. Over 80 degrees and leafy greens, especially lettuce must be irrigated for 15 minutes at 10 AM, 12 PM, and 2 PM and finally for an hour at 10 PM to cool them off. Although our automatic waterers make the task efficient, when I had to add the drip irritation to the system, it forced me to have to switch two valves during the day. In the course of running the farm, it can be difficult to remember to switch those valves. So if you see a few leaves that have brown spots, know that it is from my failure to set the noon-time alarm to switch valves.
The cooler weather in this part of the season has us preparing for really good germination on crops like baby kale, pea shoots, spinach, and Asian greens. Many of the crops that we will be eating in the farm shares in November and December haven't been planted yet. Look for our salad mix leaves to decrease in size over the next month, and for a few ingredient changes; as the cool nights and lowering sun angles start to really sweeten the greens.
It is our great pleasure in life to grow food for you and your family. Thank you for supporting our farm, as well as JoyWalk Daylily and Stowe Creek Farm. I hope you have a great week and that you are looking forward to cooking something good this week!
Best,
Conrad Cable
